Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Superintendent Tom Bradley today announced the release of Newsletter #2 and the Public Scoping Comment Analysis for the park's Preliminary General Management Plan (GMP) alternatives.  The newsletter and analysis are available electronically by following the General Management Plan link at www.nps.gov/jeff.

Following the initial public comment period, the National Park Service analyzed over 2,800 comments on the management alternatives presented in Newsletter #1, released in June.  Superintendent Bradley commented, “We are excited about the level of public interest in our planning efforts.  Many people provided us with thoughtful comments that show a real love for the site.”

The National Park Service will use the analysis of the comments during the next phase in the planning process which includes refining the alternatives and developing a preferred alternative.  Once a preferred alternative is identified, a draft General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be released this winter.  The release of the draft plan will be followed by a second public comment period.  The selected alternative and final GMP/EIS are due to be released in the summer of 2009.

“We want to keep everyone informed about this public process,” stated Bradley.  “We hope our constituents will stay engaged and again provide comments once the draft plan is released this winter.”