On April 26, the White House issued a memo to several federal agencies articulating a strategy “to develop a conservation agenda worthy of the 21st Century.” The memo states that, “We must look to the private sector and nonprofit organizations, as well as towns, cities, and States, and the people who live and work in them, to identify the places that mean the most to Americans, and leverage the support of the Federal Government to help these community-driven efforts to succeed.”

What kinds of opportunities does this present here in the Hudson Valley?

Please offer comments below, and read the full memo on the White House website.

PART II: In a series on the MNRRA

The Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act (H.R. 4003), introduced November 2009 by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, references the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) as a potential precedent. This second installment in a series of articles on the MNRRA describes the public process leading up to this National Park Service designation.

Passage of  the 1988 legislation establishing  the MNRRA required the development of a comprehensive management plan (CMP). This legislation also established a 22-member Mississippi River Coordinating Commission composed of federal, state, and local officials and citizens to develop the management plan with public input from stakeholders.

In collaboration with the NPS, the Commission held 20 public hearings that included several citizen participants. In the early stages of this process, focus groups totaling 180 people from state and local agencies, businesses, and organizations provided assistance to the Commission and the NPS by gathering data, reviewing preliminary ideas, and developing vision statements.

In October 1991, the first draft vision statements and proposal were released in a project newsletter for public review.  This resulted in strong support for the vision statements. The Commission and NPS published a second newsletter in March 1992 that incorporated public feedback from the first draft.

During this period, local government representatives met in a special round of meetings to discuss the draft plan. In these meetings, local representatives favored a wide range of uses and activities for the corridor, emphasizing shared responsibility amongst all partners, and strengthening pollution control. In addition, the University of Minnesota conducted a survey of residents regarding attitudes about the river, which also helped to inform the plan.

As the plan started to take shape, the Commission and the NPS published a “notice of intent” in the Federal Register on July 14, 1992 to prepare an environmental impact study (EIS) in pursuant of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).  A year later in June of 1993, a draft CMP and EIS was published.  The draft CMP and EIS was thoroughly reviewed in four public hearings where it generated over 1,000 pages of written comments and more than 100 pages of hearing comments.  The Commission and NPS analyzed these comments and released a draft revised plan for public review in early 1994.

In April 1994, the Commission recommended the plan for review by the governor of Minnesota and the Secretary of the Interior.  The Secretary of the Interior approved the final CMP, which included a full EIS in 1995.  The final CMP provides guidance for the corridor for 10 to 15 years, the typical lifespan for a management plan of this type.  In 2009, a request was submitted to the NPS Midwest Regional Office for funding to begin development of a new management plan.

To read Part I in this series on the MNRRA, click HERE.