[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 133 (Wednesday, July 12, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35839-35842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-16965]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

36 CFR Parts 5 and 7

RIN 1024-AC15


Glacier National Park; Fishing Regulations, Motorboat Regulations 
and Commercial Passenger-Carrying Motor Vehicle Regulations

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service is publishing final rules for 
Glacier National Park revising its current regulations regarding sport 
fishing, motorboats and commercial passenger-carrying motor vehicles.
    The National Park Service (NPS) is replacing the current Glacier 
National Park fishing regulations with a regulation that gives the Park 
Superintendent more discretion in managing the Park's fisheries. This 
final rule will continue to allow fishing in most streams, rivers and 
lakes in Glacier National Park. The Superintendent, however, will have 
the authority to close areas to fishing or establish conditions for 
fishing consistent with the park's fisheries program objectives, 
without going through the formal rulemaking process. As a consequence, 
the park will be more responsive to the changing needs of its fisheries 
program.
    Effects of this rule are expected to be minimal and should not 
alter, to any degree, the number of angler days presently occurring.
    The NPS is modifying the motorboat regulations in Glacier National 
Park. This final rule change will prohibit motorboat use on Kintla 
Lake, located within the North Fork area of the park. The 1974 Glacier 
Environmental Statement/Wilderness Recommendation included Kintla Lake 
as recommended wilderness and indicated that if Congress designated 
this area as wilderness, motorboating--a traditional activity on Kintla 
Lake--would be eliminated. Glacier's 1992 North Fork Management Plan's 
preferred alternative includes the prohibition of motorboats on Kintla 
Lake. With this change in place, the park staff will be able to more 
effectively protect wilderness values and accomplish the management 
goals and objectives outlined in the North Fork Management Plan. 
Effects of this rule are expected to be minimal in terms of the number 
of park visitors affected. A small group of motorboat users will be 
displaced from Kintla Lake. However, a more desirable wilderness 
experience will be provided for users of non-motorized craft to enjoy 
solitude and quiet without the disruption of motor noise.
    The NPS is modifying the commercial passenger-carrying motor 
vehicle regulations for Glacier National Park. This final rule change 
will clarify the exceptions to the prohibition within Glacier National 
Park and will expand the areas of the park where non-permitted 
commercial passenger-carrying motor vehicles are allowed. The effects 
of this rule on tour operators will be to clarify and add consistency 
to current restrictions. The modification of the existing regulation 
will recognize and conform the regulations to the current practices of 
the Park. Effects of this rule on the visitor are expected to be 
minimal.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 11, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred Vanhorn, (406) 888-5441.

[[Page 35840]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    The proposed rule for these regulations was published in the 
Federal Register on Mar. 31, 1994, at 59 FR 15142.

Background

Fishing Regulations

    The present Glacier National Park fishing regulations are codified 
in 36 CFR 7.3 (a), (b) and (c). They permit fishing in selected waters 
of the park with a variety of regulations covering specific lakes and 
streams.
    Technical fishery assistance has been provided to Glacier National 
Park by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its predecessors for 45 
years. The present objectives have evolved since 1976 and are 
consistent with the park's primary purpose, which is to ``preserve 
natural environments and native plant and animal life, and to provide 
for the enjoyment of the same in ways that maintain natural 
conditions''. Thus, the specific objectives of the park's fishery 
program are:
    1. To manage the fishery as an integral part of the park's 
ecosystem.
    2. To restore and preserve native species and aquatic habitats.
    3. To provide recreational fishing for the enjoyment of the park 
visitors when consistent with the two previous objectives.
    Attainment of these objectives requires that angler harvests not 
alter native species natural replenishment rates or age structure, or 
significantly reduce numbers, biomass, or sizes from those occurring in 
un-fished populations. This management objective necessitates both a 
philosophical and literal distinction between recreational angling and 
removing fish for consumption. Protective policies of the NPS that have 
prevented significant degradation of that aquatic habitat have also 
restricted the use of maintenance stocking in park waters. Given these 
constraints, special angling regulations have become the primary means 
to accomplish park fishery objectives.
    Regulations used to protect fish and maintain angling quality have 
included manipulating season dates, bait and terminal gear restrictions 
and the use of creel limits, including catch and release. Additionally, 
various waters have been closed to anglers in order to protect 
threatened and endangered species, nesting birds and for visitor 
protection.
    Because of the introduction of non-native fish in the past, the 
invasion of non-native fish from outside the park at present, the 
recognition of the westslope cutthroat and bull trout as species of 
special concern by the State of Montana, and fishing pressure in 
selected waters within the park, park management must be able to 
respond rapidly to changes that occur in a dynamic ecosystem resulting 
from human and natural conditions.
    The new park fishing regulations will allow the Superintendent the 
ability to make routine changes in the regulations locally and in a 
timely manner, using discretionary authority provided by NPS general 
regulations found at 36 CFR 1.5. This procedure will afford greater 
protection to the park's aquatic resources, be more responsive to 
public needs and allow the park managers greater flexibility in 
responding to specific situations.
    Public notice of restrictions established by the Superintendent 
will be provided through signs, maps, brochures, newspaper notices and 
other appropriate methods as required by 36 CFR 1.7. Detailed 
information pertaining to the nature and extent of fishing restrictions 
will be readily available to anglers in the park.
    The park's fishing regulations will be reviewed annually and made a 
part of the Superintendent's compendium.

