Special Regulations; Areas of the National Park System, 70781-70804 [E7-24175]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 239 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70781-70804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24175]



[[Page 70781]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

36 CFR Part 7

RIN 1024-AD55


Special Regulations; Areas of the National Park System

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule governs winter visitation and certain recreational 
use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. 
Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. This final rule is issued to 
implement the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Winter Use Plans Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) approved November 20, 2007, and 
will ensure that visitors have an appropriate range of winter 
recreation opportunities that are appropriate to the national park 
setting, and that these activities do not impair park resources and 
values. The rule requires that most recreational snowmobiles and 
snowcoaches operating in the parks meet certain air and sound emissions 
requirements, that snowmobilers and snowcoach riders in Yellowstone be 
accompanied by a commercial guide, and sets daily entry limits on the 
numbers of snowmobiles and snowcoaches that may enter the parks. 
Traveling off designated oversnow routes will remain prohibited. The 
FEIS, ROD, and other documents pertaining to winter use management in 
the parks can be found at https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/
winteruse.htm.

DATES: This regulation is effective on December 19, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Sacklin, Management Assistant's 
Office, Yellowstone National Park, 307-344-2019.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Park Service (NPS) has been 
managing winter use issues in Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton 
National Park, and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway (the 
Parks) for several decades. In 1997, the Fund for Animals and others 
filed suit, alleging non-compliance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), among other laws. The suit resulted in a settlement 
agreement in October 1997 which, among other things, required the NPS 
to prepare a new winter use plan for the Parks. On October 10, 2000, a 
Winter Use Plans Final Environmental Impact Statement (2000 FEIS) was 
published. A Record of Decision (2000 ROD) was signed on November 22, 
2000, and subsequently distributed to interested and affected parties. 
The 2000 ROD was to eliminate both snowmobile and snowplane use from 
the Parks by the winter of 2003-2004 and provide access via an NPS-
managed, mass-transit snowcoach system. This decision was based on a 
finding that the snowmobile and snowplane use existing at that time--
and the snowmobile use analyzed in the 2000 FEIS alternatives--impaired 
park resources and values, thus violating the statutory mandate of the 
NPS.
    Implementing aspects of this decision required a special regulation 
for each park unit in question. Following publication of a proposed 
rule and the subsequent public comment period, a final rule was 
published in the Federal Register on January 22, 2001 (66 FR 7260). 
That rule became effective on April 22, 2001.
    On December 6, 2000, the Secretary of the Interior, the Director of 
the National Park Service and others were named as defendants in a 
lawsuit brought by the International Snowmobile Manufacturers' 
Association (ISMA) and others. The States of Wyoming and Montana 
subsequently intervened on behalf of the plaintiffs. The lawsuit asked 
for the decision, as reflected in the 2000 ROD, to be set aside. The 
lawsuit alleged, among other things, a violation of NEPA. A settlement 
was reached on June 29, 2001, under which NPS agreed to prepare a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) incorporating ``any 
significant new or additional information or data submitted with 
respect to a winter use plan.'' Additionally, the NPS provided the 
opportunity for additional public participation in furtherance of the 
purposes of NEPA. A Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement was published in the Federal Register on 
July 27, 2001 (66 FR 39197).
    A draft SEIS was published on March 29, 2002, and distributed to 
interested and affected parties. NPS accepted public comments on the 
draft for 60 days, and 357,405 pieces of correspondence were received. 
The SEIS focused its analysis only on the issues relevant to allowing 
recreational snowmobile and snowcoach use in the parks. These impact 
topics included air quality and air quality-related values, public and 
employee health and safety, natural soundscapes, socioeconomics, 
wildlife (bison and elk), and visitor experience. The SEIS did not re-
evaluate the decision to ban snowplane use on Jackson Lake because this 
was not at issue in the lawsuit or the resulting settlement and because 
the NPS had no reason to doubt the validity of its finding that 
snowplane use impaired park resources.
    On November 18, 2002, the NPS published a final rule (67 FR 69473) 
(``delay rule'') based on the 2000 FEIS, which generally postponed 
implementation of the phase-out of snowmobiles in the Parks for one 
year. This rule allowed for additional time to plan and implement the 
NPS-managed mass-transit, snowcoach-only system outlined in the 2000 
FEIS as well as time for completion of the SEIS. The rule delayed the 
implementation of the daily entry limits on snowmobiles until the 
winter of 2003-2004 and the complete prohibition on snowmobiles until 
2004-2005. The 2001 regulation's transitional requirement that 
snowmobile parties use an NPS-permitted guide was also delayed until 
the 2003-2004 winter use season.
    Other provisions under the January 2001 regulation concerning 
licensing requirements, limits on hours of operation, Yellowstone side 
road use, and the ban on snowplane use remained effective for the 
winter use season of 2002-2003.
    The Notice of Availability for the final SEIS was published on 
February 24, 2003 (68 FR 8618). The final SEIS included a new 
alternative, alternative 4, which called for 950 snowmobiles in 
Yellowstone and 190 in Grand Teton. Most would be subject to air and 
sound emission requirements, and 80% of the Yellowstone snowmobiles 
would be commercially guided and 20% would be non-commercially guided. 
In addition, the final SEIS included changes to the alternatives, 
changes in modeling assumptions and analysis, and incorporated 
additional new information. Effective on March 25, 2003, NPS signed a 
ROD for the SEIS, which selected final SEIS alternative 4 for 
implementation and enumerated additional modifications to that 
alternative. The final SEIS and ROD found that implementation of final 
SEIS alternatives 1a, 1b, 3, or 4 would not be likely to impair park 
resources or values due to motorized oversnow recreation. On December 
11, 2003, the new regulation governing winter use in the parks was 
published.
    On December 16, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the District of 
Columbia, ruling in Fund for Animals v. Norton, vacated and remanded 
the December 11, 2003, regulation and SEIS. The court effectively 
reinstated the January 22, 2001, regulation phasing out recreational 
snowmobiling subject to the delay rule. Specifically, up to 493 
snowmobiles a day were to be allowed into Yellowstone for the 2003-2004

