[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4963]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: March 4, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Availability of Draft Wild and Scenic River Eligibility Report
and Environmental Assessment for the Upper Klamath River, OR
AGENCY: National Park Service, USDOI.
ACTION: Publication of draft report and environmental assessment for
public comment.
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SUMMARY: The National Park Service is publishing for public review and
comment a draft study report and environmental assessment on
designating the upper Klamath River, Oregon, into the National Wild and
Scenic Rivers System. The National Park Service has found that the
upper Klamath River is eligible for the national system and is
recommending as the preferred alternative that the river be designated.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 18, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft report and environmental assessment are
available for public inspection at: National Park Service, 909 First
Avenue, 4th Floor, Seattle, Washington 98104-1060; National Park
Service, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., suite 490, Washington, DC
20013-7127; and Bureau of Land Management, Klamath Falls Resource Area,
2795 Anderson Avenue, Building 25, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97603. Hours
of availability are between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. Additional copies for review are located in
the Klamath Falls, Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass, Oregon, libraries
during normal hours of operation. Copies of the draft report and
environmental assessment may be obtained from Dan Haas, National Park
Service, Pacific Northwest Regional Office, 909 First Avenue, Seattle,
Washington 98104-1060, (206) 220-4079, ext. 3.
Comments should be directed to the National Park Service Pacific
Northwest Regional Office, attention Dan Haas, at the address above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Haas, National Park Service,
Pacific Northwest Regional Office, 909 First Avenue, Seattle,
Washington 98104-1060, (206) 220-4079, ext. 3.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 22 of 1993, Earth Day, Oregon
Governor Barbara Roberts petitioned the Secretary of the Interior to
add an 11-mile reach of the upper Klamath River to the National Wild
and Scenic Rivers System. The section of river under consideration
extends from the John C. Boyle Hydroelectric Powerhouse (river mile
220.3) downstream to the Oregon-California border (river mile 209.3).
Under section 2(a)(ii) of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (P.L.
90-542, as amended), the Secretary has the authority to add a river to
the national system at the request of a state provided the state has
met certain conditions and the river meets eligibility criteria. These
preconditions are:
(1) The river is already designated into a state river protection
system.
(2) The state has the ability to manage the river at no cost to the
federal government, except for those lands already in federal
ownership.
(3) The river has resources of regional or national significance
and is free-flowing as defined by the Departments of the Interior and
Agriculture.
(4) The state has adequate mechanisms in place to protect the
resources for which the river is eligible in the first place.
Upon the request of a state governor to the Secretary, the National
Park Service, acting for the Secretary, undertakes an evaluation of the
state's request. The National Park Service requested the assistance of
the Bureau of Land Management in the preparation of the report and
environmental assessment. This was done for two reasons: (1) The Bureau
manages 75% of the area under consideration and (2) the Bureau has
conducted two previous assessments of the river--one for a
congressionally authorized wild and scenic river study, and one as part
of its normal resource management planning process. The Bureau of Land
Management agreed to act as a cooperator in the preparation of the
assessment.
As a result of the evaluation, the National Park Service has
concluded that the state of Oregon has met all requirements to include
the upper Klamath River in the national system and the river itself
meets all eligibility criteria. The National Park Service is
recommending as the preferred alternative that the Secretary designate
the upper Klamath as a National Scenic River.
Dated: February 22, 1994.
John Reynolds,
Acting Director, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 94-4963 Filed 3-3-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-M