General Management Plan1 I' I Environmental Impact Statement I NATIONAL PARK OF AMERICAN SAMOA October 1997 1 I United States Department of the InteriorINational Park Service Return to park web page, Park Planning "The young Samoan man carrying the au fa'i (banana bunch) on his shoulder is reflective of the Samoan way of life. Just as Samoans through the years have tended their bananas, I, too, have grown up on my grandfather's plantation where I help plant, cut and carry the au fa'i. So this picture that I painted represents not only Samoans generally but myself personally. " Brandon Avegalio Senior, Leone High School American Samoa General Management Plan1 Environmental Impact Statement National Park of American Samoa Territory of American Samoa The General Management PlanIEnvironmental Impact Statement presents a proposal and three alternatives for the future management, development, and public use of the National Park of American Samoa. Alternative A, the proposed action, calls for the implementation of management strategies to ensure the long-term protection of the national park's natural, cultural, and subsistence resources and the development of a full program to interpret those resources for visitors. The proposed action also calls for the development of those facilities needed to provide for visitor enjoyment of this new national park. Facility development within the national park is to be limited. Major facilities for visitors will be developed nearby outside of the national park. The villages located near the national park will be encouraged to provide traditional Samoan services for visitors. The national park is to be operated in a manner that is consistent with fa'asamoa, the traditional Samoan way of life. Alternative B, no action, is a continuation of the existing situation. There would be no facilities developed and national park resources would be inadequately protected. Visitor services would be substandard. The no action alternative would not achieve the purposes of this national park's authorizing legislation. ~lternativeC, minimum requirements, calls for only those actions necessary to meet legislative requirements and limits developments to those needed to make this national park operational in a way that provides for primary visitor use and 'resource protection. Alternative D, is the same as the proposal, except that the existing visitor center would be retained for use as an administrative headquarters and a new visitor center constructed within the national park at the top of Mt. Alava. Major impact topics assessed for all of the alternatives include vegetation, marine life, flying foxes and other native wildlife, archeological and subsistence resources, and the regional economy. The environmental consequences of the proposed action and the three alternatives were fully documented in the draft environmental impact statement and are presented again in the final. The public review period on the draft ended March 15, 1997. The results of public comment on the draft are included in this document. The no action period on this final plan and environmental impact statement will end 30 days after the Environmental Protection Agency has accepted the document and published a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. For further information, contact the Superintendent, National Park of American Samoa, Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799. SUMMARY This document consists of a general management plan and an environmental impact statement. Four alternatives have been identified and evaluated. These alternatives include the proposed action and a no action. The purpose of this general management plan is to guide the development and use of the National Park of American Samoa for the next 10 to 15 years. The plan's particular concerns are caring for natural and cultural resources of this national park, guiding visitor use, and ensuring that the traditions and customs of the Samoan culture are maintained within the national park. The environmental impact statement analyzes the environmental consequences of the four alternatives for managing the development and use of the National Park of American Samoa. The statement provides a discussion of the significant environmental impacts connected with the alternatives and identifies mitigating measures to reduce any adverse effects. The following alternatives take into account the significant and unique natural, cultural, and subsistence resources of this national park and the comments and concerns raised during the public review period on the draft general management planlenvironmental impact statement. Alternative A This alternative, the proposed action, is the National Park Service's (NPS) General Management Plan for the National Park of American Samoa. The plan contains proposals for the development of major facilities and access so that visitors to this new and, as yet, undeveloped national park may fully appreciate its significant attributes. A visitor centerlpark headquarters is proposed for construction in the Pago Pago Harbor area, and the nearby aerial tramway is to be replaced with a new system capable of bringing visitors into the Tutuila unit of the national park. These facilities are proposed on lands owned by the American Samoa Government (ASG) located outside of the national park. Modest facilities are proposed for the Ta'u and Ofu trails. No roads will be built within the national park. The villages located near the national park will be encouraged to provide national park visitors with food, beverage, and guide services and with traditional overnight accommodations. Under the proposed action, management strategies will be implemented by NPS to preserve and protect the nationally significant natural and cultural resources of this national park. These resource management strategies are to be based on scientific data gathered through active research programs and on NPS consultation with subsistence users of national park lands and waters. Traditional subsistence agriculture, gathering, and fishing uses within the national park are to be maintained. The proposed action calls for the development of a full interpretive program. The interpretive program is to focus on the traditional Samoan culture and on the tropical forest, flying fox, and coral reef resources of this national park. Construction costs connected with fully implementing the proposed action are estimated at about $13 million, and an additional $426,000 will be needed to rehabilitate and convert existing facilities for visitor use. An additional $780,000 will need to be added to the park's annual base funding to fully carry out operations. The proposed action provides for optional ASG funding for the construction of the proposed visitor centerlpark headquarters. Under this option, construction costs would be reduced by about $4.8 million. NPS would then lease the building from ASG. Lease costs are estimated to be about $15,0001month. The proposed action calls for NPS to operate this national park in a manner that is consistent with fa'asamoa, the traditional Samoan way of life. Within the national park, traditional customs and traditional subsistence uses of park lands and waters are to be maintained, so long as such uses are not inconsistent with the purposes for which the park was established. Impacts. No significant adverse environmental impacts are connected with the implementation of the proposed don; Overall, impacts under the proposed action will be beneficial. The access and facility developments proposed within the national park will have minimal and short-term adverse effects on the national park's natural and cultural resources. The beneficial effects of the proposed action on the park's resources will be long-term, brought about .largely by the implementation of resource management strategies and also by the development of an interpretive program to inform and educate visitors. Existing subsistence resources will be only minimally affected by the proposed action. Any adverse effects on subsistence resources will be mitigated. The proposed action will have a beneficial effect on the regional economy. These effects will be both long-term and short-term. Long-term benefits will come principally through new jobs and payroll generated in the Pago Pago area and in the villages adjacent to the national park. Most of the new jobs will be private sector, service related - transportation, overnight accommodations, food and beverage, and the sale of Samoan handicrafts. Short-term benefits to the region will come through jobs and payroll generated by the construction of the proposed visitor centerlheadquarters, the new aerial tramway, and other facilities connected with the development of the national park. There will be some short-term, adverse effects produced by the proposed action. These effects will be localized, confined to the Pago Pago area, and primarily in the form of increased traffic and noise occurring in the vicinity of major construction sites such as the visitor centerlheadquarters and the aerial tramway. There will also be some potential for the disruption of traditional village activities due national park visitors staying overnight. All of these adverse effects could be mitigated. Alternative B This is the no . action alternative, required by National Environmental Policy Act regulations to provide a baseline against which the other alternatives can be compared. The no action alternative is a continuation of the existing conditions. Under this alternative, no major rehabilitation