Yellowstone National Park seeks comments on winter use adaptive management adjustments - NPS
News Release
NPS / Jacob W. Frank
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Contact: Morgan Warthin, (307) 344-2015
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – The National Park Service (NPS) encourages
public comment on a proposal to suspend one component of the adaptive
monitoring plan for winter use, which was initially put in place to
evaluate effects to resources in relation to snowmobiles and Oversnow
Vehicles (OSV) use. Starting in the winter of 2021 and 2022, a wildlife
monitoring effort identified in the 2012-2013 Winter Use Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)/Record of Decision (ROD)
would be suspended given the results have not substantially changed
over the decade evaluated. This action would not affect snowmobile or
OSV use in the park or impact visitors. This action is also consistent
with the park’s Winter Use Adaptive Management Plan, which stated the
NPS would continually re-examine and adjust winter use monitoring
strategies, and management actions as new information became available.
Wildlife monitoring has consistently shown similar response levels over
the years, indicating that wildlife are not, or are minimally, impacted.
Wildlife response to OSVs will likely continue to follow observed
patterns from the last 20 years of observation. In the future, the park
may explore other methods for monitoring wildlife impacts.
A recent summary report combined findings from the winter monitoring
programs since the 2012-2013 Winter Use Plan and SEIS/ROD was put into
effect. This summary report found that:
- Winter wildlife monitoring data from 2014 to 2019 showed 95% of wildlife in proximity (within 500 feet) to the groomed road corridor demonstrated no response or a "look and resume" response to oversnow vehicles.
- Observations during this period included 1,105 groups of wildlife and 6,715 individual animals.
- Similar monitoring efforts prior to the SEIS in 2013 found roughly 91% of wildlife were observed to demonstrate no response or a "look and resume" response.
Yellowstone will renew the winter wildlife monitoring program if
unexpected changes occur to wildlife populations or if significant
adjustments are made to winter operations and use. Future winter
wildlife monitoring efforts will be informed by the scientific community
and may be considerably different than current monitoring
methodologies. All other monitoring components of the SEIS/ROD will
remain in effect.
This finding will inform the park’s interest in conducting visitor use impact monitoring in the summer due to record-breaking visitation.
Comments must be received by November 1, 2021. Comments may be submitted online at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/winterwildlifemonitoring
or by mail. Comments will not be accepted by fax, email, or other
means. Mail comments to: Compliance Office, Attention: Winter Use
Adaptive Management, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
82190.
Public Comment Considerations
- Bulk comments in any format submitted on behalf of others will not be accepted.
- Before including your address, phone number, email, or other personal information, be aware that your entire comment – including your personally identifiable information – may be made public at any time. You may ask us to withhold your personally identifiable information from public review, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Link to Winter Use Management: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/management/winter-use-management.htm