Record of Decision, Final Environmental Impact Statement, Comprehensive Management and Use Plan; Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer and Pony Express National Historic Trails

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Record of Decision, Final Environmental Impact Statement,

Comprehensive Management and Use Plan; Oregon, California, Mormon

Pioneer and Pony Express National Historic Trails

Introduction

The National Park Service has developed a Comprehensive Management

Plan / Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Oregon, California,

Mormon Pioneer and Pony

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Express National Historic Trails. The Final Environmental Impact

Statement presents alternatives and their environmental consequences

for the administration and protection of resources, visitor use and

interpretation, and agency cooperation among all the partners involved

in this project.

The purpose of this Record of Decision is to document the selected

alternative from those presented in the Final Environmental Impact

Statement. The Record of Decision highlights information contained in

the Final Environmental Impact Statement.

Background

In 1978 Congress authorized the Oregon and Mormon Pioneer National

Historic Trails to commemorate these significant routes of travel and

to promote their preservation, interpretation, public use, and

appreciation. In 1992 it authorized the California and Pony Express

National Historic Trails. The National Trails System Act required that

comprehensive management and use plans be prepared. Plans for the

Oregon and Mormon Pioneer were approved in 1981, but need to be updated

to provide additional guidance on high-potential sites and segments,

resource protection techniques, site certification, visitor use,

interpretation, and cooperative management.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement is programmatic in that

the proposal does not call for any undertaking or action that would

result in ground disturbances. Any future development would require

additional environmental compliance to be carried out as required by

state and local regulations and the provisions of the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and section 106 of the National

Historic Preservation Act.

Selected Alternative

The National Park Service selected alternative 2, the proposed

action as described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for

implementation.

Alternative 2 (enhanced conditions and a historic trails

partnership) focuses on enhancing resource preservation and visitor

use. To do so, it would be necessary to achieve the highest possible

degree of cooperation among the partners, increase awareness of the

need to work together, and communicate what is being planned and what

is actually being done. The alternative calls for an improved visitor

experience through integrated development and programming and a

comprehensive strategy for resource protection, including an ambitious

program to inventory and monitor resources that would bring together,

in one location, information that is currently dispersed.

Some components of this plan signal new approaches to the

management of historic trails. A geographic information system (GIS)

has been used to map most of the routes and the locations of the high-

potential sites and segments associated with the four trails. These

data, in conjunction with the computerized data set of the trail

resources generated during the planning process would become the

starting point for a systematic and coordinated effort to use the Salt

Lake City office as the central repository for all trail-related

resource information.

Other Alternative Considered

An additional alternative has been considered in addition to the

proposed action. Alternative 1 is a continuation of current management

practices. It reflects the wide variability in the administration and

management, resource protection strategies, and interpretation, visitor

experience, and use that exist today. The alternative notes how

resource protection, trail marking, and interpretation are ongoing

processes and how increasing levels of cooperation and coordination are

becoming more common among the various trail partners. However,

coordination among the different trail-managing agencies, or even

within the same agency is inconsistent. Furthermore, the various

existing plans that these agencies have developed seldom address trail

resources and measures for their protection and appropriate public use.

Basis for Decision

Alternative 2 is selected because it most fully satisfies the dual

purposes of the National Trails System Act--to ``provide for the

outdoor recreation needs of an expanding population,'' and ``to promote

the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and

appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of

the nation.'' The proposal focuses on attaining increased efficiency,

closer communication, and more strategic resource protection. It

fosters interagency cooperation that would result in greater resource

protection and make for a much more efficient cost-conscious

administration.

Environmentally Preferable Alternative

The environmentally preferable alternative is alternative 2. This

alternative best protects and preserves historic, cultural and natural

resource. The assessment of resource vulnerability, the resource

monitoring program and the increased coordination among the trail

partners will minimize any impacts from the increased visitation that

might result from this alternative. Enhanced trail education programs

and the resulting increase in public awareness will make visitors more

sensitive to the significance and fragile nature of trail resources, in

particular cultural landscapes. This in turn might have beneficial

impacts on cultural landscapes, as visitors would be more likely to

appreciate and respect resources.

Measures To Minimize Environmental Harm

The selected alternative establishes conceptual-level guidelines

for administering resource protection and visitor experience. Potential

impacts of implementation have been discussed for this level of

analysis and all practicable means to avoid or minimize environmental

harm have been identified. The Final Environmental Impact Statement is

a programmatic document that will require additional planning and

compliance if specific actions were to be implemented and would cause

any ground disturbance. At that time, NPS will consult with the partner

agencies and the public and will document compliance with all relevant

federal, state, and local laws, regulations and policies. Through this

process, all site-specific impacts will be identified and all

practicable means to avoid or minimize environmental harm will be

adopted.

Public and Interagency Involvement

Public involvement was extensive, including newsletters, public

reviews, and public meetings. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement

was available for a 60-day public review from August 21 to October 19,

1998. Close to 1,000 copies were distributed for review. Public

meetings were held in later September and early October at nine

locations throughout the west and were attended by approximately 180

people. Written comments were received from 32 federal, state, and

local agencies. The Final Environmental Impact Statement has been

revised in response to substantive comments on the draft document. In

accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing NEPA, all written responses from public agencies are

reprinted as part of the Final Environmental Impact Statement.

Substantive comments from individuals were summarized and included in

table format.

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Conclusion

Considering each alternative and its environmental impacts, the

public response, the purpose of the trails, and the administrative

objectives, the National Park Service concludes that alternative 2 is

the best course of action for preserving trail resources and for their

interpretation and public enjoyment.

Address

Copies of the Record of Decision can be obtained from the following

address: Superintendent, Long Distance Trails Office, 324 S. State

Street, Suite 250, PO Box 45155, Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0155,

Telephone (801) 539-4095.

Recommended:

Dated: November 10, 1999.

Jere L. Krakow,

Superintendent, Long Distance Trails Office.

Approved: November 10, 1999.

Michael D. Synder,

Director, Intermountain Region.

[FR Doc. 99-30113 Filed 11-17-99; 8:45 am]

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