FINAL Version

DRAFT Version:
Table of Contents
Abstract
Summary
Purpose and Need
Alternatives
Affect Environment
Environmental Consequences
Consultation
Appendixes

PDF Version

Brief Description
Devils Tower National Monument comprises 1,347 acres in northeastern Wyoming on the northwest edge of the Black Hills. The monu­ment’s flora and fauna are typical of the Black Hills region of South Dakota and surrounding areas in Wyoming (NPS 1992). The Belle Fourche River, which flows through the eastern side of the monument, is part of the Cheyenne River Basin. Devils Tower, one of the most conspicuous geologic features of the Black Hills region, is made of igneous rock.

Purpose of the Plan
The purpose of this General Management Plan / Environmental Impact Statement is to clearly define a direction for resource preservation and visitor experience at Devils Tower National Monument.

The approved plan will provide a framework for proactive decision-making, including decisions on visitor use and on managing natural and cultural resources and development. This will allow managers to address future opportunities and problems effectively.

This plan will prescribe the resource conditions and visitor experiences that are to be achieved and maintained in the national monument over time. What must be achieved according to law and policy will be clarified on the basis of review of the monument’s purpose, significance, special mandates, and the body of laws and policies directing management. Management decisions that must be made where law, policy, or regulations do not provide clear guidance or limits will be based on the monument’s pur­poses, the range of public expectations and concerns, resource analysis, evaluation of the natural, cultural, and social impacts of alterna­tive courses of action, and consideration of long-term economic costs. This document will not propose specific actions or describe how particu­lar programs or projects will be implemented or prioritized. Those decisions will be deferred to more detailed implementation planning, which will follow the broad, comprehensive decision-making pre­sented in this document.

Need for the plan
The previous General Management Plan for Devils Tower was approved in 1986. The plan focused primarily on the construction of facili­ties, none of which have been built because of funding limitations. That plan did not address current issues related to greatly increased visitation, the degradation of natural systems, changing regional land uses, and conflicts among various user groups.

The major issues to be addressed in the plan are outlined in the following paragraphs.

Congestion
The national monument is subject to visitor congestion, including vehicular circulation and parking, crowded visitor facilities, and visitor carrying capacity.

Since the earliest years of Devils Tower National Monument, private automobiles have been the preferred means of access. For decades the National Park Service tried to satisfy increas­ing demands in traffic volume and vehicle size. Vehicular traffic during the peak visitor season now exceeds the monument’s capacity. A dramatic increase in overall visitation has resulted in overcrowding, congestion, impacts on natural sound, and trampling of vegetation. Since 1985 visitation increased from 224,994 visitors per year to about 450,000 in 1990.

Visitation is concentrated into the prime resource areas of the Tower, the visitor center area, the Tower trail, and the prairie dog town. During times of heavy use, visitors must wait in long lines to use the facilities at the Tower area. Staff members frequently have to wait for more than 15 minutes to enter the monument grounds when visitation is high. Not enough restrooms are available; this lack is among the most frequent complaints received from visitors.

Inadequate Staff Facilities
Offices for the monument staff are in four buildings located throughout the monument. Only two of these buildings were designed for office space; the other two are historic log cabins that have been modified for office space. None of the buildings has adequate space for today’s staff and office requirements. In addi­tion, storage space is inadequate, and there are no facilities for staff meetings or breaks. The space available for the cooperating association’s offices and bookstore also is inadequate.

Interpretation and Visitor Orientation
Congestion and inadequate facilities limit the staff’s ability to offer orientation and interpreta­tion that would ensure visitor understanding of the monument’s significance and allow visitors to make the best use of their time. The existing interpretive efforts concentrate on exploration by early settlers, recreational rock climbing, geo­logic theory of the Tower’s origin, and wildlife. However, with growing awareness of the significance of the Tower to the indigenous nations of the northern plains, additional interpretive emphasis is needed.

