36 CFR - Title 36—Parks, Forests, and Public Property

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) announces its intent to establish an advisory committee to advise the Board on matters addressed in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published in the February 9, 2012 edition of the Federal Register , 77 FR 6916, on accessibility standards for medical diagnostic equipment and issues raised in the public comments on the NPRM. The Access Board requests applications from interested organizations for representatives to serve on the advisory committee.

The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to designate the Hope Camp Trail as a bicycle route within Saguaro National Park (Park). The National Park Service general regulation at 36 CFR 4.30(b) requires promulgation of a special regulation to designate bicycle routes outside of developed areas and special use zones.

This final rule extends the compliance date for the final rule that revised the list of nonrural areas identified by the Federal Subsistence Board (Board). On May 7, 2007, the Board published a final rule changing the rural determination for several communities or areas in Alaska. These communities had five years following the date of publication to come into compliance. In 2009 the Secretary of the Interior initiated a review of the Federal Subsistence Program. An ensuing directive was for the Federal Subsistence Board to review its processes for determining the rural and nonrural status of communities. As a result, the Board has initiated a review of the rural determination process and the rural determination findings. The Board finds that it is in the public's interest to extend the compliance date of the 2007 final rule until the review is complete or in 5 years, whichever comes first.

The National Park Service is amending special regulations for Cape Cod National Seashore that authorize hunting to allow for a spring season hunt for Eastern Wild Turkey. The Final Rule implements the Record of Decision for the Cape Cod National Seashore Hunting Program Environmental Impact Statement of August 2007.

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) is proposing accessibility standards for medical diagnostic equipment. The proposed standards contain minimum technical criteria to ensure that medical diagnostic equipment, including examination tables, examination chairs, weight scales, mammography equipment, and other imaging equipment used by health care providers for diagnostic purposes are accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. The standards will allow independent entry to, use of, and exit from the equipment by individuals with disabilities to the maximum extent possible. The standards do not impose any mandatory requirements on health care providers or medical device manufacturers. However, other agencies, referred to as an enforcing authority in the standards, may issue regulations or adopt policies that require health care providers subject to their jurisdiction to acquire accessible medical diagnostic equipment that conforms to the standards.

This proposed rule would establish regulations for fish and shellfish seasons, harvest limits, methods and means related to taking of fish and shellfish for subsistence uses during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 regulatory years. The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) is on a schedule of completing the process of revising subsistence taking of fish and shellfish regulations in odd-numbered years and subsistence taking of wildlife regulations in even-numbered years; public proposal and review processes take place during the preceding year. The Board also addresses customary and traditional use determinations during the applicable cycle. When final, the resulting rulemaking will replace the existing subsistence fish and shellfish taking regulations. This proposed rule would also amend the general regulations on subsistence taking of fish and wildlife.

This rule designates off-road vehicle (ORV) routes and authorizes limited ORV use within Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) in a manner that will protect and preserve natural and cultural resources, provide a variety of safe visitor experiences, and minimize conflicts among various users. Under National Park Service (NPS) general regulations, the operation of motor vehicles off of roads within areas of the National Park System is prohibited unless authorized by special regulation.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is updating its regulations related to declassification of classified national security information in records transferred to NARA's legal custody. The rule incorporates changes resulting from issuance of Executive Order 13526, Classified National Security Information, and its Implementing Directive. These changes include establishing procedures for the automatic declassification of records in NARA's legal custody and revising requirements for reclassification of information to meet the provisions of E.O. 13526. Executive Order 13526 also created the National Declassification Center (NDC) with a mission to align people, processes, and technologies to advance the declassification and public release of historically valuable permanent records while maintaining national security. This rule will affect members of the public and Federal agencies.

This rule implements the Record of Decision for the 2011 Winter Use Plan/Environmental Impact Statement and governs winter visitation and certain recreational activities in Yellowstone National Park for the 2011-2012 winter season. The rule retains, for one additional year, the regulations and management framework that have been in place for the past two winter seasons (2009-2010 and 2010-2011). Specifically, the rule retains provisions that: require most recreational snowmobiles operating in the park to meet certain National Park Service air and sound emissions requirements; require snowmobiles and snowcoaches in Yellowstone to be accompanied by a commercial guide; set daily entry limits on the numbers of snowmobiles (up to 318) and snowcoaches (up to 78) that may enter the park; and prohibit traveling off designated oversnow routes.

