Comment Period Extended For Merced River Plan

YOSEMITE – The public comment period for the Merced Wild and Scenic River Draft Comprehensive Management and Environmental Impact Statement has been extended through Tuesday, Apr. 30.

Previously, the public comment period was slated to close on Thursday, Apr. 18.

“The MRP is an expansive document which guides park management actions for many years. We want to make sure the public has a thorough opportunity to review the draft plan and submit comments,” stated Kathleen Morse, Yosemite National Park’s Chief of Planning.This extension adds twelve days to the one hundred day the public comment period. The document was released for public review and comment on Jan. 8, 2013. So far, the park has received about 25,000 comments.

For a copy of the plan and a complete description of all alternatives, please visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/mrp.htm.

Comments on the MRP can be made through the website and the Public Comment (PEPC) website at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/mrp_deis.

Comments made through the PEPC website are the preferred method of submission. However, comments can also be sent via email to yose_planning@nps.gov or via U.S. mail to:

Superintendent

Yosemite National Park

Attn: Merced River Plan

P.O. Box 577

Yosemite, CA 95389

Based on a Settlement Agreement the park reached with the plaintiffs in September 2009, the MRP is mandated to be completed by the end of July 2013. The extension of the comment period will allow for park staff to collect and analyze all public comments which will become a part of the Final Merced River Plan.