A visitor center built by the Civilian Conserva­tion Corps (CCC) in the 1930s to accommodate 20,000 visitors per year now must accommodate approximately 400,000 visitors a year. A 1995 visitor study showed that 80% of visitors who came to the monument used the visitor center, yet visitors ranked its quality among the poorest of the services and facilities.

Natural Resource Management
Flood control structures on the Belle Fourche River inside and outside the monument have severely damaged the riparian woodland system. The problem affects all the low elevation flatlands making up the monument’s southeast corner. Dying trees and a lack of natural regen­eration are evidence of this impact. Floodplain values are further compromised by the presence of some development in the 100-year floodplain.

Virtually every square meter of the monument with soil has at least one of 56 exotic species. Herbicide applications to leafy spurge for the last 40 years have had a detrimental effect on riparian vegetation.

Fire suppression is affecting native vegetative communities and wildlife habitat throughout the national monument. Nearly a century of fire suppression has left the monument’s pine forests more dense and vulnerable to catastrophic fires than in historic times. The lack of fire also has led to a failure to reproduce among deciduous woodland trees and shrubs.

Large numbers of visitors stop along the entry road to watch prairie dogs. Many people walk out into the prairie dog town, which impacts the vegetation and alters the animals’ behavior. Visitors’ feeding the prairie dogs alters the ani­mals’ behavior and poses a risk their health and safety. Occasionally the animals are lured to the road for handouts and are killed by automobiles.

Boundary and Cross-Boundary Concerns
Changing economics and development patterns threaten the traditional ranching lifestyle of monument neighbors and increase the potential for imminent development on adjacent lands. Such development could change the setting and rural character of the surrounding area.

A proposed new airport 8 miles from the monument (near Hulett ) could negatively affect the monument’s natural quiet and viewshed. Airport planners predict nearly 10,000 takeoffs and landings per year, concentrated during the summer months. Computer analysis of the viewshed indicates that night lighting at the airport could be visible from inside the national monument.

Cultural Resource Management
Modern recreational use, developments, and climbing on the Tower are sometimes in conflict with American Indian traditional cultural values. High levels of development, visitor use, and crowding at the base of the Tower are not consistent with the spiritual nature of the area.

Aesthetics
Aboveground powerlines obstruct scenic views in Devils Tower. Monument developments and night lighting affect views from key resource areas such as the Tower area and the trails.

Development
Despite the need for improved visitor and staff facilities, additional development is of concern because of the small size of the monument and the importance of scenic views.

The Scoping Process

Notices, Newsletters, and Meetings
The notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register on August 19, 1999. A newsletter was distributed in summer 1999 to inform the general public of the beginning of the planning process. The newsletter summarized the plan­ning process and schedule, presented monument purpose and significance statements and mission goals, and included a brief listing of issues and concerns to be addressed in the plan. A response form included with the newsletter invited public comment on the purpose and significance state­ments and asked for any additional issues or concerns. Comments were received in the general areas of congestion, natural and cultural resource protection, interpretation and orienta­tion, the monument boundary, aesthetics, and development.

A second newsletter released in fall 1999 summarized public response to the first newsletter, organized planning issues into three major decision points, and presented three pos­sible concepts around which alternatives could be developed. Another mail-back comment form was included for public response.

A third newsletter issued in spring 2000 described possible management zones and introduced preliminary alternatives. Four open house meetings shortly after the release of the newsletter were attended by a total of 21 people.

A fourth newsletter issued in fall 2000 presented the proposed preferred alternative and asked for comments. Four subsequent open houses were attended by a total of 14 people.

American Indians were consulted throughout the planning process. Members of the planning team visited three tribal offices in October 1999 and October 2000, where 60 and 15 people attended, respectively. A consultation meeting took place in the spring of 2000 at Sundance, Wyoming, with 23 people in attendance.

