[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 14, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18211-18212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-9817]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Winter Use Plans, Environmental Impact Statement, Yellowstone and 
Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial 
Parkway, Wyoming

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
for the Winter Use Plans, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks 
and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act

[[Page 18212]]

(NEPA), the National Park Service is preparing an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for the Winter Use Plans for Yellowstone and Grand 
Teton National Parks and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway. 
This statement will be approved by John Cook, Intermountain Regional 
Director, National Park Service.
    Winter visitation in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and 
the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway is currently managed 
under a joint Winter Use Plan approved in 1990. Winter use in 
Yellowstone has increased dramatically from virtually none 30 years ago 
to more than 140,000 visits per season in the early 1990s. The rapid 
increase in winter visitation has raised concerns regarding a number of 
issues. These include, but are not limited to, impacts on natural 
resources, wildlife, noise and air pollution, crowding, availability of 
facilities and services, use restrictions, user group conflicts, and 
the importance of winter visitation to the local and regional economy.
    The objective for the Winter Use Plans is to provide future winter 
visitors in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. 
Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway with a full range of quality winter 
use experiences and settings from highly developed to primitive. These 
recreational experiences will be offered in an appropriate location or 
setting; they will not take place where they will adversely impact 
sensitive natural resources, wildlife, cultural areas, or the 
experiences of other park visitors. In order to ensure the safety of 
all park visitors and employees, conflicts between different types of 
user groups will be minimized. Finally, winter recreation within 
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and John D. Rockefeller, 
Jr., Memorial Parkway should complement or remain subordinate to the 
unique aspects of each landscape within the ecosystem.
    The Winter Use Plans will define specific resource conditions and 
visitor experiences that are to be achieved and maintained over time. 
The parks will be subdivided into meaningful geographic management 
units or zones. The kinds and levels of visitor use, management 
activities and development that are appropriate for each unit will be 
identified. The articulation of desired conditions is particularly 
important since it is the resulting condition, not the action, that is 
the basis for decision making. Identifying the desired resource 
condition and visitor experience provides the framework or parameters 
for establishing and monitoring visitor capacities. The qualitative 
terms identified in the plans will then be translated into quantitative 
standards over time during monitoring and implementation. Generally 
speaking, decision making in this planning effort will be focused on 
desired resource conditions and experiences rather than on the details 
of how they should be achieved.
    The environmental impact statement will document the possible 
effects of a full range of plan scenarios that satisfy the above 
purpose and need for action.

Public Information

    In 1994 the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service began 
to work on a coordinated interagency report on winter visitor use 
management. The interagency planning team produced a draft report on 
the results of their work in the summer of 1997. The preliminary 
report, Winter Visitor Use Management: A Multi-Agency Assessment (1997) 
was on public review from June through September 1997. In addition to 
soliciting written comments, the team held a series of eight public 
meetings throughout the Greater Yellowstone Area from February through 
May 1996. The issues and concerns identified in the interagency 
planning process will be carried forward to the Winter Use Plans and 
EIS.
    Additional public open houses or workshops will be held in the 
summer of 1998. These workshops will be advertised through press 
releases, park information media and public notices (details will be 
available upon request via the contacts listed below). A series of 
newsletters will also be published at key points during the progress of 
the document.
    The States of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, as well as Teton County, 
Wyoming; Park County, Wyoming; Fremont County, Idaho; Park County, 
Montana; Gallatin County, Montana and the U.S. Forest Service have been 
invited to participate in the NEPA process as cooperating agencies. The 
National Park Service is the lead agency on this project.
    A scoping brochure will be prepared that details the issues 
identified to date. Copies of that information can be obtained via the 
contact listed below.
    Comments: All individuals, organizations, agencies or entities that 
are interested in or may be affected by the proposed plans are 
encouraged to share comments about issues or concerns that should be 
addressed during the environmental impact statement process. Written 
comments concerning the Winter Use Plans and EIS should be postmarked 
no later than ninety (90) days from the publication of this notice. 
Written comments on the Winter Use Plans or EIS should be addressed to 
Winter Use Plan, Planning Office, Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, 
Wyoming 82190. Telephone inquiries regarding public meetings may be 
directed to the contacts listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact Planning Office, Box 168, Yellowstone 
National Park, Wyoming 82190, (307) 344-2024 or Planning Office, Box 
170, Grand Teton National Park, Moose, Wyoming 83012, (307) 739-3486.
    Information may also be obtained via the Internet at www.nps.gov/
yell/winteruseplan/htm

    Dated: April 9, 1998.
Abigail Miller,
Deputy Associate Director, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science.
[FR Doc. 98-9817 Filed 4-13-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P