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season, and another 50 in Grand Teton and the Parkway combined. All 
snowmobiles in Yellowstone were required to be led by a commercial 
guide. Snowmobiles were to be phased out entirely from the parks in the 
2004-2005 season.
    ISMA and the State of Wyoming reopened their December 2000 lawsuit 
against the Department of the Interior and the NPS. On February 10, 
2004, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming issued a 
preliminary injunction in ISMA v. Norton preventing the NPS from 
continuing to implement the snowmobile phase-out. The court also 
directed the superintendents of Yellowstone and Grand Teton to issue 
emergency orders that were ``fair and equitable'' to all parties to 
allow visitation to continue for the remainder of the winter season. 
Based on that injunction and using the authority of 36 CFR 1.5, the 
superintendents authorized up to 780 snowmobiles a day into Yellowstone 
and up to 140 into Grand Teton and the Parkway combined. In 
Yellowstone, the requirement that all snowmobilers travel with a 
commercial guide remained in effect.
    On June 30, 2004, the DC court ordered that NPS promulgate a new 
rule governing the 2004-05 winter use season at least 30 days prior to 
the start of the season, and that the new rule be consistent with the 
DC court's 2003 ruling. On October 14, 2004, the Wyoming court vacated 
and remanded the 2000 FEIS, 2000 ROD, and the 2001 implementing rule, 
based on violations of NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act.
    Because of the DC court's order, and because there were no clear 
rules under which to manage the Parks for the winter season of 2004-
2005, the NPS prepared a Temporary Winter Use Plans Environmental 
Assessment in 2004. The temporary plan was intended to provide a 
framework for managing winter use in the Parks for a period of 3 years 
and was approved in November 2004 with a ``Finding of No Significant 
Impact'' (FONSI). An interim rule was published in the Federal Register 
implementing the temporary plan. Its provisions included a limit of 720 
snowmobiles per day for Yellowstone and 140 snowmobiles for Grand Teton 
and the Parkway, a requirement that all recreational snowmobiles in 
Yellowstone must be accompanied by a commercial guide, and a 
requirement that all recreational snowmobiles operating in the Parks 
must meet NPS air and sound emissions requirements for reducing noise 
and air pollution (with limited exceptions at Grand Teton and the 
Parkway). The interim rule was effective through the winter season of 
2006-2007 while the NPS was to prepare a long-term winter use plan and 
EIS for the Parks.
    Several entities then filed separate lawsuits challenging the 
temporary plan in the District Court in Wyoming and the District Court 
in the District of Columbia, respectively. On three separate occasions, 
Congress subsequently included language in appropriations legislation 
for the Department of the Interior requiring that the temporary winter 
use rules remain in effect for the winter seasons of 2004-2005, 2005-
2006, and 2006-2007. In October 2005, the Wyoming District Court upheld 
the validity of the 2004 temporary winter use rule in Wyoming Lodging 
and Restaurant Association v. U.S. Department of the Interior. As a 
result of these legislative actions, on September 24, 2007, the DC 
District Court dismissed as moot the pending claims against the 
temporary plan. Additionally, in June 2007 the Wyoming District Court, 
in a separate lawsuit filed by Save Our Snowplanes, upheld the 
prohibition on the use of snowplanes on Jackson Lake. An appeal of that 
decision by the plaintiffs is currently pending before the United 
States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
    A proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on May 16, 
2007 (72 FR 27499). This Final Rule is issued in conjunction with the 
FEIS and the ROD. Absent this rulemaking, the authority to operate 
snowmobiles and snowcoaches in the Parks would have expired after the 
2006-2007 winter season.

Rationale for the Final Rule

    This rule strikes a balance between the use of snowmobiles and 
snowcoaches in the Parks and is designed to protect against the adverse 
impacts that occurred from the historical types and numbers of 
snowmobiles used. Experience over the past several winters, during 
which a temporary plan has guided winter use management of the Parks, 
has shown that the combination of strict limits on the numbers of 
snowmobiles allowed to enter the Parks, the use of snowmobiles that 
meet NPS requirements for air and sound emissions (generally referred 
to in the FEIS as Best Available Technology or BAT, but here referred 
to simply as NPS requirements, to avoid confusion with use of the term 
best available technology under other environmental laws), the 
requirement that visitors touring Yellowstone on snowmobiles be 
accompanied by a commercial guide, and the availability of snowcoaches, 
allows for an appropriate range of visitor experiences while ensuring 
that the integrity of park resources and values is not harmed. The NPS 
found that the interim regulations that were in effect over the past 
three winter seasons resulted in quieter conditions, cleaner air, fewer 
wildlife impacts, and much improved visitor and employee safety and 
experiences. This rule reduces the daily number of snowmobiles allowed 
to enter the Parks in order to better protect park soundscapes and 
other resources, includes new requirements for snowcoach air and sound 
emissions, and eliminates certain oversnow vehicle routes. In addition 
to the actual experiences of the last several winters, the decisions 
underlying the Record of Decision and this rule have also been informed 
by new analysis and information presented in the FEIS.
    This rule is consistent with the 2006 NPS Management Policies. In 
managing units of the National Park System, the NPS may undertake 
actions that have both beneficial and adverse impacts on park resources 
and values. However, the NPS is generally prohibited by law from taking 
or authorizing any action that would or is likely to impair park 
resources and values. Impairment is defined in the 2006 NPS Management 
Policies in section 1.4.5 as an impact that, in the professional 
judgment of the responsible NPS manager, would harm the integrity of 
park resources or values, including the opportunities that otherwise 
would be present for the enjoyment of those resources and values.
    Since the impact threshold at which impairment occurs is not always 
readily apparent, the NPS applies a standard that offers greater 
assurances that impairment will not occur. The NPS does this by 
avoiding impacts that it determines to be unacceptable. These are 
impacts that fall short of impairment but are still not acceptable 
within a particular park's environment. Unacceptable impacts are 
defined in the 2006 NPS Management Policies in section 1.4.7.1., 
available online at https://www.nps.gov/policy/MP2006.pdf.
    The NPS received over 122,000 comments on the DEIS and about 1,500 
comments on the proposed rule. In many cases the comments received on 
the proposed rule were very similar in content to those received on the 
DEIS. Numerous commentors expressed concerns that the preferred 
alternative in the DEIS, and its implementation through rulemaking, 
would violate the NPS Organic Act, would be inconsistent with the 2006 
NPS Management Policies, and in some cases explicitly referenced the 
concept of unacceptable

