[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15667-15668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07382]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

National Park Service


List of Units of the National Park System Exempt From the 
Provisions of the National Parks Air Tour Management Act

AGENCY:  Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation; National Park 
Service, Interior.

ACTION: List of exempt parks.

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SUMMARY: The National Parks Air Tour Management Act (NPATMA) requires 
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Park Service 
(NPS) to develop an air tour management plan for units of the national 
park system where an operator has applied for authority to conduct 
commercial air tours. The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 
amended various provisions of NPATMA. One provision exempted national 
park units with 50 or fewer annual flights from the requirement to 
prepare an air tour management plan or voluntary agreement and requires 
FAA and NPS to jointly publish a list of exempt parks. By Federal 
Register notice, FAA and NPS published an initial list of exempt parks 
in 2012 and subsequent lists for 2013 through 2015. This notice 
provides the annual updated list of parks that are exempt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Lusk--Mailing address: Federal 
Aviation Administration, 15000 Aviation Boulevard, Lawndale, California 
90261. Telephone: (310) 725-3808. Email address: [email protected]. 
Vicki Ward--Mailing address: Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, 
National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Suite 100-31, Fort Collins, 
CO 80525. Telephone: (970) 267-2117. Email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Authority

    1. NPATMA (Pub. L. 106-181, codified at 49 U.S.C. 40128) requires 
the FAA and NPS to develop an air tour management plan for units of the 
national park system where an operator has requested authority to 
provide commercial air tours. The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 
2012 (2012 Act) amended various provisions of NPATMA.
    2. This Federal Register Notice addresses the following 2012 Act 
amendment provisions (which are codified at 49 U.S.C. 40128(a)(5)):
    a. Exempt national park units that have 50 or fewer commercial air 
tour operations each year from the requirement to prepare an air tour 
management plan or voluntary agreement.
    b. Authorize NPS to withdraw the exemption if the Director 
determines that an air tour management plan or voluntary agreement is 
necessary to protect resources and values or visitor use and enjoyment.
    c. Require FAA and NPS to publish a list each year of national 
parks covered by the exemption.

II. List of Exempt Parks

    1. This list is based on the number of commercial air tour 
operations reported to the FAA and NPS by air tour operators conducting 
air tours under interim operating authority at national park units in 
calendar year 2016 for which the total operations was 50 or fewer. 
Parks on the exempt list are those that have at least one operator who 
has been granted operating authority to conduct commercial air tours 
over that park. Exempt parks are as follows:

Acadia National Park, ME
Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM
Big Bend National Park, TX
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO
Capitol Reef National Park, UT
Capulin Volcano National Monument, NM
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, AZ
Cedar Breaks National Monument, UT
Colorado National Monument, CO
Coronado National Memorial, AZ
Devils Tower National Monument, WY
Dinosaur National Monument, UT/CO
Dry Tortugas National Park, FL
El Malpais National Monument, NM
El Morro National Monument, NM
Everglades National Park, FL
Fort Bowie National Historic Site, AZ
Fort Davis National Historic Site, TX
Fort Union National Monument, NM
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, NM
Golden Spike National Historic Site, UT
Grand Teton National Park, WY
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, CO
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX
Hohokam Pima National Monument, AZ
Hovenweep National Monument, CO/UT
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, AZ
Kings Canyon National Park, CA
Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Mojave National Preserve, CA
Montezuma Castle National Monument, AZ
Navajo National Monument, AZ
North Cascades National Park, WA
Olympic National Park, WA
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ
Pecos National Historical Park, NM
Petrified Forest National Park, AZ
Petroglyph National Monument, NM
Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ
Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, TX
Saguaro National Park, AZ
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, NM
Sequoia National Park, CA
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, AZ
Timpanogos Cave National Monument, UT
Tumacacori National Historic Park, AZ
Tuzigoot National Monument, AZ
Walnut Canyon National Monument, AZ
Wupatki National Monument, AZ
Yellowstone National Park, ID/MT/WY
Yosemite National Park, CA

[[Page 15668]]

Yucca House National Monument, CO
Zion National Park, UT

    2. NPS is authorized to withdraw a park from the exempt list if NPS 
determines that an air tour management plan or voluntary agreement is 
necessary to protect park resources and values or park visitor use and 
enjoyment. Under this statutory authority, the NPS Director informed 
the FAA Administrator in writing on September 15, 2015, that NPS 
withdrew the exemption for Death Valley National Park and Mount Rainier 
National Park and on November 2, 2017 that NPS withdrew Canyon de 
Chelly National Monument. Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC; San Juan 
Island National Historical Park, WA; and Voyageurs National Park, MN 
were on the 2015 exempt list but are not on the 2016 exempt list 
because there is no longer any operator(s) who has applied for 
operating authority to conduct commercial air tours over those parks.

III. List of Exempt Parks for Future Years

    The FAA and NPS will publish a list of exempt parks annually. The 
list could change from year to year since parks may be added to or 
removed from the exempt list based on the previous year's number of 
annual operations. In order to continue to be exempt, a park must have 
50 or fewer annual commercial air tour operations in any given calendar 
year. The list could also change if NPS withdraws an exempted park. NPS 
is authorized to withdraw a park from the exempt list if NPS determines 
that an air tour management plan or a voluntary agreement is necessary 
to protect park resources and values or park visitor use and enjoyment. 
Pursuant to the 2012 Act, the NPS shall inform the FAA in writing of 
each determination to withdraw an exemption. At parks that lose exempt 
status, operators will return to interim operating authority 
requirements until an air tour management plan or a voluntary agreement 
has been established.

    Issued in Hawthorne, CA on December 4, 2017.
Dennis E. Roberts,
Regional Administrator, Western-Pacific Region, Federal Aviation 
Administration.
    Issued in Washington, DC on December 12, 2017.
Raymond M. Sauvajot,
Associate Director, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science, National 
Park Service.

    Editorial note: This document was received for publication by 
the Office of the Federal Register on April 5, 2018.

[FR Doc. 2018-07382 Filed 4-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


