Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Announces a Finding of No Significant Impact and Finalization of the Park’s General Management Plan

News Release Date:
October 18, 2024

Contact:Laura Waller

BEAUFORT, SC - Reconstruction Era National Historical Park is pleased to announce the availability of the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the historic park's General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment (plan/EA). The FONSI, signed by the regional director on September 9, 2024, describes the final decision of the National Park Service.

The EA analyzed two alternatives: the no-action alternative, which provides a basis for comparing environmental impacts of the action alternative, and one action alternative for implementing the general management plan. The FONSI authorizes implementation of the preferred alternative, which includes management actions and strategies that focus on cultural resources management, natural resources management, visitor use and experience (including interpretive and educational programs, recreation, wayfinding, circulation, and visitor information), facilities, visitor services, and partnerships.

The FONSI explains why the selected alternative (i.e., the proposed action and preferred alternative contained in the plan/EA) will have no significant effects on the natural or human environment. The FONSI is based on the EA, as well as the comments received from the public and interested parties, agencies, and staff during the public review period that concluded on June 30, 2024. The FONSI summarizes the comments received, responds to those comments, and identifies changes to the text in the EA as a result of the comments.

The National Park Service has determined that implementation of the general management plan is not likely to result in significant impacts on the human or natural environment. Therefore, an environmental impact statement will not be prepared and a FONSI has been issued. The plan/EA and FONSI have been finalized and are presented in a single document available for viewing online at the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/REER_GMP.

About the Reconstruction Era NHP General Management Plan

As a new unit of the national park system, Reconstruction Era National Historic Park has developed a comprehensive general management plan, a broad document that identifies the park's long-term goals and guides visitor experience, management, park facilities development, and park operations for the next 20 years and beyond.

Reconstruction Era National Historical Park was designated a national monument on January 12, 2017, to recognize the role Beaufort County, South Carolina, played in shaping the historic period of Reconstruction. In March 2019, the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9) redesignated the park from a national monument to a national historical park, expanded the park boundary, and created the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network, to be administered by the park. The nationwide Reconstruction Era National Historic Network includes sites and programs affiliated with the Reconstruction era, but which the National Park Service does not necessarily manage. The act also authorized the National Park Service to expand the boundary of the park within the Beaufort National Historic Landmark District and on Saint Helena Island and to accept administrative jurisdiction from the US Navy at Camp Saxton. The park's general management plan includes guidance for the future management of the redesignated national historical park and criteria for future acquisitions within the park's boundary.

The National Park Service has limited land ownership within the park boundary, and partnerships are critical to sharing the story of the Reconstruction era. Consultation and coordination among partner organizations and key stakeholders was vitally important to this planning process, and will continue to be a focus of the implementation of the general management plan. The National Park Service thanks the partners and stakeholders identified in the General Management Plan for their assistance with its development.

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 430+ national park units and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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