[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 157 (Tuesday, August 13, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42050-42051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-20519]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
Designation of a Segment of the Wallowa River as a Component of
the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
AGENCY: Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the authority granted the Secretary of the
Interior by section 2(a)(ii) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (82 Stat
906, 16 U.S.C. 1273), and upon application by the Governor of the State
of Oregon, a 10-mile segment of the Wallowa River is hereby designated
as a state-administered component of the National Wild and Scenic
Rivers System (National System). This action is based on the
designation of the river by the State of Oregon and the protection
offered this river and its immediate environment by and pursuant to
applicable state laws and regulations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dan Haas, National Park Service, Pacific West Field Area Office, 909
First Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98104-1060, telephone (206) 220-4120.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 29, 1994, then Oregon Governor
Barbara Roberts petitioned the Secretary of the Interior to add a
segment of the Wallowa River to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System. Section 2(a)(ii) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act allows a
governor to request that rivers already protected in a state river
protection system be included in the National System. Governor Roberts
requested that a 10-mile reach of the Wallowa River, from the
confluence of the Wallowa and Minam Rivers (river mile 10) downstream
to the confluence of the Wallowa and Grande Ronde Rivers (river mile
0), be protected as a wild and scenic river. Pursuant to section
2(a)(ii),
[[Page 42051]]
the river will be managed by the State of Oregon at no cost to the
federal government, except for those lands currently managed by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
For a state-managed river to be eligible for the National System,
four conditions must be met: (1) The river is already designated as
part of a state river protection system; (2) the river has at least one
``outstandingly remarkable'' natural, cultural or recreational
resource--i.e., a resource of regional or national significance--and is
free-flowing as defined by the Departments of the Interior and
Agriculture; (3) the state has adequate mechanisms in place to protect
the resources for which the river is eligible for the National System;
and (4) the state has the institutional framework to manage the river
at no cost to the federal government, except for those lands already in
federal management.
The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for making
determinations of eligibility under section 2(a)(ii). The NPS Pacific
West Field Area conducted a study, with the BLM and the U.S. Forest
Service (USFS) acting as cooperating agencies. In April of 1995, the
NPS released the Draft Wallowa River 2(a)(ii) Wild & Scenic River Study
for public review and comment. A period for public comment was provided
from April 21, 1995, to June 22, 1995. The draft report was finalized
based on comments received.
Simultaneous with the release of the draft report, the NPS
announced it was adopting the Wallowa River Wild and Scenic River Study
Report and Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) in
fulfillment of National Environmental Policy Act requirements. The LEIS
was prepared by the USFS, with the NPS and BLM acting as cooperating
agencies. The LEIS was prepared at the direction of Congress under the
1988 Oregon Omnibus Rivers Act which mandated that the USFS study the
Wallowa River for possible inclusion into the National System. The
Preferred Alternative of the LEIS was designation of the river as wild
and scenic through section 2(a)(ii), subsequently leading to Governor
Roberts' request. The USFS filed the LEIS with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) on July 14, 1995, and notice was provided in
the Federal Register on July 21, 1995. Simultaneously, the NPS filed
with the EPA its notice of adoption of the LEIS, and this was also
notice in the Federal Register on July 21, 1995.
This action is taken following public involvement and consultation
with the Departments of Agriculture, Army, Energy and Transportation;
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; all Department of the
Interior agencies; the National Marine Fisheries Services; the State of
Oregon; the EPA; and all other Federal agencies that might have an
interest.
Based on the recommendations of the NPS and a review of all
relevant documents, I have determined that the 10-mile stretch of the
Wallowa River should be designated as a state-administered component of
the National System, as provided for in section 2(a)(ii) of the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act. Notice is hereby given that effective upon this
date, the segment of the Wallowa River from the confluence of the
Wallowa and Minam Rivers in the hamlet of Minam downstream to the
confluence of the Wallowa and Grande Ronde Rivers is approved for
inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System as a National
Recreational River.
Dated: July 23, 1996.
Bruce Babbitt,
Secretary of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 96-20519 Filed 8-12-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-M