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) is reopening until February 2, 2012, the comment period for the notice entitled “Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way,” that appeared in the Federal Register on July 26, 2011. In that notice, the Access Board proposed guidelines for accessible public rights-of-way and requested comments by November 23, 2011. The Access Board is taking this action to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments.

This final rule implements the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program (CFP), authorized by Section 8003 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. The CFP legislation is an amendment to the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978. The CFP is a competitive grant program whereby local governments, Indian tribes, and qualified nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for grants to establish community forests through fee-simple acquisition of private forest land. The program's two purposes are to provide public benefits to communities including economic benefits through sustainable forest management, environmental benefits including clean air, water, and wildlife habitat; benefits from forest-based educational programs; benefits from serving as models of effective forest stewardship; and recreational benefits secured with public access; and to acquire private forest lands that are threatened by conversion to nonforest uses. Existing provisions in Forest Service regulations pertaining to the Stewardship Incentive Program will be removed as deauthorized by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, and this final rule will be substituted in lieu thereof.

This rule designates certain multi-use pathways in Grand Teton National Park (Park) as routes for bicycle use. National Park Service (NPS) regulations require issuance of a special regulation to designate bicycle routes that are located off park roads and outside developed areas. The first two segments of a planned multi-use pathway system have been constructed and are generally located within 50 feet of existing park roads. Separating bicycle traffic from lanes used for motor vehicle travel will reduce real and perceived safety hazards, which will enhance opportunities for non-motorized enjoyment of the park and encourage the use of alternate transportation. This rule also revises NPS special regulations regarding fishing and vessels in certain Park waters to reflect current operating practices and management objectives.

The Forest Service is making a purely technical, non-substantive change to Forest Service regulations, which will conform Forest Service regulations to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations implementing Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Effective March 15, 2011, these regulations use the phrase “service animal” to refer to a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Accordingly, the references to “seeing eye dog” are being changed to “service animal.”

This final rule revises the regulations concerning the composition of the Federal Subsistence Board (Board). On October 23, 2009, the Secretary of the Interior announced the initiation of a Departmental review of the Federal Subsistence Management Program in Alaska. The review focused on how the program is meeting the purposes and subsistence provisions of Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA), and how the program is serving rural subsistence users. The review proposed several administrative and regulatory changes to strengthen the program and make it more responsive to rural subsistence users. This rule expands the Federal Subsistence Board by two public members who possess personal knowledge of and direct experience with subsistence uses in rural Alaska. This action will afford additional stakeholder input to the process.

We, the National Park Service, are reopening the public comment period for the proposed rule to manage off-road vehicle use at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina. The additional comment period allows more time for those who may have been affected by Hurricane Irene to submit comments.

This document corrects the proposed accessibility guidelines for pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way published in the Federal Register on July 26, 2011. Some of the Web pages referenced in the preamble are inactive and some of the sections of the proposed guidelines contain incorrect references to other sections of the guidelines. This document corrects the Web page references and section references.

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board is proposing accessibility guidelines for the design, construction, and alteration of pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way. The guidelines ensure that sidewalks, pedestrian street crossings, pedestrian signals, and other facilities for pedestrian circulation and use constructed or altered in the public right-of-way by state and local governments are readily accessible to and usable by pedestrians with disabilities. When the guidelines are adopted, with or without additions and modifications, as accessibility standards in regulations issued by other federal agencies implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Architectural Barriers Act, compliance with the accessibility standards is mandatory.

NARA is proposing to change its regulations to add the methodology for creating and changing records reproduction fees, to remove records reproduction fees found in its regulations, and to provide a notification process for the public of new or proposed fees. This proposed rule covers reproduction of Federal or Presidential records accessioned, donated, or transferred to NARA. This rule will affect members of the public.

This proposed rule would update NARA's regulations related to declassification of classified national security information in records transferred to NARA's legal custody. The rule incorporates changes resulting from issuance of Executive Order 13526, Classified National Security Information, and its Implementing Directive. These changes include establishing procedures for the automatic declassification of records in NARA's legal custody and revising requirements for reclassification of information to meet the provisions of E.O. 13526. Executive Order 13526 also created the National Declassification Center (NDC) with a mission to align people, processes, and technologies to advance the declassification and public release of historically valuable permanent records while maintaining national security. This rule will affect members of the public and Federal agencies.

