[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 52520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25278]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Winter Use Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and John D. Rockefeller,
Jr., Memorial Parkway, Wyoming
AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Availability of the Winter Use Plan, Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and John
D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, the National Park Service announces the
availability of the Winter Use Plan, Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and John
D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway, Wyoming and Montana.
DATES: The Winter Use Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and John D. Rockefeller,
Jr., Memorial Parkway will remain available for public review through
November 15, 1999. Public meetings concerning the plan will be held in
Livingston and West Yellowstone, Montana; Jackson and Cody, Wyoming;
Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Denver, Colorado. Dates, times, and locations
will be announced at a later date.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the Winter Use Plan, Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and John
D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway should be sent to Clifford
Hawkes, National Park Service, Denver Service Center, 12795 West
Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, Colorado 80228. Public reading copies of the
plan are available on the Internet (nps.gov/planning/yell/winteruse)
and will be available for review at the following locations:
Office of the Superintendent
Clifford Hawkes, National Park Service, Denver Service Center 12795
W. Alameda Parkway, Denver, CO 80225-0287, Telephone: (303) 969-2262
Office of Public Affairs, National Park Service, Department of
Interior, 18th and C Streets NW, Washington, DC 20240, Telephone: (202)
208-6843
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Winter Use Plan, Draft Environmental
Impact Statement for the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway analyzes 7 winter use
management alternatives for the parks and the justification,
anticipated impacts and relevant scientific research regarding each of
the alternatives.
Under Alternative A-No Action, current use and management practices
in the parks and Parkway would continue. Alternative B, the preferred
alternative, provides a moderate range of affordable and appropriate
winter visitor experiences. Air quality and oversnow motor vehicle
sound would be addressed, and by the winter of 2008-2009, strict
emission and sound requirements would be required by all oversnow
vehicles entering the parks. The preferred alternative also emphasizes
an adaptive approach to park resource management, which would allow the
results of new and ongoing research and monitoring to be incorporated.
Alternative C maximizes winter visitor opportunities for a range of
park experiences, while preserving natural resources and addressing
safety concerns. Alternative D stresses visitor access to unique winter
features in the parks. This alternative emphasizes clean, quiet modes
of travel, visitor activities focused near destination areas, and a
minimization of conflicts between nonmotorized and motorized users.
Under alternative E the protection of wildlife and natural resources is
emphasized while allowing park visitors access to a range of winter
recreation experiences. Alternative E uses an adaptive planning
approach that allows new information to be incorporated. Alternative F
stresses the protection of wildlife resources by focusing winter
visitor activities in Yellowstone National Park outside important
winter range for large ungulate species, and closing north and west
roads to winter use. For Grand teton National Park and the Parkway,
this alternative emphasizes the protection of all resources by focusing
developments, oversnow motorized trails and zones, and nonmotorized
trails and zones in certain areas, while still allowing park visitors
opportunities for a range of winter recreational experiences.
Alternative G places the highest priority on clean quiet oversnow
access to the parks using present technologies.
The Winter Use Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and John D. Rockefeller,
Jr., Memorial Parkway in particular evaluates the environmental
consequences of the proposed action and the other alternatives on
wildlife, air quality, natural quiet, local economies, and visitor
experience.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clifford Hawkes, National Park
Service, Denver Service Center, 12795 West Alameda Parkway, Lakewood,
Colorado 80228.
Dated: September 20, 1999.
Michael D. Synder,
Acting Regional Director, Intermountain Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 99-25278 Filed 9-28-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P
