[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19685-19686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7719]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-NCRO-MONO-0811-7948; 3130-SZM]
Notice of a Record of Decision; Monocacy National Battlefield
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of a Record of Decision on the Final Environmental
Impact Statement for the General Management Plan, Monocacy National
Battlefield.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) announces
the availability of the Record of Decision for the General Management
Plan, Monocacy National Battlefield. Maryland. As soon as practicable,
the NPS will begin to implement the preferred alternative as contained
in the Final Environmental Impact Statement issued by the NPS on August
27, 2010, and summarized in the Record of Decision. Copies of the
Record of Decision may be obtained from the contact listed below or
online at www.nps.gov/mono.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Hayes, National Park Service,
1100 Ohio Drive SW, Washington, DC 20242, (202) 619-7277,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Record of Decision includes a statement
of the decision made, synopses of other alternatives considered, the
basis for the decision, a description of the environmentally preferable
alternative, a finding on impairment of park resources and values, a
listing of measures to minimize environmental harm and an overview of
public involvement in the decision-making process.
Alternative 4 is the Selected Alternative. The following course of
action will occur under Alternative 4:
All historic structures will be preserved and maintained, and the
historic farmlands will continue to be leased to retain their use in
agriculture. The outbuildings on the Best Farm will remain open. The
Worthington House will be rehabilitated inside and be open to visitors
with exhibits.
Monocacy National Battlefield administration will be moved into the
rehabilitated Thomas House. The stone tenant house on the Thomas farm
will contain exhibits and restrooms. Monocacy National Battlefield
maintenance will continue to operate from its current location in a
nonhistoric structure near the Gambrill Mill and be redesigned to meet
the needs for office, vehicle storage, and work space.
Three nonhistoric structures will be removed from the landscape--
two structures are houses constructed of cinderblocks, and the third is
a historic toll house that was moved to the site from its original
location. It is in severely deteriorated condition and lacks integrity,
and its proximity to the intersection of Araby Church Road and Maryland
Highway 355 (MD-355) makes it a safety concern.
The entrance to the 14th New Jersey Monument will be shifted south
to allow better sight distances entering and exiting MD-355. An
existing informal parking area on the east side of MD-355 used by
fishermen will be closed and the area relandscaped. River access will
continue from the 14th New Jersey Monument parking area. A landscaped
commemorative area will be created at the site of the Pennsylvania and
Vermont Monuments as a location for any new memorials that may be added
to the Monocacy National Battlefield in the future.
Visitors will use their own vehicles to drive around the Monocacy
National Battlefield using existing roadways (Baker Valley Road, Araby
Church Road, and MD-355). The possibility of a pedestrian deck spanning
Interstate 270 (I-270) is being evaluated in consultation with the
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) as mitigation for MDOT
widening of I-270 through the Monocacy National Battlefield. If the
deck proves feasible and if an agreement can be worked out, it will
provide a trail spanning I-270 that connects the Worthington and Thomas
farms.
A new trail extension of the Gambrill Mill Trail will enable
visitors to walk to the railroad junction and on to the sites of the
Union entrenchments and Wallace's headquarters, all important
interpretive locations within the Monocacy National Battlefield.
Upgraded interpretation using new signs, wayside markers and brochures
will be developed. Natural resource areas along rivers and drainages
and along the heights behind the Worthington farmhouse will remain
undeveloped and protected.
This course of action and three alternatives were analyzed in the
Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements. Three actions were key
in the decision to make Alternative 4 the selected alternative.
First, moving the maintenance and administrative functions from the
park into rental space in nearby Frederick, as would have occurred in
Alternative 2, would have allowed the removal of the existing metal
maintenance structure from the battlefield landscape and the commercial
leasing of the Thomas House. However, this would have increased the
amount of driving by park staff on busy MD-355 and would have unduly
separated park staff from the resources managed and interpreted. It
would also have placed a commercial use within the heart of the
national battlefield (the lease of the Thomas House).
Second, an alternative transportation system in Alternative 2 would
have decreased visitor driving within the park, made visitor access to
park areas safer by obviating the use of busy MD-355, and decreased the
size of parking areas at each site. This system weighed heavily in the
selection of Alternative 2 as the environmentally preferable
alternative. However, current visitation does not make such a system
financially feasible as a commercial operation and there is no
guarantee that such a system would be financially feasible in the
future. Both Alternatives 3 and 4 utilize personal vehicles to access
the park.
Third, Alternatives 2 and 4 include a connection of the Thomas and
Worthington farms via a deck over I-270, while Alternative 3 does not.
A connection of the two farms is an important interpretive tool
allowing visitors and park staff to easily move back and forth between
the two properties.
As a result Alternative 4 was selected to better connect park staff
to the resource, (2) to more fully consider the financial feasibility
of alternative transportation at this time, and (3) to
[[Page 19686]]
ensure the connection of the Thomas and Worthington farms both
physically and interpretively.
The full range of foreseeable environmental consequences was
assessed, and appropriate mitigating measures were identified.
The Regional Director, National Capital Region approved the Record
of Decision for the project on November 16, 2010. The official
primarily responsible for implementing the General Management Plan is
the Superintendent of Monocacy National Battlefield.
Dated: July 22, 2011.
Stephen E. Whitesell,
Regional Director, National Capital Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-7719 Filed 3-30-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-57-P