On Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008, two public scoping meetings will be held to assist the National Park Service in developing an Environmental Assessment for planning the future management of the summit of Shasta Bally, the tallest peak in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.
The meetings will be held in the Community Room of Redding City Hall at 777 Cypress Avenue, Redding, California. The first meeting will begin at 2 p.m. and is designed for representatives of the businesses and agencies with telecommunication facilities currently located on the summit of Shasta Bally. The second meeting, at 6 p.m., will be primarily for the public interested in the future management of the summit of Shasta Bally Mountain.
It is the intent of the National Park Service to share with the public, the business community, and state and local agencies various alternatives for the future management of the summit of Shasta Bally. Those attending the meetings will be given an opportunity to provide oral and written comments, which will be collected and considered as part of the Environmental Assessment process. This will aid the National Park Service in complying with the National Environmental Policy Act when developing a recommended action.
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area was established in 1965 as a unit of the National Park Service. In July 2006, a lease held by California Oregon Broadcasting, Incorporated, expired. The lease had allowed the company to establish subleases for telecommunication towers and microwave repeaters on the summit of Shasta Bally Mountain. A lawsuit filed against the National Park Service was recently settled and this environmental assessment will be used to develop future management actions on the summit. Alternatives range from continuing the current operations to phasing out and re-locating the telecommunication facilities over a 10 to15 year period. The public is encouraged to review the alternatives and provide comments either at these meetings, online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ or by mail to P.O. Box 188, Whiskeytown, California.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
