[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 126 (Friday, June 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38824-38825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15678]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2310-0070-422]


Winter Use Plan, Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement, Yellowstone National Park

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Winter Use Plan, Yellowstone National Park.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) announces the 
availability of a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(Draft SEIS) for a Winter Use Plan for Yellowstone National Park, 
located in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

DATES: The National Park Service will accept comments from the public 
for 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
its Notice of Availability. The NPS intends to hold public meetings in 
Jackson, WY on July 16, 2012; West Yellowstone, MT on July 17, 2012; 
Bozeman, MT on July 18, 2012; and Cody, WY on July 19, 2012. Additional 
details regarding the public meeting locations and times can be found 
at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/YELL (click on the link to the 2012 
Supplemental Winter Use Plan EIS, and then on the Meeting Notices 
link).
    More information regarding Yellowstone in the winter, including 
educational materials and a detailed history of winter use in 
Yellowstone, is available at http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/winteruse/index.htm.

ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review and comment 
online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/YELL (click on the link to the 
2012 Supplemental Winter Use Plan EIS), and at Yellowstone National 
Park headquarters, Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wade Vagias, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone 
National Park, WY 82190, (307) 344-2035.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Four alternatives are considered in the 
Draft SEIS. Alternative 1, the no-action alternative, would not permit 
public over-snow vehicle (OSV) use in Yellowstone but would allow for 
approved non-motorized use to continue. Alternative 1 has been 
identified as the environmentally preferable alternative. Alternative 2

[[Page 38825]]

would manage OSV use at the same levels as the 2011/2012 interim rule 
(318 best available technology (BAT) snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches per 
day). Sylvan Pass would remain open. Alternative 3 would initially 
allow for the same level of use as alternative 2 (318 BAT snowmobiles 
and 78 snowcoaches per day), but would transition to snowcoaches only 
over a three year period beginning in the 2017/2018 winter season. Upon 
complete transition, there would be 0 snowmobiles and up to 120 
snowcoaches per day in the park, and Sylvan Pass would be closed.
    Alternative 4 is the NPS preferred alternative. This alternative 
would manage OSV use by transportation events. A total of 110 
transportation events would be allowed in the park each day. A 
transportation event would initially equal one snowcoach or one group 
of snowmobiles (average of 7 snowmobiles per group, averaged over the 
winter use season; groups could not exceed a maximum of 10 
snowmobiles). Operators would decide whether to use their daily 
allocation of transportation events for snowmobiles or snowcoaches, but 
no more than 50 daily transportation events could come from 
snowmobiles. OSV use would continue to be 100 percent guided, with four 
transportation events per day (one per gate) of up to 5 snowmobiles 
each allocated for non-commercially guided access. BAT requirements for 
snowmobiles would remain the same as the BAT requirements in the 2011/
2012 interim regulation until the 2017/2018 winter season, at which 
time additional sound and air emission requirements would be 
implemented. BAT requirements for snowcoaches would also be implemented 
beginning in the 2017/2018 season. If OSVs meet additional established 
standards for air and sound emissions beyond those required for BAT, 
the group size of snowmobiles would be allowed to increase from an 
average of 7 to an average of 8 per transportation event, and 
snowcoaches would be allowed to increase from one to two snowcoaches 
per transportation event. These changes would allow for an increase in 
visitation while reducing transportation-generated noise and air 
impacts. Sylvan Pass would remain open.
    If you wish to comment on the Draft Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement, you may submit your comments by any one of several 
methods. We encourage you to comment via the Internet at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/YELL (click on the link to the 2012 Supplemental 
Winter Use Plan EIS). You may also comment by mail to: Yellowstone 
National Park, Winter Use Draft SEIS, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone NP, WY 
82190. Finally, you may hand deliver your comments to: Management 
Assistant's Office, Headquarters Building, Mammoth Hot Springs, 
Yellowstone National Park, WY. Comments will not be accepted by fax, 
email, or in any other way than those specified above. Bulk comments in 
any format (hard copy or electronic) submitted on behalf of others will 
not be accepted.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Dated: June 21, 2012.
Colin Campbell,
Deputy Regional Director, Intermountain Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-15678 Filed 6-28-12; 8:45 am]
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