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Development Concept Plan for Kingsley Plantation
Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve » Development Concept Plan for Kingsley Plantation » Document List
Kingsley Plantation is located on the northernmost point of Fort George Island in Jacksonville, Florida. The plantation, which lies on more than 60 acres, is the oldest surviving example of an antebellum Spanish Colonial plantation. The tabby cabins that were home to enslaved Africans at the site represent one of the largest intact collections of such buildings in the United States and serve as a window into the lives of the enslaved people at the plantation. The cultural landscape of Kingsley Plantation gives a voice to the plantation owners and enslaved Africans who lived and worked there. The DCP/EA updates the existing management guidance for the Kingsley Plantation present in the preserve's General Management Plan (GMP), which was developed in 1996. Several major changes have occurred that called for a reexamination of recommendations in the GMP, including archeological discoveries, updated guidance on the cultural landscape, land acquisition, and increases in visitation and traffic.
The EA analyzed three alternatives: the no-action alternative, which provides a basis for comparing environmental impacts of the action alternatives, and two action alternatives for implementing changes at Kingsley Plantation. The FONSI authorizes implementation of the preferred alternative, as described in the EA. The FONSI was signed by the NPS regional director on October 16, 2023. It includes response a to public comments, an errata to the EA, and describes the final decision of the National Park Service.
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 July 30, 2023. The FONSI summarizes the public comments received and identifies changes to the text in the EA occurring after the public comment period.
Further compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act will be undertaken in a phased approach that will address each individual proposed undertaking outlined in the plan as they are implemented, as described in the FONSI.
The National Park Service has determined that the proposed action 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 are available for viewing online here on the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website.