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impacts. The NPS addressed these concerns in a number of ways, 
including new modeling and analysis to more clearly show the 
environmental impacts of winter use, a revision of the preferred 
alternative from the DEIS to that in the Final EIS which reduced the 
number of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone from 720 per day to 540 
per day, which is reflected in the ROD and Final Rule, and affirmance 
in both the ROD and this rule that implementation of the preferred 
alternative will not result in impairment of park resources and values, 
nor will it result in unacceptable impacts on the Parks. This rule 
implements that decision.
    This rule includes strict limits on the number of snowmobiles 
allowed to enter the Parks each day. Prior to the implementation of a 
managed winter use program with the winter of 2003-2004, an average of 
795 snowmobiles entered Yellowstone each day, with peak days averaging 
approximately 1,400. This rule allows for 540 snowmobiles per day in 
Yellowstone, a reduction from the 720 snowmobiles authorized over the 
previous 3 winters, and which would have been allowed under the 
proposed rule. In response to public comment and the analysis presented 
in the FEIS, which included the results of both modeling and monitoring 
over the past several winters, the NPS determined that a limit of 540 
snowmobiles per day, along with the availability of snowcoaches, will 
best protect the integrity of park resources and values while providing 
an appropriate range of visitor experiences. In particular, the lower 
number of snowmobiles will reduce the impacts on the natural 
soundscapes of the park, which the NPS found to be somewhat greater 
than expected even with the reduced number of snowmobiles that used the 
park over the last several winters. Similarly, the number of 
snowmobiles authorized in Grand Teton and the Parkway is limited under 
this rule to 65 per day, allowing access to ice fishing opportunities 
on Jackson Lake and to the recreational opportunities on the adjacent 
Targhee National Forest. The rule also allows for up to 50 snowmobiles 
to enter Yellowstone on the Cave Falls Road, an approximately one-mile 
segment extending into the southwest corner of the park from the 
Targhee National Forest. Use of this route is incidental to 
recreational use of the national forest lands, is far removed from the 
recreational snowmobiling and the resulting impacts that occur within 
the interior of Yellowstone, and is therefore considered separately 
from the 540 snowmobile limit.
    Adjustments to the daily entry limits for snowmobiles and 
snowcoaches through an adaptive management program is one of several 
tools available to park managers to ensure that the goals and 
objectives of the winter use plans are maintained. Through adaptive 
management, if monitoring of use levels of snowmobiles and snowcoaches 
allowed under the Record of Decision indicates acceptable conditions, 
the NPS will increase use levels to the extent acceptable conditions 
can be maintained. Conversely, if monitoring of use levels of 
snowmobiles and snowcoaches allowed under the Record of Decision 
indicates unacceptable conditions, the NPS will reduce use levels to an 
extent that acceptable conditions can be maintained. In some cases, 
additional rulemaking would be required in order to adjust numbers.
    To mitigate impacts to air quality and the natural soundscape, the 
NPS is continuing the requirement that all recreational snowmobiles 
meet strict air and sound emissions requirements to operate in the 
parks, with limited exceptions. For air emissions, all snowmobiles must 
achieve a 90% reduction in hydrocarbons and a 70% reduction in carbon 
monoxide, relative to EPA's baseline emissions assumptions for 
conventional two-stroke snowmobiles. For sound restrictions, 
snowmobiles must operate at or below 73 dBA as measured at full 
throttle according to Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J192 test 
procedures (revised 1985). The Superintendent will maintain a list of 
approved snowmobile makes, models, and years of manufacture that meet 
NPS requirements. For the winter of 2006-2007, the NPS certified 35 
different snowmobile models (from various manufacturers; model years 
2002-2007) as meeting the NPS requirements. With one exception 
described later in this section, the certification is good for 6 years 
from the date on which a model is certified as meeting the 
requirements.
    The NPS is continuing the requirement that began with the 2005 
model year that all snowmobiles must be certified under 40 CFR 1051 to 
a Family Emission Limit (FEL) no greater than 15 g/kW-hr for 
hydrocarbons (HC) and 120 g/kW-hr for carbon monoxide (CO). Snowmobiles 
must be tested on a five-mode engine dynamometer consistent with the 
test procedures specified by the EPA (40 CFR 1051 and 1065). Other test 
methods could be approved by the NPS.
    The NPS is retaining the use of the FEL method for demonstrating 
compliance with its emissions requirements because it has several 
advantages. First, use of FEL will ensure that all individual 
snowmobiles entering the parks achieve the NPS's emissions 
requirements, unless modified or damaged (under this regulation, 
snowmobiles which are modified in such a way as to increase air or 
sound emissions will not be in compliance with NPS requirements and 
therefore not permitted to enter the parks). Use of FEL will also 
minimize any administrative burden on snowmobile manufacturers to 
demonstrate compliance with NPS requirements, because they already 
provide FEL data to the EPA. Further, the EPA has the authority to 
ensure that manufacturers' claims on their FEL applications are valid. 
EPA also requires that manufacturers conduct production line testing 
(PLT) to demonstrate that machines being manufactured actually meet the 
certification levels. If PLT indicates that emissions exceed the FEL 
levels, then the manufacturer is required to take corrective action. 
Through EPA's ability to audit manufacturers' emissions claims, the NPS 
will have sufficient assurance that emissions information and 
documentation will be reviewed and enforced by the EPA. FEL also takes 
into account other factors, such as the deterioration rate of 
snowmobiles (some snowmobiles may produce more emissions as they age), 
lab-to-lab variability, test-to-test variability, and production line 
variance. In addition, under the EPA's regulations, all snowmobiles 
manufactured must be labeled with FEL air emissions information. This 
will help to ensure that NPS emissions requirements are consistent with 
these labels. The use of FEL will avoid potential confusion for 
consumers.
    The air emissions requirements for snowmobiles allowed to operate 
in the Parks should not be confused with standards adopted by the EPA 
in a final rule published in the Federal Register on November 8, 2002 
(67 FR 68242). The EPA regulations require manufacturers to meet 
certain fleet averages for HC and CO emissions. For example, the Phase 
1 standards required all snowmobile manufacturers to meet a fleet-wide 
average in 2007 of 275 g/kW-hr for CO and 100 g/kW-hr for HC, which 
represents a 30-percent reduction from the baseline emission rates for 
uncontrolled snowmobiles. Any particular make/model may emit more or 
less than the standard as long as the fleet average does not exceed the 
standard. Phase 2 and Phase 3 standards will be implemented in 2010 and 
2012,