Motorboat Regulations

    The present Glacier National Park motorboat regulations are 
codified in 36 CFR 7.3(f). They limit motorboats and motor vessels to 
ten (10) horsepower or less on Kintla, Bowman and Two Medicine Lakes. 
This restriction does not apply to sightseeing vessels operated by an 
authorized concessioner on Two Medicine Lake. They also prohibit all 
motorboats and motor vessels on Swiftcurrent Lake, except for 
authorized concessioner sightseeing vessels.
    The issue of motorboat use in wilderness is addressed in chapter 
6:8 of the NPS Management Policies. It is stated that ``the Wilderness 
Act authorized continuation of motorboat and aircraft use under certain 
circumstances where those activities were established prior to 
wilderness designation. The National Park Service will limit 
authorization for the continued use of any motorized equipment in 
wilderness to situations where such use has been specifically 
authorized by Congress and determined by Congress or the Park Service 
to be compatible with the purpose, character, and resource values of 
the particular wilderness area involved''.
    The 1974 Glacier Environmental Statement/Wilderness Recommendation 
included Kintla and Bowman Lakes in recommended wilderness and 
indicated that if Congress designated these areas as wilderness, 
motorboating--a traditional activity on Kintla Lake--would be 
eliminated. The original recommendation was modified in 1984 to permit 
motorboats of up to ten (10) horsepower on both lakes. Congress has not 
yet acted on the NPS wilderness recommendation and boats with motors up 
to 10 horsepower have continued to be allowed on Kintla Lake over the 
past 15 years. The need for motorboating on Kintla Lake and the 
potential impacts of continuing or prohibiting this use was assessed in 
the 1992 North Fork Management Plan.
    The 1992 Plan calls for the elimination of motorboats on Kintla 
Lake. Kintla Lake would thus become the only road-accessible lake in 
the park where motorized watercraft are not permitted, and it would 
provide opportunities for users of non-motorized watercraft to enjoy 
solitude and quiet without the disruption of motor noise.
    An NPS patrol boat would be kept in the Kintla Lake boathouse for 
emergency use only. Routine patrols would be made by non-motorized 
watercraft.
    The following goals and objectives, developed by the NPS to guide 
use and management of the North Fork, relate directly to this rule 
change. They are based on public use surveys and general perceptions of 
the area and are included in the North Fork Management Plan:
    Goal:
    * ``To maintain the dynamic natural ecosystem.''
    Objectives:
    * ``To continue to manage the portion of the North Fork area that 
has been recommended for wilderness according to NPS wilderness 
management policies.''
    * ``To maintain the quality and natural flow of park waters.''
    * ``To minimize man-made noise.''
    Goal:
    * ``To maintain the area's value as a wilderness threshold.''
    Objectives:
    * ``To maintain a primitive atmosphere associated with an earlier 
point in time and to provide facilities, services, and programs in 
keeping with that atmosphere.''
    * ``To retain a sense of solitude, require a high degree of visitor 
self-reliance and ensure freedom from constraint.''
    Goal:
    * ``To provide quality, diversity, and safety in the visitor 
experience.''
    Objectives:
    * ``To provide a visitor experience that is different from those in 
more developed and accessible parts of the park.''
    The new motorboat regulations will allow the Superintendent to 
manage the 

[[Page 35841]]
Kintla Lake area in accordance with the 1992 North Fork Management Plan 
(approved May 20, 1992). Public notice of the motorboat prohibition on 
Kintla Lake will be provided through signs, maps, brochures, and media 
news releases.

