[Federal Register: September 29, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 188)]
[Notices]               
[Page 52520]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29se99-78]                         

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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