Special regulations: Saguaro National Park, AZ; designated bicycle routes,
[Federal Register: March 7, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 45)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 11019-11022]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07mr03-23]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
36 CFR Part 7
RIN 1024-AD10
Special Regulations, Areas of the National Park System; Saguaro National Park, Designated Bicycle Routes
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) has proposed this rule to designate a route where bicycles may be used off road in Saguaro National Park. This rule is necessary because the NPS regulations for bicycle use off park roads in units of the National Park System require that a special regulation be promulgated in order to allow use on trails outside of developed park areas.
DATES: Comments must be received by May 6, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to the Superintendent, Saguaro National Park, 3693 South Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ 85730-5601 E-mail: SAGU--Cactus--Forest--Trail@nps.gov. Fax: (520) 733-5183.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kym Hall, Regulations Program Manager, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW., Room 7248, Washington, DC 20240. Phone number: (202) 208-4206. E-mail: Kym--Hall@nps.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description of Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park is an important national resource visited by approximately 755,618 people annually. The gross area acreage is 91,445.96 (Federal: 87,156.17; Nonfederal: 4,289.79) of which 71,400 acres are designated wilderness. Giant saguaro cacti, unique to the Sonoran Desert, sometimes reach a height of 50 feet in this cactus forest, which covers the valley floor and the slopes of the Rincon and Tucson Mountains. The Cactus Forest Trail is a multi-use trail (5.3 miles long) that originates at the northern boundary of the park and eventually bisects the Cactus Forest Loop Drive. The segment of the Cactus Forest Trail within the loop drive is 2.5 miles long. Cactus Forest Loop Drive, an 8 mile paved loop road located in the western portion of the Rincon Mountain District, originates from the main entrance and visitor center and is the only paved road in the park. The Cactus Forest Trail is designed along the natural topography and vegetation of the area and meanders through a relatively even elevation with rolling hills and gentle peaks. The trail is lined with a variety and abundance of desert trees and shrubs.
Legislation and Purposes of Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park was initially reserved as a national monument on March 1, 1933 (Proclamation No. 2032, 47 Stat. 2557), and transferred from the Forest Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933. This area was of outstanding scientific interest because of the exceptional growth of various species of cacti, including the so-called giant saguaro cactus. Proclamation 3439 (November 16, 1961), enlarged the boundaries of the Saguaro National Monument to include certain lands within the Tucson Mountains containing a remarkable display of relatively undisturbed lower Sonoran desert vegetation, including a spectacular saguaro stand. Public Law 94-567 (October 1976) designated parts of Saguaro National Monument as a wilderness area, known as the Saguaro Wilderness.
On January 3, 1991 Congress passed the ``Saguaro National Monument Expansion Act of 1991'' to authorize the addition of approximately 3,540 acres to the Rincon unit of Saguaro National Monument in order to protect, preserve, and interpret the monument's resources, and to provide for education and benefit to the public. Under the Saguaro National Park Establishment Act of 1994, Saguaro National Monument was given full recognition and statutory protection and renamed a National Park. See 16 U.S.C. 410ZZ.
Management Plans
Saguaro National Park General Management Plan (GMP) was completed in 1988. The GMP envisions the Rincon Mountain District as a main attraction for the first-time visitors, with the focus on the Saguaro forest and the lower Sonoran desert. Suggested frontcountry recreational uses include ``* * * biking, jogging, picnicking, sunset watching, and horseback riding'', while the ``* * * backcountry wilderness would continue to be used primarily by hikers and horseback riders.'' In the 1988 plan, the Cactus Forest trail is located in the frontcountry natural zone with a historic zone overlay. The management emphasis of the natural zone is the conservation of natural resources and processes. The plan states that ``In certain locations, uses are allowed that do not adversely affect these resources and processes.''
