[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 131 (Friday, July 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39581-39582]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16834]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Yosemite Valley Plan; Yosemite National Park; Mariposa, Madera, 
and Tuolumne Counties, California; Notice of Revised Record of Decision

SUMMARY: On December 29, 2000, the National Park Service (NPS) executed 
a Record of Decision selecting Alternative 2 from the Final Yosemite 
Valley Plan/Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for 
implementation (as noticed in the Federal Register on January 12, 
2001). As explained below, the NPS has subsequently approved a revised 
Record of Decision for the Final Yosemite Valley Plan and will 
implement Modified Alternative 2 instead.
    Decision: The NPS has approved adoption of a Modified Alternative 2 
which consists of completed actions and projects that conform to four 
broad purposes and goals. These are to restore natural processes in 
Yosemite Valley, to ameliorate environmental impacts, to preserve 
cultural resource values, and to continue providing opportunities for 
high-quality visitor experiences. Excluded from the approved Modified 
Alternative 2 were certain projects yet to be initiated, including but 
not limited to consolidation of some parking and facilities in the 
eastern end of Yosemite Valley, relocation of equestrian facilities, 
removal of Sugar Pine Bridge, and several traffic recirculation plans. 
Also revised were Findings of No Significant Impact (FONSI decisions) 
for Yosemite Lodge area redevelopment and improvements at Curry Village 
and East Yosemite Valley campgrounds.
    Background: In 2006, a lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court 
for the Eastern District of California challenging the 2000 Final 
Yosemite Valley Plan. Concurrently, the NPS was involved in a separate 
lawsuit filed by the same plaintiffs challenging the 2005 Merced Wild 
and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan (Merced River Plan). 
Because the Yosemite Valley Plan and the Merced River Plan were 
integrally related, the NPS and the plaintiffs agreed to suspend 
proceedings on the Yosemite Valley Plan lawsuit until the courts 
reached a final decision on the Merced River Plan lawsuit. In March 
2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling 
affirming that the 2005 Merced River Plan did not adequately fulfill 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act nor the Wild and 
Scenic Rivers Act. Following that decision, the NPS and the plaintiffs 
began settlement discussions to resolve the two lawsuits and to 
establish a framework for moving forward on a new version of the Merced 
River Plan. A settlement was reached in September 2009 (the Settlement 
Agreement is available on the park's Web site: http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/upload/mrpsettlementagreement.pdf). Pursuant to the Settlement 
Agreement, the NPS agreed to revise the Record of Decision for the 
Yosemite Valley Plan, as well as two related FONSI decisions. The three 
revised documents were filed with the District Court on January 29, 
2010.
    Copies: Interested parties may review the revised Record of 
Decision and FONSI decisions on the park's Web site, and copies can 
also be obtained by contacting the Superintendent, Yosemite National 
Park, P. O. Box 577, Yosemite, California 95389; via

[[Page 39582]]

telephone request at (209) 372-0261; or via e-mail request at [email protected].

    Dated: June 7, 2010.
George J. Turnbull,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2010-16834 Filed 7-8-10; 8:45 am]
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