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respectively, effectively requiring the equivalent of a 50% reduction 
in both HC and CO as compared to average baseline levels. By 
comparison, NPS requires that all snowmobiles operating in the Parks 
meet a FEL of 120 g/kW-hr for CO and 15 g/kW-hr for HC. This means that 
snowmobiles operating in the Parks represent the cleanest that are 
commercially available.
    To determine compliance with the sound emissions requirements, 
snowmobiles must be tested using SAE J192 test procedures (revised 
1985; or potentially as further revised and adapted for use by NPS). 
The NPS recognizes that the SAE updated these test procedures in 2003; 
however, the changes between the 2003 and 1985 test procedures could 
yield different measurement results. The sound emissions requirement 
was initially established using 1985 test procedures (in addition to 
information provided by industry and modeling). To ensure consistency 
in the test results, the NPS will at this time continue to use the 1985 
test. The SAE J192 (revised 1985) test also allows for a tolerance of 2 
dBA over the sound limit to account for variations in weather, snow 
conditions, and other factors. The NPS understands that an update to 
the 2003 J192 procedures may be underway, and the NPS will continue to 
evaluate these test procedures and possibly adopt them after these 
regulations are implemented. Other test methods could be approved by 
NPS on a case-by-case basis.
    Snowmobiles may be tested at any barometric pressure equal to or 
above 23.4 inches Hg uncorrected (as measured at or near the test 
site). This exception to the SAE J192 test procedures maintains 
consistency with the testing conditions used to determine the sound 
requirement. This allowance for reduced barometric pressure is 
necessary since snowmobiles were tested at the elevation of Yellowstone 
National Park, where atmospheric pressure is lower than that under the 
SAE J192's requirements. Testing data indicate that snowmobiles test 
quieter at high elevation, and therefore some snowmobiles may comply 
with the NPS's sound emissions requirements at higher elevations even 
though they do not when tests are conducted near sea level.
    The NPS will annually publish a list of snowmobile makes, models, 
and years of manufacture that meet its emissions and sound 
requirements. Snowmobile manufacturers may demonstrate that snowmobiles 
are compliant with the air emissions requirements by submitting to the 
NPS a copy of their applications used to demonstrate compliance with 
EPA's general snowmobile regulation (indicating FEL). The NPS will 
accept this application information from manufacturers in support of 
conditionally certifying a snowmobile as meeting its air emissions 
requirements, pending ultimate review and certification by EPA at the 
same emissions levels identified in the application. Should EPA certify 
a snowmobile at an emission level that would no longer meet the NPS's 
requirements, this snowmobile would no longer be considered by NPS to 
be compliant with its requirements and would be phased-out according to 
a schedule that will be determined by the NPS to be appropriate. For 
sound emissions, snowmobile manufacturers may submit their existing 
Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee (SSCC) sound level 
certification form. Under the SSCC machine safety standards program, 
snowmobiles are certified by an independent testing company as 
complying with all SSCC safety standards, including sound standards. 
This regulation does not require the SSCC form specifically, as there 
could be other acceptable documentation in the future. The NPS will 
work cooperatively with the snowmobile manufacturers on appropriate 
documentation. The NPS intends to continue to rely on certified air and 
sound emissions data from the private sector rather than establish its 
own independent testing program. When the NPS certifies snowmobiles as 
meeting its requirements, it will announce how long that certification 
applies. Generally, each snowmobile model will be approved for entry 
into the parks for 6 winter seasons after it is first listed. Based on 
NPS experience, 6 years represents the typical useful life of a 
snowmobile, and thus 6 years provides purchasers with a reasonable 
length of time where operation is allowed once a particular model is 
listed as being compliant. It is also based on EPA snowmobile emission 
regulations and the deterioration factors that are part of those 
regulations (EPA requires that if a manufacturer certifies its 
snowmobile will comply with EPA's emission regulations, the snowmobile 
will meet those regulations for a period of 5 years or 5,000 miles). 
The NPS recognizes that some privately owned snowmobiles used 
predominantly for ice fishing on Jackson Lake may have relatively low 
mileages even after 6 years of use, and therefore may not have 
experienced the type of deterioration that would cause them to fail NPS 
air and sound emissions requirements. The certification period for 
snowmobiles being operated on Jackson Lake will still be considered to 
be 6 years, but it may be extended up to a total of 10 years as long as 
the snowmobile's mileage does not exceed 6,000 miles.
    Individual snowmobiles modified in such a way as to increase sound 
and air emissions of hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) beyond 
the proposed emission restrictions will be denied entry to the parks. 
It is the responsibility of end users and guides and outfitters to 
ensure that their oversnow vehicles, whether snowmobiles or 
snowcoaches, comply with all applicable restrictions. Air and sound 
emission requirements for snowcoaches are described below. The 
requirement in Yellowstone that all snowmobilers travel with commercial 
guides will assist NPS in enforcing these requirements, since 
businesses providing commercial guiding services in the parks are 
responsible under their contracts with the park to ensure that their 
clients use only snowmobiles that meet the NPS's requirements. In 
addition, these businesses are required to ensure that snowmobiles used 
in the park are not modified in such a way as to increase sound or air 
emissions, and that snowmobiles are properly maintained.
    Snowmobiles being operated on the Cave Falls Road, which extends 
approximately one mile into the Yellowstone from the adjacent national 
forest, will be exempt from air and sound emissions requirements. Since 
use of the Cave Falls Road is relatively light and incidental to 
recreational use of the surrounding national forest, it is not 
necessary to require these users to comply with requirements that 
address issues associated with use of the interior portions of the 
park.
    In Grand Teton, all recreational snowmobiles operating on Jackson 
Lake will be required to meet NPS air and sound emissions requirements.
    During the winter season of 2007-2008, snowmobiles being operated 
on the portion of the Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail (CDST) 
between Moran Junction and Flagg Ranch, within both Grand Teton and the 
Parkway, must also meet NPS air and sound emissions requirements. 
Beginning with the winter season of 2008-2009, that portion of the CDST 
will no longer be maintained or designated for oversnow vehicle use. 
The segment of the CDST between the east boundary of Grand Teton and 
Moran is exempt from NPS air and sound emissions requirements. Because 
this portion of the CDST passes in and out of the park boundary and is 
generally adjacent to other public and