The park's trail plan for the Cactus Forest section of the Rincon Mountain District was completed in 1991. In addition to hiking and equestrian use, the plan proposed that the Cactus Forest Trail inside the Cactus Forest Loop Road be open to bicycle use for a one-year trial period. The plan also proposed the monitoring program designed to evaluate the environmental and social impacts of mountain bike use on the trail. The park adopted the plan's proposal and the trial period was extended for more than 10 years. The monitoring plan results indicated, overall, that any adverse impacts associated with bicycle use was negligible.
Since 1992, bicyclists, pedestrians, and equestrians were allowed to use the portion of the Cactus Forest Trail within the paved loop drive area. Recently, it was brought to the Park's attention that National Park Service regulations appear to require promulgation of a special regulation to permit bicycle use along the 2.5-mile section of the Cactus Forest Trail. In reviewing the actions leading to the opening of this trail for mountain bike use over ten years ago, the Park discovered that the requirements in the regulation governing bicycle use had not been followed. While the trail is located in the frontcountry as identified in the GMP, the area is designated a natural zone. Under the servicewide regulations, because the trail is not in a developed area or special use zone the park is required by 36 CFR 4.30(b) to adopt a special regulation to designate a route for bicycle use. In part the regulations state that:
Routes may only be designated for bicycle use based on a written determination that such use is consistent with the protection of a park area's natural, scenic and aesthetic values, safety considerations and management objectives and will not disturb wildlife or park resources. Except for routes designated in developed areas and special use zones, routes designated for bicycle use shall be promulgated as special regulations. (36 CFR 4.30)
Based on the criteria in the regulations, and the fact that the trail was not identified as being in a developed zone in the GMP in 1988, the Park determined that it did not then have the authority to allow such use on
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the trail. On April 15, 2002, the park closed the Cactus Forest Trail to bicycle use and initiated an Environmental Assessment and the special regulation process. In addition, the park will be addressing the bicycle use issue in a comprehensive way through the new GMP process that began in September 2002. The new GMP is scheduled to be complete in approximately 2-3 years. Apart from this proposed rule, in the meantime, bicycles are allowed to use paved and unpaved roads in the park pursuant to 36 CFR 4.30(a).
History of Bicycle Use
In the early 1990's the NPS was in the process of preparing a trails management plan for the Cactus Forest section of the park. During the planning process, public scoping revealed that some members of the local community and the visiting public were interested in mountain bike trails in the park. Based on this information, the NPS analyzed the appropriateness of establishing mountain bike trails. As noted above, the park opened that portion of the trail inside the Cactus Forest Loop Road to mountain bike use for a one-year trial period. The park monitored the trail for resource and social impacts by implementing a monitoring plan that included sixteen photo-points along the trail. Park staff monitored these locations on a monthly basis.
The park recorded approximately 1,200 bicyclists, or nearly 50% of all trail users, on the trail between May 1, 1992 and June 30, 1993. There were no major incidents or accidents during the trial period. At the end of the one-year period, the park concluded that monitoring data revealed little measurable resource impact caused by bicycle use and the decision was made to keep the Cactus Forest Trail inside the loop road open to bicycle use. The park continued to monitor the trail for resource damage at the designated monitoring points, performed patrols, and engaged in informal contact with visitors using the trail. Continued use of that trail by bicyclists had been authorized by the Superintendent's Compendium since that time. Until bicycle use was prohibited in April 2002, the trail continued to be a popular trail for mountain biking. Much of the trail follows an old two-track road that was allowed to revegetate and become a trail. About half the use of the trail is by hikers and equestrians.
Impacts
Soils: Reinstating mountain bike use would likely result in added visitation on the trail. This type of use would impact soils differently than hiking and equestrian use. Some monitoring points show that soil erosion and loss has been exacerbated by the ``cupping'' of the cross-section of the trail that is caused by repeated use in the center of the trail. At times, multiple uses occurring on the trail have resulted in beneficial impacts by redistributing soils across the trail. Soils may be distributed from the center of the trail to the sides by cyclists, and then loosened and redistributed in the center of the trail by horses and hikers. Park staff would continue to maintain the trail depending on available staffing and funding levels. With proper trail repair and maintenance, the overall effect of added visitation on soils would be of minor intensity.