Commercial Passenger-Carrying Motor Vehicle Regulations

    The present Glacier National Park commercial passenger-carrying 
motor vehicle regulations are codified in 36 CFR 5.4(a) (Commercial 
passenger-carrying motor vehicles). It prohibits commercial 
transportation of passengers by motor vehicles except as authorized 
under a contract or permit from the Secretary or his authorized 
representative in Glacier National Park, except that portion of the 
park road from the Sherburne entrance to the Many Glacier area. 
Commercial passenger-carrying motor vehicles are not currently 
addressed in 36 CFR 7.3 (Special Regulations, Glacier National Park).
    Under the existing Concessions Contract (CC1430-1-0002) with 
Glacier Park, Inc. (GPI), GPI had the preferential right, until 
December 31, 1985, to provide all transportation service in Glacier, 
with the exception of transportation on the road between Sherburne 
entrance and the Many Glacier area. No other commercial transportation 
services were allowed into the park without first entering into a trip 
lease agreement with GPI, thereby reimbursing GPI for the right to 
enter the park under the auspices of GPI's Concessions Contract. As of 
January 1, 1986, this preferential right was modified to reflect only a 
right of first refusal to provide transportation services for 
prearranged tour groups, unscheduled scenic tours over that portion of 
the Going-to-the-Sun Road between Lake McDonald Lodge and Rising Sun, 
and for daily scheduled public transportation service within Glacier 
National Park. This, in effect, allowed unscheduled scenic tours from 
outside the park to enter the park from the west as far as Lake 
McDonald Lodge, from the east as far as Rising Sun and to the Two 
Medicine area, as well as to the Many Glacier area.
    Current CFR language requires a separate contract or permit for 
each tour company entering Glacier National Park. Several hundred of 
these tours travel to Glacier each season. These tours are unscheduled, 
sporadic transportation services that, in most cases, only involve 
transportation to and from a park facility. Requiring separate 
concessions contracts or permits would place an unnecessary burden on 
the NPS as well as the tour operators.
    The NPS has amended Section 5.4(a) to allow the exceptions as 
listed in Section 7.3(f) (revised) to show when and where these 
restrictions do not apply.
    The final regulations clarify the areas where commercial passenger-
carrying motor vehicle operations are allowed and assist the 
Superintendent in equitably and effectively managing the permitting 
process.
    Public notice of the commercial passenger-carrying motor vehicle 
regulations will be provided through public notices and media news 
releases.

Comments Received

    The public had extensive opportunity to comment on this rule during 
the proposed rulemaking process and during the development of the 
Management Plan Environmental Assessment for the North Fork Study Area. 
Comments received were taken into consideration in the formulation of 
this final rule. During the public comment period of the proposed rule, 
only one letter was received from the public requesting additional 
information, which the park provided.

Drafting Information

    The primary authors of the final fishing regulation are Dr. Leo 
Marnell, Aquatic Biologist, and William Michels, Natural Resource 
Specialist, Glacier National Park.

    The primary author of the final commercial vehicle regulation is 
Fred Vanhorn, Protection Specialist, Glacier National Park.
    The primary author of the final motorboat regulation is Roger L. 
Semler, Wilderness Manager, Glacier National Park.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule does not contain information collection requirements that 
require approval by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 USC 
3501 et seq.

Compliance With Other Laws

    This rule was not subject to Office of Management and Budget review 
under Executive Order 12866. The Department of the Interior has 
determined that this document will not have a significant economic 
effect on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 USC 601 et seq.). The economic effects of this 
rulemaking are local in nature and negligible in scope.

    The NPS has determined that this final rulemaking will not have a 
significant effect on the quality of the human environment, health and 
safety because it is not expected to:

    (a) Increase public use to the extent of compromising the nature 
and character of the area or causing physical damage to it;

    (b) Introduce incompatible uses which compromise the nature and 
character of the area or causing physical damage to it;

    (c) Conflict with adjacent ownerships or land uses; or

    (d) Cause a nuisance to adjacent owners or occupants.