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private lands where snowmobile use is permitted, this section is being 
managed similarly to other routes where the use of snowmobiles not 
meeting air and sound emissions requirements is allowed in order to 
provide access to adjacent public and private lands. In light of the 
small amount of such use that typically occurs along this segment, as 
well as the context in which that use occurs (i.e., immediately 
alongside a heavily used highway), the NPS has determined that the 
impacts of this use of snowmobiles that do not meet NPS air and sound 
emissions requirements are acceptable.
    For the winter of 2007-2008, snowmobiles being operated on the 
Grassy Lake Road within the Parkway are required to meet NPS air and 
sound emissions requirements, except that snowmobiles originating in 
the Targhee National Forest will be allowed to travel eastbound to 
Flagg Ranch and return westbound without meeting the NPS requirements; 
however, these snowmobiles may not travel further into the Parkway than 
Flagg Ranch. The NPS is allowing this exception in order to ensure that 
visitors to the remote Grassy Lake area of the Targhee National Forest 
are able to access food, fuel, emergency services, and other amenities 
available at Flagg Ranch. Beginning with the 2008-2009 winter season, 
snowmobiles being operated on the Grassy Lake Road will not be required 
to meet air and sound emissions requirements regardless of whether they 
originate travel at Flagg Ranch or in the national forest. In light of 
the relatively short length of this segment and the very limited amount 
of snowmobile use, the NPS has determined that the impacts of this use 
of snowmobiles that does not meet NPS air and sound emissions 
requirements are acceptable.
    Under concession contracts issued in 2003, 78 snowcoaches are 
currently authorized to operate in Yellowstone (and in the parkway 
between Flagg Ranch and Yellowstone's South Entrance). Approximately 29 
of these snowcoaches were manufactured by Bombardier and were designed 
specifically for oversnow travel. Those 29 snowcoaches were 
manufactured before 1983 and are referred to as ``historic 
snowcoaches'' for the purpose of this rulemaking. All other snowcoaches 
are passenger vans or light buses that have been converted for oversnow 
travel using tracks and/or skis. During the winter of 2005-2006, an 
average of 29 snowcoaches entered Yellowstone each day.
    As of the winter of 2008-2009, all snowcoaches must be commercially 
guided. These trained, knowledgeable operators help ensure that air and 
sound emission requirements are met, wildlife impacts are minimized, 
and visitor and employee safety is assured.
    In comparison with four-stroke snowmobiles, snowcoaches operating 
within EPA's Tier I standards can be substantially cleaner, especially 
given that snowcoaches currently carry an average of 7 times more 
passengers than snowmobiles. In 2004, EPA began phasing in Tier II 
emissions standards for multi-passenger vans which will be fully phased 
in by 2009. Tier II standards will require that vehicles be even 
cleaner than under Tier I. Tier II standards would also significantly 
reduce the open loop mode of operation, which is the most polluting 
mode of engine operation.
    Beginning in the 2011-2012 season, all snowcoaches in the Parks 
must meet air emission requirements, which will be the functional 
equivalent of having EPA Tier I emissions control equipment 
incorporated into the engine and drive train for the vehicle's class 
(size and weight) as a wheeled vehicle. The NPS will encourage, through 
contract and permit, that snowcoaches have EPA Tier II emissions 
control equipment for the vehicle class. In addition, all critical 
emission and sound-related exhaust components that were originally 
installed by the manufacturer must be in place and functioning 
properly. Such components may only be replaced with original equipment 
manufacturer (OEM) components where possible. If OEM parts are not 
available, aftermarket parts may be used if they do not worsen emission 
and sound characteristics from OEM levels. In general, catalysts that 
have exceeded their typical useful life as stated by the manufacturer 
must be replaced unless the operator can demonstrate the catalyst is 
functioning properly.
    Beginning in the 2011-2012 season, snowcoaches must meet a sound 
emissions requirement of no greater than 73 dBA; test procedures will 
be determined by the NPS.
    The restrictions on air and sound emissions proposed in this rule 
are not a restriction on what manufacturers may produce but an end-use 
restriction on which commercially produced snowmobiles and snowcoaches 
may be used in the parks. The NPS Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1) authorizes 
the Secretary of the Interior to ``promote and regulate'' the use of 
national parks ``by such means and measures as conform to the 
fundamental purpose of said parks * * * which purpose is to conserve 
the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life 
therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and 
by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future 
generations.'' Further, the Secretary is expressly authorized by 16 
U.S.C. 3 to ``make and publish such rules and regulations as he may 
deem necessary or proper for the use and management of the parks * * 
*'' This exercise of the NPS Organic Act authority is not an effort by 
NPS to regulate manufacturers and is consistent with Section 310 of the 
Clean Air Act.
    Since 2001, the Parks have been converting their own administrative 
fleet of snowmobiles to four-stroke machines. These machines have 
proven successful in fulfilling most of the Service's administrative 
needs throughout the Parks. However, the NPS recognizes that some 
administrative applications, such as off-trail boundary patrols in deep 
powder, towing heavy equipment or disabled sleds, search and rescue, or 
law enforcement uses may require additional power beyond that supplied 
by currently available snowmobiles that meet the NPS's air and sound 
emissions requirements. In such limited cases, the NPS will sometimes 
need to use snowmobiles that do not meet the requirements this rule 
imposes upon recreational snowmobiles (which do not have these special 
needs because they travel only upon groomed roads).
    In order to mitigate impacts to natural soundscapes and wildlife, 
and for visitor and employee safety, all recreational snowmobiles 
operated in Yellowstone must be accompanied by a commercial guide, 
except for those being operated on the one-mile segment of the Cave 
Falls Road that extends into the park from the adjacent national 
forest. This guiding requirement will reduce conflicts with wildlife 
along roadways because guides are trained to lead visitors safely 
around the park with minimal disturbance to wildlife. Commercially 
guided parties also tend to be larger in size, which reduces the 
overall number of encounters with wildlife and reduces the amount of 
time that oversnow vehicles are audible. Commercial guides are educated 
in safety, knowledgeable about park rules, and are required to exercise 
reasonable control over their clientele, which has reduced unsafe and 
illegal snowmobile use. Commercial guides with contractual obligations 
to the NPS also allow for more effective enforcement of park rules by 
the NPS. These guides receive rigorous multi-day training and perform 
guiding duties as employees of a business. They also are experts at 
interpreting the resources of the parks to their clients. Commercial 
guides are

[[Page 70786]]