The National Park Service (NPS) proposes to designate routes where off-road vehicles (ORVs) may be used within Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore), North Carolina. Under NPS general regulations, the operation of motor vehicles off of roads within areas of the national park system is prohibited unless otherwise provided for by special regulation. The proposed rule would authorize ORV use at the Seashore, manage it to protect and preserve natural and cultural resources and natural processes, and provide a variety of safe visitor experiences while minimizing conflicts among various users.

The National Park Service (NPS) is amending its procedures for obtaining historic preservation certifications for rehabilitation of historic structures. Individuals and corporations must obtain these certifications to be eligible for tax credits from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This rule incorporates references to the revised sections of the Internal Revenue Code containing the requirements for obtaining a tax credit; replaces references to NPS's regional offices with references to its Washington Area Service Office (WASO); requires NPS to accept appeals for denial of certain certifications; and removes the certification fee schedule from the regulation. These latter two revisions provide an additional avenue for appeals and allow NPS to update fees by publishing a notice in the Federal Register as administrative costs change.

The National Park Service (NPS) proposes to designate four bicycle routes within Mammoth Cave National Park. This proposed rule is necessary to implement portions of the park's Comprehensive Trail Management Plan and the requirements of the NPS general regulations require that a special regulation be promulgated in order to allow off-road bicycle use on routes outside of developed park areas. Authorizing routes for bicycling will address the significant interest of the visiting public for bicycling in the park. This proposed rule would allow bicycle use on a new Connector Trail in the vicinity of Maple Springs; the Big Hollow Trail, a new bike trail in the hilly country of the park north of the Green River; the nine-mile Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike & Hike Trail; and the White Oak Trail.

The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is proposing to establish a State-specific rule to provide management direction for conserving and managing inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System (NFS) lands in Colorado. A proposed rule was published in the July 25, 2008, Federal Register . In response to public comment on the 2008 Proposed Rule and a revised petition submitted by the State of Colorado on April 6, 2010, the Forest Service is publishing a new proposed rule. The Agency is inviting public comment on this new proposed rule and accompanying revised draft environmental impact statement (RDEIS). The Agency is interested in public comments on the changes to exceptions and prohibitions on activities in roadless areas that have been developed in response to public comments on the 2008 Proposed Rule. The Agency is particularly interested in receiving public comments on the concept, management, and rationale for designation of specific areas within Colorado Roadless Areas identified as “upper tier.” In this proposed rule, these areas are provided a higher level of protection than the 2001 Roadless Rule,

The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing administrative corrections affecting Big Creek Fringe, French Creek, Placer Creek, Secesh, and Smith Creek Idaho Roadless Areas on the Payette National Forest. These corrections remedy clerical errors relating to regulatory classifications involving two Forest Plan Special Areas (Big Creek and French Creek) and a mapping error. These corrections are made pursuant to 36 CFR 294.27(a).

The National Park Service (NPS) is physically moving the office of the Division of Park Programs, National Mall and Memorial Parks (NAMA) which processes applications for special events and demonstrations permits for nine parks in the National Capital Region (NCR). This rule updates the address and location of the office where these permit applications may be obtained and where completed applications are to be submitted by mail or in person.

The National Park Service (NPS) proposes to amend special regulations for Cape Cod National Seashore, to allow for a spring-season hunt for Eastern Wild Turkey. The proposed rule would implement the Cape Cod National Seashore Hunting Program Environmental Impact Statement of August 2007.

This final rule establishes regulations for seasons, harvest limits, methods, and means related to taking of fish and shellfish for subsistence uses in Alaska during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 regulatory years. The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) completes the biennial process of revising subsistence hunting and trapping regulations in even-numbered years and subsistence fishing and shellfish regulations in odd-numbered years; public proposal and review processes take place during the preceding year. The Board also addresses customary and traditional use determinations during the applicable biennial cycle. This rulemaking replaces the fish and shellfish taking regulations that expire on March 31, 2011. This rule also revises the address of the Office of Subsistence Management; the new address should be used to obtain maps delineating the boundaries of the subsistence resource regions.