Visitor Use Study
In summer 1999 the University of Minnesota Cooperative Park Studies Unit (CPSU) gathered information about visitors at Devils Tower National Monument (Univ. of Minn. 2000). Survey participants were representative of visitors who come throughout the summer season, not only during peak use times. The purpose of the study was to better understand experiences that monument visitors sought and attained. Information was gathered about visitors’ background characteristics, activities that visitors engaged in, their attitudes concern­ing the quality and adequacy of available facili­ties, and their opinions about management strategies to address problems (such as alterna­tive transportation to relieve congestion).Also see appendix A, “Development of the Preferred Alternative.”

Laws, Policies, and Mandates

Each unit in the national park system is guided by agencywide and park-specific laws, regula­tions, and policies. Understanding this guidance and how it affects each unit’s mission is funda­mental to planning for the future. This section highlights the missions (expressed as purpose, significance, and mission goals) and legal and policy mandates that guide the management of Devils Tower National Monument. These mission and mandate statements define the parameters within which all management actions must fall. All alternatives to be considered in the general management planning effort must be consistent with and contribute to fulfilling these missions and mandates.

Mission and Goals

Monument Purpose
Devils Tower, the nation’s first national monu­ment, was established in 1906 under the Antiquities Act as “an extraordinary example of the effects of erosion in the higher mountains as to be a natural wonder and an object of historic and great scientific interest . . . “

Monument Significance

• Devils Tower, a monolith made of igneous rock, commands attention due to many symmetrical joint columns. At 867 feet high, it is the dominant landmark in the northern Great Plains.
  
  
• The Tower is sacred to many peoples. It figures prominently in the belief systems and narratives of northern Plains Indians.
  
  
• The Tower is one of the premiere “crack climbing” areas (traditional climbing using natural cracks, crevices, and ledges) in North America and boasts a colorful 100-year climbing history.
  
  
• At Devils Tower, mountain and northern plains species meet in the ecological mix distinctive to the Black Hills.

Mission Goals

• Restore and maintain the health and diversity of the monument’s natural systems.
  
  
• Preserve archeological, historic, and ethnographic values at Devils Tower.
  
  
• Interpret the significant and varied themes of Devils Tower.
  
  
• Balance educational, spiritual, and recreational uses of Devils Tower and its surrounding landscape to provide meaningful visitor experiences.

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments

Climbing Management
The Final Climbing Management Plan / Finding of No Significant Impact was published in February 1995. This General Management Plan reaffirms the climbing plan. No alternative of this plan suggests any revisions. The Climbing Management Plan (NPS 1995) is summarized in appendix B.

Livestock Management
The monument contains no legal right-of-way for livestock. However, at this time it is an acceptable practice to allow a right-of-way and water gap for livestock on the south boundary of the monument. This is not a guaranteed use for the future.

Servicewide Laws and Policies

As with all units of the national park system, the management of Devils Tower National Monu­ment is guided by the 1916 Organic Act (which created the National Park Service), the General Authorities Act of 1970, the act of March 27, 1978, relating to the management of the national park system, and other applicable federal laws and regulations, such as the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. Actions are also guided by the National Park Service Management Policies (NPS 2001a). Also see appendix C, “Legislation.”

Many resource conditions and some aspects of visitor experience are prescribed by these legal mandates and NPS policies. Although attaining some of these conditions has been deferred in the monument because of funding or staffing limitations, the National Park Service (NPS) will continue to strive to implement these require­ments with or without a new General Manage­ment Plan. This plan is not needed to decide, for instance, whether or not it is appropriate to protect endangered species, control exotic species, improve water quality, protect archeological sites, provide access for visitors with disabilities, or conserve artifacts.

The conditions prescribed by laws, regulations, and policies most pertinent to the planning and management of the monument are summarized in this chapter.

Natural Resource Management Requirements

Air Quality. The monument is a class II air quality area. Current laws and policies require that the following desired conditions be achieved in the monument:

• Air quality in the monument meets national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for specified pollutants. Healthful indoor air quality at NPS facilities will be ensured.
  
  
• Monument activities will not contribute to deterioration in the air quality.

  (Sources:Clean Air Act, NPS Management Policies)

Although the National Park Service has very little direct control over air quality in the airshed encompassing the monument, monument managers cooperate with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to monitor air quality and ensure that air quality is not impaired.

