National Trail Study and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Ala Kahakai Hawai'i Island, Hawaii County, Hawaii; Notice of Availability

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

National Trail Study and Final Environmental Impact Statement for

the Ala Kahakai Hawai'i Island, Hawaii County, Hawaii; 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 National Park

Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared a Final Environmental

Impact Statement (FEIS) which provides an analysis of whether the Ala

Kahakai is nationally significant and whether it is feasible and

desirable to add it to the National Trails System. The FEIS includes

Letters of Comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and

responses from the National Park Service. To assist Congress in gauging

the feasibility, the study analyzes a range of options for managing the

trail.

Findings: The study concludes that the Ala Kahakai is significant

(1) under the three criteria for national historic trails outlined in

the National Trails System Act, as amended; (2) under National Register

of Historic Places criteria A, B, C, and D; and (3) as a traditional

cultural property. The study concludes that establishing a continuous

trail is physically feasible.

The study concludes that desirability of recognizing the trail

rests on two key items: first, communities along the trail corridor,

native Hawaiians, and landowners all be involved in planning and

implementing the trail; and second, adequate funding must be ensured at

the time the trail is designated to fully protect cultural and natural

resources.

At their November 21, 1997 meeting, the National Park System

Advisory Board recommended a finding that the trail does have national

historic significance based on the criteria develop under the Historic

Sites Act of 1935.

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Alternatives and Recommendation: The study examines four

alternatives for future protection, interpretation, and management of

the Ala Kahakai: a no-action alternative, a national historic trail

(continuous), a state historic trail, and a national historic trail

(discontinuous). Additional alternatives which were considered but

rejected are summarized. The 60-day public review of the draft EIS

ended on October 17, 1997. Four public meetings were held on September

3-5, 1997, in Captain Cook, Waimea, and Hilo. The final study concludes

that the national historic trail (continuous) is the environmentally

preferred alternative.

The environmental consequences and corresponding mitigations of the

alternatives are evaluated in the document. It is anticipated that with

funding adequate to implement the recommended planning and management,

potential adverse environmental impacts of the action alternatives can

be minimized or eliminated. After a 30-day no-action period, the

National Park Service will prepare a Record of Decision. It will be

forwarded along with the final study to the Secretary of the Interior

to be transmitted to the Congress of the United States. Congress will

decide which alternative is selected.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The no-action period for this document will

end 30 days after the Environmental Protection Agency's listing of the

FEIS is published in the Federal Register. Comments may be submitted

during this period and should be addressed to Superintendent, Pacific

Great Basin Support Office, National Park Service, 600 Harrison Street,

Suite 600, San Francisco, California 94107, Attention: Meredith Kaplan.

For additional information, please write the National Park Service at

that address or telephone 415-427-1438.

Copies of the study FEIS are available at the Pacific Great Basin

Support Office at the above address and at the National Park Service

Pacific Island Support Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 6305,

Honolulu, HI 96850.

Dated: March 23, 1998.

Holly Bundock,

Acting Regional Director, Pacific West.

[FR Doc. 98-8275 Filed 3-27-98; 8:45 am]

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