This document contains a correction to regulations related to architectural and design standards for Presidential libraries and information required in NARA's reports to Congress before accepting title to or entering into an agreement to use land, a facility, and equipment as a Presidential library.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing a new planning rule to guide land and resource management planning for all units of the National Forest System (NFS) under the National Forest Management Act of 1976. The proposed rule sets forth process and content requirements to guide the development, amendment, and revision of land management plans to maintain, protect, and restore NFS lands while providing for sustainable multiple uses, including ecosystem services, so that NFS lands continuously provide ecosystem functions and contribute to social and economic sustainability. Planning under the proposed rule would be collaborative and science-based with the responsible official required to take the best available scientific information into account and provide opportunities for public participation throughout the planning process. The proposed framework consists of a three-part learning and planning cycle: Assessment, development/revision/amendment, and monitoring. The phases of the framework are complementary and are intended to create a feedback loop that allows the Forest Service to adapt management to changing conditions and to improve plans based on new information and monitoring. This framework is intended to move the Agency toward a more responsive planning process that allows the Agency to understand the landscape-scale context for management, adapt management to changing conditions, improve management based on new information and monitoring, and support an integrated and holistic approach to management that recognizes the interdependence of social, ecological, and economic systems. The Agency is requesting public comment on the proposed rule and on the alternatives that are described and evaluated in the accompanying draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). Readers are invited to comment on each section of the proposed rule and on how provisions in the DEIS alternatives compare with the proposed rule. The Agency will carefully consider all public comments in preparing the final rule.

This proposed rule would revise the regulations concerning the composition of the Federal Subsistence Board (Board). On October 23, 2009, the Secretary of the Interior announced the initiation of a Departmental review of the Federal Subsistence Management Program in Alaska. The review focused on how the program is meeting the purposes and subsistence provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA), and how the program is serving rural subsistence users. The review proposed several administrative and regulatory changes to strengthen the program and make it more responsive to rural users. One proposed change called for adding two public members representing rural Alaskan subsistence users to the existing Board, which would afford additional regional representation and increase stakeholder input in the decisionmaking process.

This proposed rule would establish regulations for hunting and trapping seasons, harvest limits, methods and means related to taking of wildlife for subsistence uses during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 regulatory years. The Federal Subsistence Board is on a schedule of completing the process of revising subsistence taking of wildlife regulations in even-numbered years and subsistence taking of fish and shellfish regulations in odd-numbered years; public proposal and review processes take place during the preceding year. The Board also addresses customary and traditional use determinations during the applicable cycle. When final, the resulting rulemaking will replace the existing subsistence wildlife taking regulations. This rule would also amend the general regulations on subsistence taking of fish and wildlife.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is changing the appeal authority for researchers whose privileges have been revoked for specific behaviors, from the Archivist of the United States to the Deputy Archivist of the United States. This change will align the appeal authority for researchers whose research privileges have been revoked with the appeal authority for individuals who have been banned from NARA facilities for prohibited activities. Researchers maintain the same rights of appeal.

This final rule is implementing verbatim sections 8102 and 8104 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) by adding regulations regarding special closures to provide for closure of National Forest System lands to protect the privacy of tribal activities for traditional and cultural purposes and by adding definitions for “Indian tribe” and “traditional and cultural purpose.” FCEA authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure access to National Forest System lands, to the maximum extent practicable, by Indians and Indian tribes for traditional and cultural purposes, in recognition of the historic use of National Forest System lands by Indians and Indian tribes.

NARA is adding four new official logos. One is the new agency-wide official logo for use on agency correspondence and other communications and publicity media. The other three logos are for new offices within NARA—the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), the Controlled Unclassified Information Office (CUI), and the National Declassification Center (NDC).

Public comments are solicited for this proposed rule which implements the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program (CFP) authorized by Section 8003 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. The CFP legislation is an amendment to the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978. The CFP is a competitive grant program whereby local governments, Tribal Governments, and qualified non-profit organizations are eligible to apply for grants to establish community forests. The program's two purposes are to assist communities in acquiring forestland that would provide public recreation, environmental and economic benefits, and forest-based educational programs, and to protect forestland that has been identified as a national, regional, or local priority for protection. Existing provisions in Forest Service regulations pertaining to the Stewardship Incentive Program will be removed as deauthorized by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, and this proposed rule will be substituted in lieu thereof.

The National Park Service (NPS) proposes to amend the regulations on demonstrations and special events for the National Capital Region. This proposed rule would revise the definition of “demonstration” as well as specify the conditions under which solicitation of gifts, money, goods, or services could occur.