    Based on this determination, the regulation is categorically 
excluded from the procedural requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA; 42 USC 4321, et seq.), and by Departmental guidelines 
in 516 DM 6 (49 FR 21438). As such, neither an Environmental Assessment 
(EA) nor an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has not been prepared.

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Parts 5 and 7

    National parks; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    In consideration of the foregoing, 36 CFR chapter I, parts 5 and 7 
are amended as follows:

PART 5--COMMERCIAL AND PRIVATE OPERATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 5 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1, 3, 9a, 17j-2, 462.

    2. Section 5.4(a) is amended by revising in the first sentence the 
parenthetical phrase ``(prohibition does not apply to that portion of 
the park road from the Sherburne entrance to the Many Glacier area)'' 
to read as follows:

Sec. 5.4  Commercial passenger-carrying motor vehicles.

    (a) * * * (prohibition does not apply to nonscheduled tours on 
portions of the park road as defined in Sec. 7.3 of this chapter) * * *
* * * * *

PART 7--SPECIAL REGULATIONS, AREAS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM

    3. The authority citation for part 7 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1, 3, 9a, 460(q), 462(k); Sec. 7.96 also 
issued under D.C. Code 80-137 (1981) and D.C. Code 40-721 (1981).

    4. Section 7.3 is amended by revising paragraphs (a), removing 
paragraphs (b) and (c), redesignating paragraph (d) as new paragraph 
(b), redesignating paragraph (e) as new paragraph (c), redesignating 
paragraph (f) as new paragraph (d) and revising it, redesignating 
paragraph (g) as new 

[[Page 35842]]
paragraph (e) and adding the heading ``Canadian dollars'', and adding 
new paragraph (f) to read as follows:


Sec. 7.3  Glacier National Park.

    (a) Fishing. (1) Fishing regulations, based on management 
objectives described in the park's Resource Management Plan, are 
established annually by the Superintendent.
    (2) The Superintendent may impose closures and establish conditions 
or restrictions, in accordance with the criteria and procedures of 
Secs. 1.5 and 1.7 of this chapter, or any activity pertaining to 
fishing, including but not limited to, species of fish that may be 
taken, seasons and hours during which fishing may take place, methods 
of taking, size, location, and possession limits.
    (3) Fishing in violation of a condition or restriction established 
by the Superintendent is prohibited.
* * * * *
    (d) Motorboats. (1) Motorboats and motor vessels are limited to ten 
(10) horsepower or less on Bowman and Two Medicine Lakes. This 
restriction does not apply to sightseeing vessels operated by an 
authorized concessioner on Two Medicine Lake.
    (2) All motorboats and motor vessels except the authorized, 
concessioner-operated, sightseeing vessels are prohibited on 
Swiftcurrent Lake.
    (3) The operation of all motorboats and motor vessels are 
prohibited on Kintla Lake.
* * * * *
    (f) Commercial passenger-carrying motor vehicles. The prohibition 
against the commercial transportation of passengers by motor vehicles 
to Glacier National Park, contained in Sec. 5.4 of this chapter, shall 
be subject to the following exceptions:
    (1) Commercial transport of passengers by motor vehicles on those 
portions of the park roads from Sherburne entrance to the Many Glacier 
area; from Two Medicine entrance to Two Medicine Lake; from West 
Glacier entrance to the Camas Entrance; U.S. Highway 2 from Walton to 
Java; and the Going-to-the-Sun Road from West Glacier entrance to Lake 
McDonald Lodge and from St. Mary entrance to Rising Sun will be 
permitted.
    (2) Commercial passenger-carrying motor vehicles operated in the 
above areas, on a general, infrequent, and nonscheduled tour in which 
the visit to the park is incidental to such tour, and carrying only 
round-trip passengers traveling from the point of origin of the tour, 
will be accorded admission to the park. Such tours shall not provide, 
in effect, a regular and duplicating service conflicting with, or in 
competition with, the tours provided for the public pursuant to 
contract authorization from the Secretary as determined by the 
Superintendent.

    Dated: June 16, 1995.
George T. Frampton, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 95-16965 Filed 7-11-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P