Saint Croix Island International Historic Site: Environmental Assessment Visitor Facilities Improvements

National Park Service, Acadia National Park

The National Park Service is proposing to make improvements at the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site to improve the visitor experience at the mainland observation area, and to assure that the facilities are handicapped-accessible in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-480), and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112). The site consists of Saint Croix Island, an island in the Saint Croix River with culturally significant remains of one of the first French settlements in the New World. The site also includes land on the mainland that provides an overlook of the island. The Project consists of improving the mainland observation/interpretative area by adding an interpretive trail, adding parking and event areas, and improving access for persons with disabilities. Improvements on the island include rehabilitating a culturally significant structure, replacing the access stairway, adding signage, and revegetating an eroding slope. The improvements to the site are intended to maintain Saint Croix Island as undeveloped as possible because of its vulnerability and to focus interpretive efforts on the mainland. These changes should preserve primary site resources and provide interpretive and commemorative components that develop a sense of place surrounding the beginnings of a French legacy in North America. In 1998, the National Park Service prepared a General Management Plan that included a Final Environmental Impact Statement for the site, and issued a Record of Decision. Subsequently the National Park Service has acquired additional land parcels within the site boundary and advanced the alternatives to a higher level of design. This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared to evaluate alternatives for improvements that include the newly acquired parcels. This EA presents the purpose and need for the Project, describes the alternatives that have been considered by the National Park Service, and evaluates the potential environmental effects of each action. An environmentally preferred alternative is presented.