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Pursuant to 36 CFR ยง 1.5(a), Rock Creek Park, a unit of the National Park Service, is temporarily and partially closing certain parkland for a permitted special event activity from 12:00 pm Tuesday October 15, 2024 through 5:00 pm Thursday October 17, 2024. The closure includes the Nature Center Parking Lot, as well as mowed grass areas near the Nature Center. The closed area will be more particularly identified by sawhorse-style vehicle barricades and signage. For installation of large tents to support the event, from 12:00 pm Tuesday October 15, 2024 through 5:00 pm Thursday October 17, 2024, the east and north portions of the Nature Center Parking Lot as well as mowed grass areas to the west and southwest of the Nature Center will be closed to the public to protect public safety during the operation of heavy trucks, lifts, and other heavy equipment. The closure area will only be open to employees and contractors of the Special Event Permittee, during these dates. Visitor parking will remain open on the west side of the Nature Center Parking Lot on Tuesday October 15 and Thursday October 17, 2024. The entirety of the Nature Center Parking Lot, however, will be closed on Wednesday October 16, 2024. The event space will be opened to pre-registered guests Wednesday October 16, 2024 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The primary entrance for pre-registered guests attending will be at the southeast entrance to the Nature Center Parking Lot. The park closure is necessary for the safety of park users and the protection of natural and cultural resources in the permit area. Less restrictive measures will not suffice because of the necessity to maintain safety and resource protection. This temporary and partial closure is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a "significant alteration in the public use pattern." Indeed, other nearby park areas will remain open to the public. The closure will not adversely affect the park's natural, aesthetic, or cultural values; nor require significant modification to the resource management objectives; nor is it of a highly controversial nature. Accordingly, the National Park Service determines that publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 CFR 1.5(c). This is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial and temporary park closures, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. (Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C.); Picciotto v. United States, No. 94-1935 (D.D.C.); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C.); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C.); Spiegel v. Babbitt, 855 F.Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), affld in part w/o op. 56 F.3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995)) Pursuant to 36 CFR 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure will be made by sawhorse-style vehicle barricades identifying affected areas of Rock Creek Park and the posting of signs at conspicuous locations. Finally, pursuant to 36 CFR l.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request. Brian Joyner Superintendent (Acting) |
Last updated: October 15, 2024