60-day Federal Register Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 78 / Tuesday April 24, 2007 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
60-Day Notice of Intention To Request
Clearance of Collection of Information;
Opportunity for Public Comment
Department of the Interior,
National Park Service
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5
CFR part 1320, Reporting and Record
Keeping Requirements, the National
Park Service (NPS) invites public
comments on a proposed new collection
of information (1024–xxxx).
DATES: Public comments will be
accepted on or before June 25, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Send Comments To: Dr.
Wayne Freimund, Department of
Society and Conservation, University of
Montana, Missoula, MT 59801; Phone:
(406) 243–5184; Fax (406) 243–6656, email: [email protected].
Also, you may send comments to
Leonard Stowe, NPS Information
Collection Clearance Officer, 1849 C St.,
NW. (2605), Washington, DC 20240, or
by e-mail at [email protected] All
responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request
for the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) approval. All comments
will become a matter of public record.
To Request a Draft of Proposed
Collection of Information Contact:
Wayne Freimund, Department of
Society and Conservation, University of
Montana, Missoula, MT 59801; Phone:
(406) 243–5184; e-mail:
[email protected]

Dr.
Michael Patterson, Department of
Society and Conservation, University of
Montana, Missoula, MT 59801; Phone:
(406) 243–6614; Fax (406) 243–6656;
e-mail: michael.patterson@
umontana.edu. You are entitled to a
copy of the entire ICR package free of
charge.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Winter Visitor Experiences in
Yellowstone National Park.
Bureau Form Number: None.
OMB Number: To be requested.
Expiration Date: To be requested.
Type of Request: New collection.
Description of Need: The proposed
study would provide key information
for implementation of a decision on
winter use planning in Yellowstone
National Park. The purpose of this
research is to assist Park managers in
identifying efficient, salient and

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effective dimensions of the visitor
experience for applications in
monitoring efforts. Those monitoring
efforts can then be tailored to the
evaluation of NPS policy and
management actions.
Winter use activities in the park are
guided by monitoring, mitigation and
adaptive management. As such,
‘‘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. Selected
areas of the parks, including sections of
roads, may be closed to visitor use if
studies indicate that human presence or
activities have unacceptable effects on
wildlife or other park resources that
could not otherwise be mitigated.’’ (NPS
Winter Use EIS, 2007 P. 32) No winterspecific social science research has been
conducted since the managed winter
program went into effect in 2002; this
was identified as a weakness during
scoping and in cooperating agency
discussions. This proposed research
will provide needed information by
evaluating three components: (1) The
role of the natural soundscape in visitor
experiences, (2) visitor perceptions of
human-wildlife interactions, and (3)
snowcoach and snowmobile guides’
perceptions of the effectiveness of the
guide-only policy.
1. The Role of the Natural Soundscape
in Visitor Experiences
Yellowstone National Park (YNP) has
requested research into visitor
experiences of natural sounds. The
recent changes in winter use motorized
access in YNP require snowmobiles in
the park to use clean and quiet
technology. These changes have led to
the need to better understand the role of
natural sounds in the winter visitor
experience. The purpose of this study is
to provide park managers with specific
information on visitor perceptions of the
experience of the natural soundscape
and on visitor willingness to support
management actions that affect the
natural soundscape in Yellowstone
National Park. The purpose of the
interview approach for soundscape
research is to obtain an in-depth
understanding of visitor experiences of
the natural soundscape and to better
understand the context within which
soundscape policies affect the visitor
experience.
Previous research in Yellowstone
National Park has documented the
existence of differing values held among
visitors for the park itself. Strong
relationships between perceived park
values and visitor willingness to

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support park management activities
have been previously documented. The
research proposed for the next winter
use season will build on this
knowledge, expanding it to include the
natural soundscape resource, providing
the park with information on the status
of visitor perceptions of park values,
visitor perceptions of the importance of
natural sounds to their experience, and
visitor willingness to support
management actions affecting the
natural soundscape. In addition to the
in-depth interviews, an on-site
questionnaire will be utilized for this
portion of the soundscape research.
2. Visitor Perceptions of HumanWildlife Interactions
This study seeks to provide park
managers with specific information on
visitor perceptions of wildlife
interactions that occur in Yellowstone
National Park. The recent changes in
winter use policy require the
snowmobile experience to be guided,
which leads to different types of visitorwildlife interactions. YNP has requested
research exploring how winter visitors
appraise the human-bison interactions
they observe during their visit. The
primary goals are to explore snowcoach
and snowmobile passengers’ appraisals
of the human-bison interactions they
witness during their visits, to analyze
situational and visitor characteristics
that might influence those appraisals,
and to explore visitors’ judgments about
when consequences of winter use for
bison are serious enough to warrant
management intervention regulating
these interactions.
3. The Effectiveness of the Guide-Only
Policy in Yellowstone National Park:
The Perspective of Snowcoach and
Snowmobile Guides
Recent winter use plans at
Yellowstone National Park have
required that each snowmobile comply
with best available technology, that all
groups be guided, and that the total
number of daily winter visitors be
capped. These restrictions were
implemented to reduce impacts to
wildlife, improve compliance with
winter use rules, reduce visitor conflict,
and address visitor carrying capacity.
This study will look at the effectiveness
of these managerial interventions
through the eyes of the professional
guides. Many guides have been working
in the park on a daily basis for years;
thus, they offer a unique perspective on
how the conditions in the park have
changed and what seems to be working
best within the new winter use system.
Interviews, to be conducted during the