The National Park Service will take the following kinds of actions to meet legal and policy requirements related to air quality:

• Participate in regional air pollution control plans and regulations and review of permit applications for major new air pollution sources
  
  
• Conduct operations in compliance with federal, state, and local air quality regulations

Water Resources, Floodplains, and Wetlands. Current laws and policies require that the desired conditions delineated below be achieved in the monument:

• Surface water and groundwater will be restored or enhanced.
  
  
• NPS and NPS-permitted programs and facilities will be maintained and operated to avoid pollution of surface water and groundwater.
  
  
• Natural floodplain values will be preserved or restored.
  
  
• The natural and beneficial values of wetlands will be preserved and enhanced.
  
  
• Long-term and short-term environmental effects associated with the occupancy and modification of floodplains will be avoided.
  
  
• When it is not practicable to locate or relocate development or inappropriate human activities to a site outside the floodplain or where the floodplain will not be affected, the National Park Service will do the following:
  
  
  • prepare and approve a statement of findings in accordance with DO 77-2
    
    
  • use nonstructural measures as much as practicable to reduce hazards to human life and property while minimizing impacts on the natural resources of floodplains
    
    
  • ensure that structures and facilities are designed to be consistent with the intent of the standards and criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program (44 CFR 60)
    
    
  • avoid direct or indirect support of new construction in wetlands unless there are no reasonable alternatives and the proposed action includes all practicable measures to minimize harm to wetlands
    
    
  • compensate for remaining unavoidable adverse impacts on wetlands by restoring wetlands that have been previously destroyed or degraded
    
    
• The National Park Service will implement a “no net loss of wetlands” policy and strive to achieve a longer-term goal of net gain of wetlands across the national park system through the restoration of previously degraded or destroyed wetlands.
  
  (Sources:Clean Water Act; Executive Order (EO) 11514, NPS Management Policies, EO 12088, EO 11988, Rivers and Harbors Act, Special Directive 93-4, EO 11990, Special Directive 77-1; Director’s Order (DO) 77-2, “Floodplain Management”; DO 77-1, “Wetland Protection,” National Flood Insurance Program (44 CFR 60.))

The National Park Service will take the following kinds of actions to meet legal and policy requirements related to water resources, floodplains, and wetlands:

• Apply best management practices to all pollution-generating activities and facilities in the monument, such as NPS maintenance and storage facilities and parking areas; minimize the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals and manage them in keeping with NPS policy and federal regulations.
  
  
• Remove from the floodplain the diesel, gasoline, and propane storage tanks that are marginally within the 500-year floodplain, or protect them as required by NPS policy.
  
  
• Remove any human made objects placed in the floodplain for erosion control that are no longer effective for the intended purpose.

Species of Special Concern. Current laws and policies require that the following desired conditions be achieved in the monument:

• Federally listed and state-listed threatened and endangered species and their habitats will be sustained.
  
  
• Native species populations that have been severely reduced in or extirpated from the monument will be restored where feasible and sustainable.
  
  
• The management of populations of exotic plant and animal species, up to and including eradication, will be undertaken wherever such species threaten monument resources or public health and when control is prudent and feasible.

  (Sources:Endangered Species Act; NPS Management Policies,EO 13112, “Invasive Species.”)

Many species of invasive exotic plants have become established throughout much of the monument and threaten native species. Given time, these aggressive exotic plants can greatly expand their populations, alter forest and wildlife habitats, and change scenery by smothering and displacing native species. These effects, which clearly are already occurring in some areas of the monument, will worsen substantially if left untreated. A sustained effort is needed to control these internal threats to the native species and their natural habitats.

The National Park Service will take the following kinds of actions to comply with legal and policy requirements related to native species and to manage the monument “in as natural condition as possible”:

• Complete an inventory of plants and animals in the monument and regularly monitor the distribution and condition (e.g., health, disease) of selected species that are (a) indicators of ecosystem condition and diversity, (b) rare or protected species, (c) invasive exotics, (d) native species capable of creating resource problems (e.g., habitat decline due to overpopulation).
  