employed by local businesses; those jobs are not performed by NPS 
employees.
    Commercial guides use a ``follow-the-leader'' approach, stopping 
often to talk with the group. They lead snowmobiles single-file through 
the park, using hand signals to pass information down the line from one 
snowmobile to the next, a system which has proven to be effective. 
Signals are used to warn group members about wildlife and other road 
hazards, indicate turns, and when to turn on or off the snowmobile. 
Further, all commercial guides are trained in basic first aid and CPR. 
In addition to first aid kits, they often carry satellite or cellular 
telephones, radios, and other equipment for emergency use. Guides are 
thus well-equipped to ensure that park regulations are enforced and to 
provide a safer overall experience for visitors.
    Since the winter of 2003-2004, all snowmobilers in Yellowstone have 
been led by commercial guides, resulting in significant positive 
effects on visitor health and safety. Guides have been proven to be 
very effective at enforcing proper touring behavior, such as adherence 
to speed limits, staying on the groomed road surfaces, and other 
snowmobiling behaviors that are appropriate to safely and responsibly 
visiting the park. Since implementation of the guiding program there 
have been pronounced reductions in the number of law enforcement 
incidents and accidents associated with the use of snowmobiles, even 
when accounting for the reduced number of snowmobilers relative to 
historic use levels. The use of guides is also beneficial to wildlife, 
since guides are trained to respond appropriately when encountering 
wildlife.
    No more than eleven snowmobiles will be permitted in a group, 
including that of the guide. Except in emergency situations, guided 
parties must travel together and remain within a maximum distance of 
one-third mile of the first snowmobile in the group. These size and 
distance limits will ensure that guided parties do not become 
separated, will allow for sufficient and safe spacing between 
individual snowmobiles within the guided party, allow the guide(s) to 
maintain control over the group and minimize the impacts on wildlife 
and natural soundscapes. NPS thus expects that the continuation of the 
guiding requirement will help ensure compliance with park regulations 
and protect park resources.
    Scientific studies and monitoring of winter visitor use and park 
resources (including air quality, natural soundscapes, wildlife, 
employee health and safety, water quality, and visitor experience) will 
continue. As part of its adaptive management of winter use activities, 
NPS will close selected areas of the Parks to visitor use, including 
sections of roads, if these studies indicate that human presence or 
activities have a substantial adverse effect on wildlife or other park 
resources that cannot otherwise be mitigated. A one-year notice will 
ordinarily be provided before any such closure is implemented unless 
immediate closure is deemed necessary to avoid impairment of park 
resources. Most non-emergency changes in park management implemented 
under the adaptive management framework will be implemented only after 
at least one or 2 years of monitoring, followed by a 6-to 12-month 
implementation period. The Superintendent will continue to have the 
authority under 36 CFR 1.5 to take emergency actions to protect park 
resources or values.
    The adaptive management program described in the ROD provides park 
managers with a wide variety of tools to ensure that the goals and 
objectives of the winter use plans are being achieved. Some of the 
techniques available include adjustments in snowmobile or snowcoach use 
levels (up or down), adjustments in air and sound emissions 
requirements, visitor and guide education, timing of entries, and group 
sizes. Also, the future improvements in snowcoach air and sound 
emissions will assist park managers in meeting goals and objectives. 
Through adaptive management, if monitoring of use levels of snowmobiles 
and snowcoaches allowed under the Record of Decision indicates 
acceptable conditions, the NPS will increase use levels to an extent 
acceptable conditions can be maintained. Conversely, if monitoring of 
use levels of snowmobiles and snowcoaches allowed under the Record of 
Decision indicates unacceptable conditions, the NPS will reduce use 
levels to an extent acceptable conditions can be maintained. In some 
cases, additional rulemaking would be required in order to implement 
certain changes.
    The NPS is implementing a multi-year research proposal intended to 
specifically address the question of whether grooming of the Madison to 
Norris road segment in Yellowstone has led to alterations of bison 
movements and distribution. The question was identified in a report by 
Dr. Cormack Gates et al., entitled ``The Ecology of Bison Movements and 
Distribution in and Beyond Yellowstone National Park'' (2005). The 
research program will involve a linked series of experiments that will 
enable researchers to gain insight into how road grooming and other 
factors currently affect bison travel. Initially, the research program 
will include the analysis of existing data on GPS-collared bison, the 
tracking of additional GPS-collared bison, and the deployment of 
cameras along travel routes to gain information on the relationship 
between road grooming and bison travel, without necessitating the 
closure of the Gibbon Canyon road segment to public oversnow vehicle 
travel. During the 5 year period, other roads or routes may be 
investigated to help understand the relationship between snow depth, 
grooming, and bison movement. For example, the Firehole Canyon Drive 
may be closed to oversnow travel and the Grand Loop Road gated in that 
area to allow snowmobile and snowcoach travel, but not bison movement 
on the main road. Bison would then be forced to travel cross country or 
along the ungroomed Firehole Canyon Road. Similarly, the Madison to 
Norris Road may be fenced or gated in the vicinity of the new bridge 
over the Gibbon River to restrict bison movement on the Madison to 
Norris Road and force bison to travel cross country. Thus bison 
movement and snow depth and roads may be tested without closing a main 
road. However, following the 5 years of data gathering and analysis, 
the NPS, in consultation with the researchers, will consider closing 
the main Madison to Norris route to observe bison response. That 
decision will rely on the results of the data gathering and analysis 
and whether such a closure would be likely to yield informative data or 
conclusions. If implemented, such a closure would likely last several 
seasons.
    Snowmobiles and snowcoaches will continue to be restricted to 
designated routes, which are a subset of the same roads that are 
traveled by motor vehicles during the remainder of the year, or in the 
case of Jackson Lake, by motorboats during the summer. In Yellowstone, 
in addition to most of the Grand Loop Road, certain side roads will be 
open for snowmobile use after noon, based on the successful experience 
of the NPS with temporal zoning on Firehole Canyon Drive. Virginia 
Cascades will be accessible only via ski and snowshoe.
    This rule addresses Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone. For the winter 
season of 2007-2008 the pass will be managed continuing the combined 
program outlined in the 2004 Temporary Plan. After the winter of 2007-
2008, in order to maximize risk reduction, the pass would be open and 
managed using full avalanche forecasting (as defined in the Sylvan Pass 
Operational Risk

[[Page 70787]]

Management Assessment and may be viewed at: https://www.nps.gov/yell/
parkmgmt/winterusetechnicaldocuments.htm). When full forecasting 
indicates the pass is safe, the pass would be open to oversnow travel 
(both motorized and non-motorized access).
    The National Park Service will, in good faith, work cooperatively 
with the State of Wyoming, Park County, Wyoming and the town of Cody to 
determine how to provide continued snowmobile and snowcoach motorized 
oversnow access to Yellowstone National Park through the East Gate via 
Sylvan Pass in the winter use seasons beyond 2007-2008.
    The National Park Service will meet with representatives of the 
State of Wyoming, Park County, Wyoming and the town of Cody to further 
explore reasonable avalanche and access mitigation safety measures and 
costs. In order to provide adequate time to implement actions that 
reflect a potential consensus of the parties, and to promulgate a new 
regulation, if necessary, that reflects an amended decision for the 
2008-2009 winter use season and beyond, consensus should be reached by 
June 1, 2008.
    If the pass is closed at times to oversnow vehicle travel, the 
segment of road from the East Entrance to a point about four miles 
west, short of the Sylvan Pass avalanche zone, will be groomed and/or 
tracked for cross-country skiing. The commercial snowmobiles or 
snowcoaches authorized to operate from East Entrance may be allowed on 
that segment in order to provide skier drop-offs or shuttles. In 
addition, when the pass is not open due to safety, the road segment 
between Fishing Bridge and Lake Butte Overlook will be maintained for 
oversnow vehicle travel.
    Beginning with the winter season of 2008-2009, the NPS will 
discontinue maintaining the Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail (CDST) 
as an oversnow vehicle route through most of Grand Teton and the 
Parkway, in essence converting this portion of the CDST into a 
trailered segment. Experience over the past several winters strongly 
suggests that the minimal amount of use on this route would not 
substantially increase since much of the previous use of the CDST was 
associated with visitors traveling through Yellowstone. The NPS 
recognizes that the guiding and air and sound emissions requirements 
for Yellowstone have contributed to a substantial reduction in the use 
of the CDST, since visitors have not been able to continue into 
Yellowstone without a guide and a snowmobile that meets the emissions 
requirements, as well as being subject to the daily entrance caps.
    The NPS also recognizes, however, that snowmobile access to and 
from the Targhee National Forest is important to some visitors. While 
the CDST will no longer be maintained or designated for snowmobile use, 
the air and sound emissions requirements for the Grassy Lake Road will 
be removed beginning with the 2008-2009 winter season. Snowmobilers 
will be able to transport their machines by trailer between Moran and 
Flagg Ranch using plowed roads, in order to connect to the Grassy Lake 
Road and the national forest lands to the west of the Parkway. The 
daily entry limit of 25 is similar to the level of use that occurred in 
the past.

Summary of and Responses to Public Comments

    The NPS published a proposed rule on May 16, 2007 (72 FR 27499) and 
accepted public comments through July 16, 2007. Comments were accepted 
through the mail, hand delivery, and through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. A total of 1,450 people commented 
on the proposed rule, and 1,481 comment documents were received (some 
commentors submitted multiple letters). Thirty-seven letters were 
submitted electronically, and the remainder were submitted in paper 
form. Approximately 42% of commentors submitted form letters while the 
remaining 58% were unique letters.