Vegetation: Mountain bike use would contribute to a greater amount of disturbance of vegetation from riders dismounting from their bikes onto the side of the trail to yield to another trail user or to push their bike uphill. Vegetation that is affected is typically located in steeper slopes or where the trail curves and is lost through repeated trampling. Impacts from the added use would be of minor intensity. Trail repair and rehabilitation may offset some of the impacts associated with trailside vegetation loss. Trailside re-vegetation efforts could help to restore the natural scene, as well as contribute to a more defined trail path.
Wildlife: Wildlife would be frightened or displaced by the presence of visitors. However, given the higher speeds that mountain bicycles may reach on the trail, there may be a greater tendency for cyclists to encounter and frighten wildlife. There may also be a greater tendency for mountain bikers to run over smaller vertebrates such as snakes on the trail. These factors, along with an anticipated increase in the amount of use on the trail are expected to result in more individual wildlife species being frightened and displaced from the immediate area. Overall, the impacts of this use on wildlife would be of minor intensity.
Archeological resources: Reinstating bicycle use on the Cactus Forest Trail would not have any additional impacts on archeological resources or historic structures. As with any increase in visitation, however, there is a greater possibility that cultural resources could be discovered and/or damaged. Bicycle use off the trail would not be permitted and it is anticipated that visitors would remain on the trail; therefore, impacts to archeological resources and historic structures would be negligible.
Visitor conflicts: Bicyclists would view the opportunity for an off-road experience in the park as beneficial. However, some hikers and equestrians would feel as though their ability to experience park resources along the trail is diminished if they see mountain bike use as incompatible with their desired experience. Some hikers and equestrians may choose to use the trail less or avoid the trail completely. However, the multi-use orientation of the trail would be likely to have no more than minor impacts on a hiker or equestrian's ability to experience the park. This is because a number and variety of other trails in the Cactus Forest area are open to hiking and equestrian use only.
Visitor safety: There would be a greater potential for visitor accidents under this proposed rule in comparison to no bicycle use. Mountain bikes traveling at higher speeds could inadvertently collide with other recreationists, regardless of their mode of travel. Horses may be frightened by bicyclists and their response may result in a number of unsafe situations. Given the past record of incidents on this trail, however, reinstating mountain bike use would not be considered an unsafe use if recreationists continued to abide by the recommended trail etiquette/rules. Overall impacts to visitor safety would be negligible to minor in intensity.
Threatened species: According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's October 2001 list of listed, proposed and candidate species for the area, there are seven species of concern, including four federally listed species (Mexican spotted owl, cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl, lesser long-nosed bat, Gila topminnow), one delisted species (American peregrine falcon), and two species proposed for listing (Chiricahua leopard frog, Goodding Onion) that are known to or might occur in the Rincon Mountain District where the Cactus Forest Trail is located.
The Goodding onion has not been recorded in the Rincon Mountains. The Cactus Forest Trail is in the same watershed as a drainage that could potentially be used to restock Gila topminnow. However, the Cactus Forest Trail is well below and disjunct from that drainage, and activities on the Cactus Forest Trail would have no impact on that drainage or affect its potential to reintroduce this fish. Despite surveys throughout the Rincon Mountains by Saguaro and other NPS biological staff, Chiricahua leopard frogs have never been recorded in Saguaro National Park. Furthermore, the proposed action will not affect potential habitat for this frog, which requires surface water above 3,000' elevation.
The Cactus Forest Trail is located over a mile from the known Lesser long-
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nosed bat roost, and neither the trail, nor any of the activities proposed to occur on it, would be expected to disturb bats (which forage after dark), or saguaros or agaves, upon which the bats forage. Cactus ferruginous pygmy-owls (cfpo) have not been confirmed to occur in the Park since 1995; however, they probably inhabit, and may breed, in the low (