  
• Support research that will contribute knowledge for the management of native species.
  
  
• Take mitigating actions to restore native species and their habitats where warranted.
  
  
• Control or eliminate exotic plants where there is a reasonable expectation of success and sustainability.

Wildland Fire. Current laws and policies require that the following desired conditions be achieved in the monument:

• Monument fire management programs will be designed to meet resource management objectives prescribed for the various areas of the monument and to ensure that the safety of firefighters and the public are not com­promised. Until a fire management plan is approved, all wildland fires will be aggressively suppressed, taking into account the resources to be protected and the safety of firefighters and the public.

  (Sources: NPS Management Policies, DO 41, “Wilderness Preservation and Management.”)

All fires burning in natural or landscaped vege­tation will be classified as either wildland fires or prescribed fires. All wildland fires will be effectively managed, considering resource values to be protected and firefighter and public safety, using the full range of strategic and tactical operations as described in an approved fire management plan. Prescribed fires are those fires ignited by managers to achieve resource objectives.

To provide information on whether specified objectives are met, monitoring programs will be instituted for such fires to record fire behavior, smoke behavior, fire decisions, and fire effects. The monument has an approved fire management plan and is in the process of drafting a new plan that follows an updated format.

Night Sky. The monument’s night sky is a feature that contributes to visitors’ experiences. The following is a desired condition for the night sky:

• The National Park Service will cooperate with monument neighbors and local government agencies to seek ways to minimize the intrusion of artificial light into the night scene in the monument. In natural areas, artificial outdoor lighting will be limited to basic safety requirements and will be shielded when possible.

  (Sources: NPS Management Policies)

The National Park Service will take the following kinds of actions to comply with the policy mentioned above:

• The monument staff will work with local communities and other agencies to encourage the protection of the night sky.
  
  
• The monument staff will evaluate the impacts on the night sky caused by monument facilities. If light sources in the monument are determined to be affecting night skies, the staff will study alternatives such as shielding lights, changing lamp types, or eliminating unnecessary sources.
  
  
• The monument staff has signed a memoran­dum of agreement with the town of Hulett and the Hulett Airport Advisory Board to shield, to the extent possible, the beacon associated with the Hulett Municipal Airport from view of all parts of Devils Tower National Monument and to install radio frequency-controlled runway and taxi lights that can be turned on and off from an aircraft.

Natural Sounds. An important part of the NPS mission is to preserve or restore the natural soundscapes associated with national parks. The sounds of nature are among the intrinsic elements that combine to form the environment of our national parks. The following are desired conditions regarding natural sounds.

• The National Park Service will preserve the natural ambient soundscapes, restore degraded soundscapes to the natural ambient condition wherever possible, and protect natural soundscapes from degradation due to human-caused noise. Disruptions from recreational uses will be managed to provide a high quality visitor experience in an effort to preserve or restore the natural quiet and natural sounds.
  
• Noise sources will be managed to preserve or restore the natural soundscape.

  (Sources: NPS Management Policies, Executive memorandum signed by President Clinton on April 22, 1996.)

The National Park Service will take the follow­ing kinds of actions to comply with the policies mentioned above.

• Actions will be taken to prevent or minimize unnatural sounds adversely affect monument resources or values or visitors’ enjoyment of them
  
  
• The National Park Service will work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), tour operators, commercial businesses, and general aviation interests to encourage air­craft to fly outside the monument, especially for flights where the presence of the monu­ment is incidental to the purpose of the flight (i.e., transit between two points). Actions that might be considered to encourage pilots to fly outside the monument include identi­fying the monument on route maps as a noise-sensitive area, educating pilots about the reasons for keeping a distance from the monument, and encouraging pilots to comply with FAA regulations and advisory guidance, in a manner that will minimize noise and other impacts.
  