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 78 / Tuesday April 24, 2007 / Notices

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winter use season, will rely on an openended, in-depth process.
Comments are invited on: (1) The
practical utility of the information being
gathered; (2) the accuracy of the burden
hour estimate; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4)
ways to minimize the burden to
respondents, including use of
automated information collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology. Before including your
address, phone number, e-mail 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.
Automated data collection: This
information will be collected via inperson interviews and surveys. No
automated data collection will take
place.
Description of respondents:
Components 1 and 2: Visitors stopping
at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Old
Faithful Geyser on 20 days during the
2007–2008 winter use season.
Component 3: Snowmobile and
snowcoach guides in Yellowstone
National Park.
Estimated average number of
respondents: Component 1: 165 (120
respondents for on-site survey; 45
respondents for interviews). Component
2: 400. Component 3: 30.
Estimated average number of
responses: Component 1: 165 (120
respondents for on-site survey; 45
respondents for interviews). Component
2: 400. Component 3: 30.
Estimated average burden hours per
response: Component 1: 25 minutes for
on-site survey respondents; 30 minutes
for interview respondents. Component
2: 25 minutes. Component 3: 33
minutes.
Frequency of Response: 1 time per
respondent.
Estimated annual reporting burden:
256 hours.
Dated: April 16, 2007.
Leonard E. Stowe,
NPS, Information Collection Clearance
Officer.
[FR Doc. 07–2019 Filed 4–23–07; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Final General Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement,
Badlands National Park, North Unit,
South Dakota
National Park Service,
Department of the Interior.
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C)
of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, the National Park Service
(NPS) announces the availability of the
Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final
General Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/
EIS) for Badlands National Park, North
Unit (park). A separate GMP is being
developed for the guidance and
management of the South Unit of
Badlands National Park, and is
scheduled to be completed in three
years. Specifically, the NPS has selected
the preferred alternative as described in
the Final GMP/EIS. Under the selected
action, the NPS will provide expanded
opportunities for visitors to use the
North Unit of the park. The number of
locations where visitors could obtain
park information and orientation will be
increased with new visitor contact
stations added near Pinnacles and in the
town of Scenic. In addition, more hiking
trails and routes will be designated in
various parts of the park. Education
pavilions will be added in the Conata
picnic area and west of County Road
502 along with a group campground.
Additional studies and environmental
documents will be developed, as
appropriate, to examine alternative road
alignments for the Loop Road at Cedar
Pass. Finally, the NPS will recommend
expanding the park’s boundaries in two
locations to enhance resource protection
and offer additional visitor experiences.
One boundary expansion will
incorporate approximately 5,400 acres
along South Dakota Highway 44. The
other recommended addition will be
4,500 acres along the western edge
adjacent to the wilderness area.
The selected action and three other
alternatives were analyzed in the draft
and final GMP/EIS. The full range of
foreseeable environmental
consequences was assessed. Among the
alternatives the NPS considered, the
selected action best achieves a high
standard of natural and cultural
resource protection with improved
opportunities for visitors in the park.
Furthermore, the selected action
responds to the changing visitation
pattern the park has been experiencing.
In the recent years, western South
Dakota has become more of a
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destination for visitors with Rapid City
serving as the hub for this visitation.
This shift in tourism patterns has
increased the number of park visitors
entering the park through the western
entrances. The selected action also
provides needed improvements for park
operations, such as areas for additional
park housing and research support. The
park is located in a rural area and
housing for employees is limited in the
surrounding communities. In addition,
the park has developed a good
relationship with the natural resources
research community but has limited
facilities for supporting these efforts.
The selected action would address the
need to provide facilities for park
operations and research. The selected
action also meets national
environmental policy goals will not
result in the impairment of resources
and values.
The ROD includes a statement of the
decision made, synopses of other
alternatives considered, the basis for the
decision, the rationale for why the
selected action is the environmentally
preferred alternative, a finding of no
impairment of park resources and
values, and an overview of public
involvement in the decisionmaking
process.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Superintendent Paige Baker, Badlands
National Park, 25216 Ben Reifel Road,
P.O. Box 6, Interior, South Dakota
57750, telephone 605–433–5361.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of
the Record of Decision may be obtained
from the contact listed above or may be
viewed online at http://
parkplanning.nps.gov/.

Dated: December 14, 2006.
Ernest Quintana,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
This document was received at the Office
of the Federal Register on April 19, 2007.
[FR Doc. E7–7744 Filed 4–23–07; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare a General
Management Plan and Environmental
Impact Statement for the South Unit of
Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
National Park Service,
Department of the Interior.
SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the
National Park Service (NPS) in
AGENCY:

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