Environmental groups were digesting the nearly 300-page document, and at the same time expressing relief that many provisions they found offensive in a draft of the document earlier this year seem to have been removed.
“No one can enjoy the parks if they are impaired,” said National Park Service Director Fran Mainella. “Our updated policy guidance will give 21st century managers the tools to conserve our natural and cultural resources while ensuring enjoyable and appropriate experiences for visitors.”
The Park Service will accept public comments on the draft proposals for 90 days before finalizing the document. The management guidelines were last rewritten in 2000.
Mainella said the rewrite was needed to comply with congressional directives and court rulings. A new section was also added to spell out the Park Service's role in border security, law enforcement and its relationship with the Department of Homeland Security, which did not exist when the current guidelines were issued.
The new regulations do not dictate specific changes in how parks will be managed. Rather, they are meant to help park superintendents decide which activities should and should not be permitted.
An earlier draft from Deputy Assistant Interior Secretary Paul Hoffman, leaked to various media outlets, could have opened parks to new cell phone towers, expanded off-road vehicle use or other practices that are generally prohibited in the national parks.
Mainella and Hoffman said Tuesday that Hoffman's draft was meant to stimulate discussion and took on a life of its own, but those changes were not incorporated in the version released Tuesday.
“There is no change to snowmobiles, no change to personal watercraft, no change to cell towers,” said Mainella.
Craig Obey, vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, said it appears that the most offensive provisions of the Hoffman draft have been discarded.
“The real test here isn't going to be is it better than the Hoffman [draft]. That wouldn't be hard. The test is whether it's better than the 2001 policies,” Obey said.