  
• The monument staff will continue to require tour bus companies to comply with regulations designed to reduce noise levels (for example, turning off engines when buses are parked).
  
  
• Noise generated by NPS management activities will be minimized by strictly regulating administrative functions such as the use of motorized equipment. Noise will be a consideration in the procurement and use of equipment by the monument staff.
  
  
• The monument staff has signed a memoran­dum of agreement with the town of Hulett and the Hulett Airport Advisory Board to establish a voluntary no-fly advisory zone of 2 miles centered on Devils Tower National Monument. (Up to a 3-mile zone may be considered during June out of respect for American Indian values) This no-fly advisory zone does not include lands adjacent to the monument, aircraft opera­tions associated with law enforcement, search and rescue and medical emergency activities, firefighting, agricultural practices, and utility rights-of-way surveys.

Cultural Resource Management Requirements

Archeological Resources. Current laws and policies require that the following desired conditions be achieved in the parks:

• Archeological sites will be identified and inventoried and their significance determined and documented. Archeological sites will be protected in an undisturbed condition unless it is determined through formal processes that disturbance or natural deterioration is unavoidable. When disturbance or deterioration is unavoidable, the site will be professionally documented and salvaged in consultation with the state historic preservation officer and American Indian tribes.

  (Sources: NPS Management Policies, National Historic Preservation Act; EO 11593; Archeological Resources Protection Act; the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation; programmatic memorandum of agreement among the National Park Service, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Council of State Historic Preservation Officers (1995.)

The Archeology Laboratory of the University of South Dakota conducted an intensive survey of Devils Tower National Monument from July to September 1997 and July to August 1998. The purpose of The Archeological 1997–1998 Survey and National Register Evaluation of Devils Tower National Monument, Crook County, Wyoming (Univ. of SD Archeol. Lab. 1998) was to locate and interpret all historic and prehistoric sites in the monument and evaluate their signifi­cance within the guidelines of the National Register of Historic Places. Of the 25 sites found eligible for the national register, 8 are historic: homestead, administrative district, Tower ladder, entrance station, entrance road, cabin/motel site, historic road, and graffiti. Of these, the adminis­trative district, the entrance station, and the entrance road have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Seventeen earlier sites were found eligible: Devils Tower, a cave, two prehistoric rock paintings, and 13 lithic scatter sites. Among the 17 sites were artifacts dating from the Late Paleoindian period to the Late Prehistoric. Indications of heavy occu­pation were found for the Late Plains Archaic and Late Prehistoric periods.

The National Park Service will take the following kinds of actions to meet legal and policy requirements related to archeological sites:

• Treat all archeological resources as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places pending a formal determi­nation by the National Park Service and the Wyoming state historic preservation office as to their significance
  
  
• Protect all archeological resources eligible for listing or listed on the national register; if disturbance to such resources is unavoid­able, conduct formal consultation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, as appropriate, and the state historic preservation officer in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act and implementing regulations.

Ethnographic Resources. Certain contemporary American Indian and other communities are permitted by law, regulation, or policy to pursue customary religious, subsistence, and other cultural uses of NPS resources with which they are traditionally associated. Consistent with the establishment clause of the Constitution, the National Park Service wishes to accommodate tribal religious activities. To the extent permitted by law, the National Park Service will take care to protect resources in a way that will accommodate their religious value. The following are the desired conditions for ethnographic resources.

• Appropriate cultural anthropological research will be conducted in cooperation with groups associated with the monument.
  
  
• All agencies, including the National Park Service, are required to accommodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites by Indian religious practitioners and avoid adversely affecting the physical integrity of these sacred sites.
  
  
• NPS general regulations on access to and use of natural and cultural resources in parks will be applied in an informed and balanced manner con­sistent with monument purposes, and the Park Service will not unreasonably interfere with any American Indian use of traditional areas or sacred resources that does not result in the degradation of resources.
  
  
• Other federal agencies, state and local governments, potentially affected American Indian and other communities, interested groups, the State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation will be given opportunities to become informed about and comment on anticipated NPS actions at the earliest practicable time.
  
