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Pursuant to 36 CFR § 1.5, the National Park Service is implementing a temporary closure and public use limitation in National Mall and Memorial Parks due to staging and construction at the Korean War Veterans Memorial. The project (permit # NCR-NAMA-5700-2020-63) includes the renovation and expansion of the existing Korean War Veterans Memorial to include the new granite Wall of Remembrance and replacement of the Linden trees. Public access to the Memorial will be maintained throughout construction, but portions of the site will be closed at various times through the construction process. These closures will start on 3/16/2021 and end on 9/16//2022. These dates are subject to change depending on weather conditions. The temporary restriction is not of a nature, magnitude or duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.” The closure will not adversely affect the park’s natural aesthetic or cultural values, nor require significant modification to the resource management objection, nor is it of a highly controversial nature. Accordingly, the National Park Service determines publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 CFR § 1.5(c). This determination is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial or temporary closures, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications that have upheld other NPS closures and public use limitations. Spiegel v. Babbitt, 855 F. Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994) affd in part w/o op. 56 F. 3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C. Cir. May 31, 1995); ANSWER Coalition v. Norton, No. 05-0071, (D.D.C. January 18, 2005), Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 22, 2002), plaintiff’s emergency motion for appeal for injunction pending appealed denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-5275 (D.C. Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curium); Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990) Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. December 7, 1987). Pursuant to 36 CFR § 1.5(c), 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure will be made through roadway gates and the posting of signs at conspicuous locations in the affected park area. Finally, pursuant to 36 CFR § 1.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request. Jeffrey P. Reinbold Superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks March 15, 2021 |
Last updated: March 15, 2021