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Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS
Merced Wild and Scenic River Revised Comprehensive Management Plan Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

[Federal Register: January 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 2)]
[Notices]
[Page 382-384]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[DOCID:fr04ja05-64]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Draft Merced Wild and Scenic River Revised Comprehensive
Management Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement,
Yosemite National Park, Tuolumne, Mariposa, and Madera Counties, CA;
Notice of Availability

Summary--Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), the
Council of Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Part 1500), and
the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1271), the
National Park Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared the
Draft Merced Wild and Scenic River Revised Comprehensive Management
Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Revised
Merced River Plan/SEIS). It is intended to amend and supplement the
Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan and Final
Environmental Impact Statement (Merced River Plan/FEIS) released in
June 2000. The Draft Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS identifies and
evaluates four alternatives for guiding management of the Merced Wild
and Scenic River in Yosemite National Park. When approved, the plan
will serve as a template for all future decisions relating to
recreation and land use within Yosemite's 81-mile Merced River
corridor. The primary goals of the plan are to ensure the free-flowing
condition of the river, along with providing long-term protection and
enhancement of what the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act calls the river's
``Outstandingly Remarkable Values''--the unique qualities that make the
river worthy of special protection.
Purpose and Need for Federal Action--The Merced River Plan is the
official document for guiding future management of the main stem and
South Fork of the Merced Wild and Scenic River within the jurisdiction
of Yosemite National Park. In August 2000, the Merced River Plan/FEIS
was approved and signed in a Record of Decision (subsequently revised
in November 2000). Shortly after the

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Record of Decision was signed, the plan became the subject of a lengthy
litigation process. In April 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit directed the National Park Service (NPS) to prepare a
``new or revised'' comprehensive management plan that addresses two
deficiencies identified in the Court's October 27, 2003 opinion
(Friends of Yosemite Valley v. Norton, 348 F.3d 789, 803 9th Cir.
2003). The Court ruled that: (1) The revised plan must implement a user
capacity program that presents specific measurable limits on use, and
(2) the revised plan must reassess the river corridor boundary in the
El Portal Administrative Site based on the location of Outstandingly
Remarkable Values. The purpose of the programmatic guidance identified
herein is to revise and supplement the Merced River Plan/FEIS and the
park's 1980 General Management Plan. This supplemental environmental
impact statement represents NPS compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act, as well as parallel compliance with the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act (as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1271) and National
Historic Preservation Act.
Proposed Plan and Alternatives--As the proposed Revised Merced
River Plan, Alternative 2 (agency preferred alternative) would include
all of the elements of the No Action Alternative, with the addition of
implementing the Visitor Experience Resource Protection (VERP) user
capacity component, along with interim limits on some park facilities;
the El Portal segment boundary would be redrawn based on the location
of the Outstandingly Remarkable Values identified within a quarter-mile
of the river. In addition to this proposed plan, the Draft Revised
Merced River Plan/SEIS identifies and analyzes three other
alternatives: Alternative 1--No Action; Alternative 3--Quotas by
Segment with VERP; and Alternative 4--Quotas by Management Zone with
VERP. Alternative 2 has also been deemed to be the ``environmentally
preferred'' alternative.
The No Action Alternative (Alternative 1) represents a baseline on
which to compare the three action alternatives. Under this alternative,
the Merced River Plan--as signed in the 2000 Record of Decision (and
subsequent revision)--would continue to guide management in the river
corridor. Application of its management elements (boundaries,
classifications, Outstandingly Remarkable Values, management zoning,
River Protection Overlay, Section 7 determination process) would
continue as presented in the plan. However, implementation of the
Visitor Experience Resource Protection (VERP) framework would not be in
place and the park would continue managing user capacity under existing
programs and policies outlined in the February 2004 User Capacity
Program for the Merced Wild and Scenic River Corridor. This program
includes continuation of the current wilderness management program and
existing Trailhead Quota System. This alternative would implement the
narrow boundary for the El Portal segment as described in the selected
alternative of the Merced River Plan/FEIS (100-year floodplain or River
Protection Overlay [whichever is greater] along with adjacent
wetlands).
Alternative 3 would also include all of the elements from the No
Action alternative, in addition to a VERP user capacity component (as
described in Alternative 2) along with a maximum daily quota for each
river segment and an annual visitation cap; the El Portal segment would
have the maximum quarter-mile boundary.
Alternative 4 would contain the elements of No Action in addition
to a VERP user capacity component (as described in Alternative 2) along
with quotas for each river management zone and an annual visitation
cap; the El Portal segment boundary would be drawn according to the
location of Outstandingly Remarkable Values.
Scoping History--On July 27, 2004, a Notice of Intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register
initiating a 30-day scoping period--in response to public comment, this
scoping period was extended to September 10, 2004. During scoping, a
series of public meetings were held. A letter from the Superintendent
was sent to over 8,000 interested members of the public on the park's
Planning Mailing list, encouraging them to submit ideas, issues, and
concerns relating to the scope of this planning effort. In addition,
the scoping period and associated public meetings were publicized via
regional media, on the park's Web site, through e-mailed notices on the
park's electronic newsletter, and on various state-wide online bulletin
boards. As a result of outreach, over 100 letters, faxes, and emails
were received and considered during the development of this Draft
Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS. All written scoping comments, as well
as oral comments at public meetings, can be viewed on the park's Web
site (http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning). A scoping report is also