Snowmobiles and Snowcoaches

    1. Comment: The NPS should revise the proposed rule to prohibit the 
use of snowmobiles and require that all oversnow access to the parks be 
via snowcoaches.
    Response: Snowcoaches and snowmobiles provide two very different 
types of experiences for park visitors seeking to enjoy Yellowstone 
during the winter. The use of both types of travel is well-established 
in the Parks, extending back more than 4 decades. In seeking to provide 
a range of opportunities and means to enjoy the Parks, the NPS believes 
that the managed use of both types of oversnow travel best meets that 
purpose and, as described in the FEIS and ROD, can be accomplished 
without harming the integrity of park resources or values. In addition, 
both types of access facilitate a wide range of non-motorized 
activities within the park by providing access to interior destinations 
such as Old Faithful and other areas that would otherwise be 
unreachable by the vast majority of visitors.
    2. Comment: The use of snowmobiles results in a waste of resources 
and contributes to climate change.
    Response: As disclosed in the FEIS, snowmobiles that currently meet 
the NPS's air and sound emissions requirements are more fuel-efficient 
than conventional snowmobiles and therefore contribute less to climate 
change. On a per capita basis, snowmobiles meeting NPS air and sound 
emissions requirements are slightly more fuel-efficient than 
snowcoaches, based on NPS analysis of current ridership and gas mileage 
within Yellowstone.
    3. Comment: The proposed rule would continue to allow the use of 
snowcoaches, which would result in adverse impacts on air quality and 
the natural soundscape of Yellowstone.
    Response: The NPS fully evaluated the impacts of snowcoaches on the 
air quality and natural soundscapes of Yellowstone, as described in the 
FEIS. The NPS recognizes that certain types of snowcoaches, 
predominantly the historic Bombardier models with upright exhaust 
stacks, operate with relatively high levels of noise and have been 
responsible for a large percentage of the instances in which sound 
levels exceeded adaptive management thresholds established by the NPS. 
Beginning with the 2011-2012 winter season, the NPS will require that 
all snowcoaches meet a noise emissions requirement of no greater than 
73 dBA and an air emissions requirement that is the functional 
equivalent of having EPA Tier I emissions control equipment into the 
engine and drive train for the vehicle class (size and weight) as a 
wheeled vehicle. The NPS, through contracts and permits, will encourage 
snowcoaches to have EPA Tier II emissions control equipment for the 
vehicle class.
    4. Comment: The NPS should require all snowcoaches to meet air and 
sound emissions requirements sooner than the 2011-2012 winter season.
    Response: The NPS believes that the 4-year period allowed for the 
phase-in of air and sound emissions requirements is reasonable given 
the expense of upgrading snowcoaches to meet these requirements, and is 
necessary in order to avoid a disruption of visitor services.

Park Resource Issues

    5. Comment: The use of snowmobiles under the proposed rule will 
continue to result in adverse impacts on air and water quality, natural 
soundscapes, vegetation, wildlife, visitor experience, and public 
health and safety.
    Response: The NPS fully evaluated the environmental impacts of

[[Page 70788]]

snowmobile use in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The 
combination of daily entry limits, strict air and sound emissions 
requirements for snowmobiles, and the requirement that all snowmobilers 
travel with a commercial guide while visiting Yellowstone significantly 
mitigates the impacts of snowmobile use in the Parks. In order to 
further mitigate these impacts, the NPS has reduced the daily entry 
limits on snowmobiles to 540 per day in Yellowstone and 65 per day in 
Grand Teton and the Parkway. As stated in the FEIS and the ROD, the 
impacts resulting from the use of snowmobiles in the Parks will not 
harm the integrity of park resources and values.
    6. Comment: Road grooming has unnaturally altered bison ecology.
    Response: The NPS fully evaluated the impacts of snowmobile and 
snowcoach use on bison in the FEIS and responded to comments on this 
issue. As discussed above, the NPS is also implementing a research 
program to further study aspects of this issue.
    7. Comment: The improvements in air quality as well as other 
improvements in environmental conditions in Yellowstone over the last 
several winters are attributable more to the lower numbers of 
snowmobiles that have been present rather than to the air and sound 
emissions requirements, guiding requirements, and daily entry limits 
(which allowed for more use than actually occurred).
    Response: The NPS recognizes that the level of snowmobile use that 
occurred over the last three winters contributed to improvements in air 
quality and other environmental conditions. As described in the FEIS, 
however, these improvements are also attributable to the air and sound 
emissions requirements, guiding, and other elements of the temporary 
plan that has been in effect for the past several winters.
    8. Comment: The NPS should not be attempting to manage for an 
unreasonable expectation that visitors may expect to enjoy natural 
quiet along with motorized travel within the Parks.
    Response: Natural soundscapes are an important element of the 
Parks' resources and of visitors' enjoyment of the Parks. The NPS 
believes that it is obligated to protect that resource and allow for 
its enjoyment to the greatest extent possible, recognizing that in 
certain areas human-caused sounds will be evident much of the time. The 
sound emissions and guiding requirements, group sizes, daily entry 
limits, and other elements of the Winter Use Plan all contribute to 
reasonable opportunities for visitors to experience the natural 
soundscapes of the Parks, even along travel corridors.
    9. Comment: Snowmobiles that meet the air and sound emissions 
requirements of the proposed rule do not produce intrusive sounds and 
have no adverse impacts on the Parks' natural soundscapes.
    Response: As disclosed in the FEIS, snowmobiles meeting the NPS air 
and sound emissions requirements do produce noise, although at a 
reduced level from conventional two-stroke snowmobiles. In addition, 
the tonal qualities of these snowmobiles are different from 
conventional snowmobiles and may be perceived as less intrusive, and at 
the limits of audibility the low pitched sounds may not be 
distinguishable from natural sounds such as the wind. The requirement 
that most snowmobiles operating in the Parks meet NPS air and sound 
emissions requirements mitigates, but does not eliminate, impacts on 
the natural soundscapes.
    10. Comment: The use of snowmobiles does not result in any 
environmental impacts on the parks.
    Response: The environmental impacts of snowmobiles and snowcoaches 
were identified in the FEIS.
    11. Comment: The analysis supporting the proposed rule did not 
properly consider recent studies, in particular the Bishop studies from 
2006 and 2007, showing that snowcoaches and snowmobiles can have the 
same extremes in emissions--both high and low--and the proposed rule 
relies on studies not cited in the DEIS (C.C. Lela and J.J. White/
Southwest Research Institute, ``Laboratory Testing of Snowmobile 
Emissions, Final Report,'' 2002).
    Response: The proposed rule did use the Bishop studies and the FEIS 
in its analysis (Gary A. Bishop, Daniel A. Burgard, Thomas R. Dalton, 
Donald H. Stedman, and John D. Ray, 2006 ``In-use Emission Measurements 
of Snowmobiles and Snowcoaches in Yellowstone National Park,'' and Gary 
A. Bishop, Ryan Stadtmuller, and Donald H. Stedman, 2007 ``Portable 
Emission Measurements of Snowcoaches and Snowmobiles in Yellowstone 
National Park''). The 2006 study has been published (Winter Motor-
Vehicle Emissions in Yellowstone National Park, Environmental Science & 
Technology (April 15, 2006): 2505-2510), and the 2007 study has been 
submitted for peer review. Both of these studies support the conclusion 
that although snowcoaches as a class can have both high and low 
emissions, the cleanest of the snowcoaches would produce emissions well 
below that of four-stroke snowmobiles, on a per capita basis. The NPS, 
in requiring Tier I emissions controls for snowcoaches with this rule 
(and encouraging the stricter Tier II emissions controls through 
contracts, as indicated in the FEIS), will be implementing snowcoach 
emissions requirements intended to be equal to or better than the 
emissions Bishop found in the cleanest group of snowmobiles, as 
detailed in the FEIS.

