Final Winter Use Plan/Environmental Impact Statement For Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks Released to the Public
October 10, 2000 --- The final Winter Use Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)) for the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway is now available to the public. The document contains a range of winter use management alternatives for the parks, including a revised preferred alternative that emphasizes cleaner, quieter, National Park Service (NPS)-managed mass-transit oversnow access to the parks using existing transportation technologies. The final decision on how winter use will be managed and how changes will be implemented in the three parks will be determined in the Record of Decision (ROD). Pursuant to a court-ordered deadline, the ROD is scheduled to be signed in November 2000.
The revised preferred alternative (Alternative G in the draft EIS) addresses a full range of issues regarding safety, natural resource impacts, and visitor experience and access. Under this alternative, motorized visitor access to the parks will be via NPS-managed snowcoaches beginning the winter of 2003-2004. (The three-year implementation period allows existing snowcoach operators to increase their fleet size and encourages snowmobile and other new operators to purchase coaches and reduce snowmobile numbers.) The alternative would implement strategies that provide a reasonable level of affordable access to winter park visitors. Snowcoaches would be required to meet the best available emission standards and established sound levels; and for safety reasons, oversnow travel would be prohibited from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Scientific and monitoring studies would continue to determine possible impacts on park resources.
The winter use planning process is the result of a May 1997 lawsuit filed by several conservation and animal rights organizations and individuals. If the plaintiffs had prevailed, all winter use of the parks could have been halted until an EIS was completed. The National Park Service opted instead to pursue a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs, which allowed activities to continue under the existing winter use plan while the EIS was prepared according to a prescribed schedule. During the public comment period on the draft EIS (August 15 to December 15, 1999) 46,500 public comments were received, including 6,300 unique letters. This final EIS addresses those comments and concerns.
After the final EIS is published, there will be a 30-day waiting period before the ROD is signed. The NPS will accept written comments on the document from the day the final EIS is released until October 31, 2000. The NPS encourages comments on the final EIS preferred alternative since it is different from the preferred alternative proposed in the draft EIS.
Written comments can be addressed to: Clifford Hawkes, National Park Service, 12795 West Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80228; or submitted through the Internet at the National Park Service website . Comments transmitted by facsimile machine will not be considered. Written comments must be postmarked on or before October 31, 2000.
The document will be available on the Internet at the National Park Service website (http://www.nps.gov/planning/yell/winterfinal/frames.htm) by Tuesday, October 10, 2000. Copies will also be available at local libraries. Written requests for full copies of the document (paper copy or CD ROM) should be directed to Clifford Hawkes at the address above.