[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 60 (Monday, March 30, 1998)] [Notices] [Pages 15213-15214] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-8275] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. [[Page 15214]] 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] BILLING CODE 4310-70-P