Date: September 26, 2010
Contact: Jim Milestone, (530) 242-3410
A public scoping meeting will be held on September 30, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. to assist the National Park Service in developing an Environmental Assessment for planning an expansion and redesign of the campground at Oak Bottom within Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. The meeting will be held in the Community Room of Redding City Hall at 777 Cypress Avenue, Redding, California. National Park Service staff seeks public input about the future size and layout of the Oak Bottom Campground serving tent, recreational vehicle, and boat users.
It is the intent of the National Park Service to share with the public and state and local agencies various alternatives for expanding, redesigning, and managing Oak Bottom Campground. All public scoping meeting attendees will be given an opportunity to provide oral and written comments, which will be collected and considered as part of the Environmental Assessment process.
The National Park Service is proposing this redesign to improve the visitor experience at the Oak Bottom Campground by increasing the area occupied by the campground, while reducing campsite density and retaining a similar number of campsites (approximately 110). The existing tent campground at Oak Bottom does not offer a high-quality recreational experience due to overcrowding. This results in user conflicts and extensive soil compaction, erosion, and vegetation degradation. Alternatives could include expansion of the campground into undeveloped areas in the Oak Bottom area and the development of boat-in only campsites on selected accessible sites along the shoreline of Whiskeytown Lake.
Evaluation of campsite expansion includes impacts to campground and maintenance operations, tree removal, vegetation management, and utility expansion. The Environmental Assessment will also evaluate the environmental impacts of the existing campground facilities on other park resources. Additionally, the Environmental Assessment will evaluate the environmental impacts of three-to-five alternatives which will range from a No Action Alternative to a full expansion of facilities alternative.
All interested individuals and agencies are encouraged to review the alternatives and provide comments either at this meeting, online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/OakBottomRedesign, or by mail to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Oak Bottom Campground Comments, P.O. Box 188, Whiskeytown, CA 96095-0188.
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