Guiding

    12. Comment: The requirement over the last several winters that all 
visitors entering Yellowstone by snowmobile be accompanied by a 
commercial guide has resulted in adverse economic impacts on gateway 
communities, and these impacts will be perpetuated by the proposed 
rule.
    Response: These and other economic impacts were disclosed and 
analyzed in the FEIS and in the economic analysis report that is 
summarized below. The NPS acknowledges that there have been some 
negative economic impacts to gateway communities and individual 
businesses located within those communities over the past several 
winters as a result of a decrease in snowmobile visitation to the 
Parks.
    13. Comment: The requirement in the proposed rule that all 
snowmobilers be accompanied by a commercial guide while visiting 
Yellowstone largely eliminates the ability to experience the park on 
one's own terms, independent of a guided tour, thus diminishing the 
enjoyment of visiting the park.
    Response: The NPS recognizes that the guiding requirement 
diminishes the opportunity to travel freely through the park 
independent of a commercially guided trip, but believes that such a 
requirement is a fundamental element of the successful approach to 
mitigating the impacts of motorized winter use. While some individuals 
may be discouraged from visiting the park because of this requirement, 
the NPS also recognizes that by traveling with a commercial guide, 
visitors have the ability to increase their understanding and 
appreciation of the park through frequent interaction with a 
knowledgeable and experienced trip leader.
    14. Comment: Commercial guiding does not mitigate the impacts to 
natural soundscapes, wildlife, and safety.
    Response: The effects of guiding on these resource topics were 
analyzed in the FEIS. Guiding has resulted in substantial noise-free 
intervals in the park because snowmobiles are clustered in groups and 
travel in more predictable

[[Page 70789]]

patterns. Commercial guiding is effective in minimizing human-wildlife 
conflicts, and the number of law enforcement and safety-related 
incidents has substantially decreased since the initiation of the 
commercial guiding requirement.
    15. Comment: Commercially guided groups should continue to have a 
maximum size of 10 snowmobilers plus the guide on a separate 
snowmobile, rather than the 8 or 17 snowmobiles (depending on whether 1 
or 2 guides are present) described in the proposed rule.
    Response: In response to public comment and further discussions 
within the NPS, this section of the proposed rule has been revised to 
continue the existing maximum group size of 10 snowmobiles plus one 
guide, for a total of 11 snowmobiles.
    16. Comment: The NPS should specify a minimum group size of two 
persons.
    Response: The NPS does not believe it is necessary to designate a 
minimum group size since there will always be at least one person plus 
a guide.
    17. Comment: The analysis supporting the proposed rule does not 
support the NPS's conclusions that the requirement for commercial 
guides results in mitigation of the impacts on soundscapes, wildlife, 
and safety. The analysis is flawed because groups accompanied by a non-
commercial guide have not been allowed in Yellowstone since 
implementation of managed winter use in 2003, and therefore was not 
analyzed.
    Response: The NPS believes that commercial guiding has been 
extremely successful and helped address problems that historically 
arose. A number of actions in the range of alternatives considered in 
the EIS have not occurred in practice, such as non-commercial guiding, 
road closures, improved air and sound emissions requirements for 
snowmobiles, and air and sound requirements for snowcoaches. This does 
not mean that those actions were not analyzed. Modeling and 
professional judgment were used to analyze these actions.

Sylvan Pass

    18. Comment: The reasons and rationale presented by the NPS in the 
proposed rule for the closure of Sylvan Pass to oversnow vehicle travel 
are insufficient to support such an action. The rule should be revised 
to continue the use of Sylvan Pass as an oversnow route for snowmobiles 
and snowcoaches.
    Response: The NPS and others have extensively studied the avalanche 
hazards at Sylvan Pass as well as potential ways of addressing those 
hazards. The NPS has concluded that there are serious risks to park 
employees, contractors, and visitors, and there may not be reasonable 
ways of ensuring that visitors or concessioners could depend on the 
pass being consistently open in light of the avalanche hazards, weather 
conditions, and other factors. However, the National Park Service will, 
in good faith, work cooperatively with the State of Wyoming, Park 
County, Wyoming and the town of Cody to determine how to provide 
continued snowmobile and snowcoach motorized oversnow access to 
Yellowstone National Park through the East Gate via Sylvan Pass.
    The National Park Service will meet with representatives of the 
State of Wyoming, Park County, Wyoming and the town of Cody to further 
explore reasonable avalanche and access mitigation safety measures and 
costs. In order to provide adequate time to implement actions that 
reflect a potential consensus of the parties for the 2008-2009 winter 
use season and beyond, consensus should be reached by June 1, 2008. 
Consistent with the decision explained in the ROD, the NPS has revised 
the final rule to reflect that the East Entrance Road through Sylvan 
Pass will continue to be designated as an oversnow vehicle route beyond 
the 2007-2008 winter season. The NPS will cease active avalanche 
control activities beginning with the 2008-2009 season, and the pass 
would be open to motorized and non-motorized travel when avalanche 
forecasting indicates that travel through the pass is safe.
    19. Comment: The NPS has used the low number of visitors using the 
East Entrance during the winter as a reason for proposing to close 
Sylvan Pass to oversnow vehicle use.
    Response: Although the number of visitors using the East Entrance 
has been fairly low recently and historically, the basis for the 
proposal to close Sylvan Pass to oversnow vehicle use was that 
avalanche hazards to employees and visitors exist. As described above 
and in the ROD, the National Park Service will, in good faith, work 
cooperatively with the State of Wyoming, Park County, Wyoming and the 
town of Cody to determine how to provide continued snowmobile and 
snowcoach motorized oversnow access to Yellowstone National Park 
through the East Gate via Sylvan Pass.
    20. Comment: The NPS is inconsis