available.
Comments--Upon its release, the Draft Revised Merced River Plan/
SEIS will be mailed directly to those who requested the document in
response to a December 2004 direct mail and e-mailed solicitation.
While the public will be encouraged to view the document on the park's
Web site (http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning), it will be made available

in a printed version, as well as on CD ROM. Copies will be available at
park headquarters and the main Visitor Center in Yosemite Valley, the
Administrative Complex in El Portal, and at local and regional
libraries throughout California.
Written comments must be submitted in writing and postmarked no
later than 60 days after the Environmental Protection Agency publishes
the notice of filing of the Draft Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS in the
Federal Register (anticipated to occur in mid-January, 2005; as soon as
this date is confirmed it will be announced on the park's Web site).
All comments should be addressed to the Superintendent, ATTN: Draft
Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite National Park,
CA 95389. Also, comments can be e-mailed to yose_planning@nps.gov or
faxed to (209) 379-1294. All comments received will be available for
public review in the Yosemite Research Library and also may be
available on the park's Web site. To request a printed copy or CD ROM,
refer to the information above or phone (209) 379-1365.
Individuals submitting comments may request that their name and/or
address be withheld from public disclosure, and such requests will be
honored to the extent allowable by law. Requests must be stated
prominently in the beginning of comments. There also may be
circumstances wherein the NPS will withhold a respondent's identity as
allowable by law. As always, the National Park Service will make
available to public inspection all submissions from organizations or
businesses and from persons identifying themselves as representatives
or officials of organizations and businesses. Anonymous comments will
not be considered.
Public Meetings--In order to facilitate public review and comment
on the Draft Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS, the NPS intends to host
public meetings in the following California towns and cities: San
Francisco, Sacramento, Groveland, Merced, Mammoth, Los Angeles, Fresno,
Oakhurst, Mariposa, El Portal, and Yosemite Valley. Meeting dates will
be dependent on the publication of this notice in the Federal Register,
and will occur after the first 15 days of the comment period and no
later than 15 days prior to the comment period closing. A schedule of
dates,

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locations, and times will be announced via a mailing to the park's
Planning Mailing List, a news release, through the park's electronic
newsletter, and postings on the park's Web site (http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning
) and other statewide online bulletin boards.

Participants are encouraged to review the document prior to
attending a meeting. Yosemite National Park management and planning
team members will attend all sessions to present the Draft Revised
Merced River Plan/SEIS, to receive oral and written comments, and to
answer questions. All meeting locations will be accessible for disabled
persons and a sign language interpreter may be available upon request
with prior notice (contact the park as noted above under ``Comments'').
Decision Process--Depending on the degree of public interest and
response from other agencies and organizations, at this time it is
anticipated that the Final Merced Wild and Scenic River Revised
Comprehensive Management Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (Final Merced River Plan/SEIS) will be completed during June
2005; availability of the document will be duly noted in the Federal
Register. Subsequently, notice of an approved Record of Decision would
be published in the Federal Register not sooner than 30 days after the
final document is distributed. This is expected to occur in mid-August
2005. As a delegated EIS, the official responsible for the decision is
the Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park Service; the
official responsible for implementation is the Superintendent, Yosemite
National Park.

Dated: December 14, 2004.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 05-47 Filed 1-3-05; 8:45 am]
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