  
• All agencies are required to consult with tribal governments before taking actions that affect federally recognized tribal govern­ments. These consultations are to be open and candid so that all interested parties may evaluate for themselves the potential impact of relevant proposals. Parks (including Devils Tower National Monument) must regularly consult with traditionally associ­ated American Indians regarding planning, management, and operational decisions that affect subsistence activities, sacred materials or places, or other ethnographic resources with which they are historically associated.
  
  
• The identities of community consultants and information about sacred and other culturally sensitive places and practices will be kept confidential when research agreements of other circumstances warrant.
  
  
• American Indians and other individuals and groups linked by ties of kinship or culture to ethnically identifiable human remains, sacred objects, objects of cultural patrimony and associated funerary objects will be consulted when such items may be disturbed or are encountered on monument lands.
  
  

  (Sources: NPS Management Policies, National Historic Preservation Act, EO 11593, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation implementing regulations, EO 13007 on American Indian Sacred Sites, American Indian Religious Freedom Act, programmatic memorandum of agreement among the National Park Service, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Council of State Historic Preservation Officers (1995), Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Presidential memorandum of April 29, 1994, on government-to-government relations with tribal governments.)

To accomplish the above goals, the National Park Service will do the following:

• Continue to provide access to sacred sites and monument resources by American Indians when the use is consistent with monument purposes and the protection of resources.
  
  
• Survey and inventory ethnographic resources and document their significance.
  
  
• Treat all ethnographic resources as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places pending a formal determi­nation by the National Park Service and the Wyoming state historic preservation officer as to their significance.
  
  
• Protect all ethnographic resources deter­mined eligible for listing or listed on the national register. If disturbing such resources is unavoidable, conduct formal consultation with the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, as appropriate, with the state historic preservation officer, and with American Indian tribes. This consultation will be in accordance with the National His­toric Preservation Act and the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation implementing regulations and programmatic agreement.
  
  
• Conduct regular consultations with affiliated tribes to continue to improve communications and resolve any problems or misunderstandings that occur.
  
  
• Continue to encourage the employment of American Indians on the monument staff to improve communications and working relationships and encourage cultural diversity in the workplace.

Historic Resources. Current laws and policies require that the following desired conditions be achieved for historic properties (e.g. buildings, structures, roads, trails, or cultural landscapes):

• Historic resources will be inventoried and their significance and integrity evaluated under national register criteria. The qualities that contribute to the listing or eligibility for listing of historic properties on the National Register of Historic Places will be protected in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards (unless it is determined through a formal process that disturbance or natural deterioration is unavoidable).

  (Sources: NPS Management Policies, National Historic Preservation Act, EO 11593, Archeological and Historic Preservation Act; the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, with Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes;, NPS-28: “Cultural Resource Management Guidelines” (1994) programmatic memorandum of agreement among the National Park Service, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Council of State Historic Preservation Officers (1995).)

The National Park Service will take the follow­ing kinds of actions to meet legal and policy requirements related to historic properties:

• Determine the appropriate level of preservation for each historic property formally determined to be eligible for listing or listed on the national register (subject to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards).
  
  
• Implement and maintain the appropriate level of preservation for such properties.
  
  
• Analyze the design elements (e.g., materials, colors, shape, massing, scale, architectural details, and site details) of historic structures intersections, curbing, signs, picnic tables, and cultural landscapes in the monument (e.g., intersections, curbing, signs, and roads and trails) to guide the rehabilitation and maintenance of sites and structures.
  
  
• Before modifying any historic properties on the National Register of Historic Places, such as the main road, the log entrance station, or the Old Headquarters Historic District, the Park Service will consult with the Wyoming state historic preservation officer and the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, as appropriate.

Collections. Current laws and policies require that the following desired conditions be achieved in the monument for museum collections:

• All museum objects and manuscripts will be identified and inventoried, and their significance determined and documented.
  
  
• The qualities that contribute to the significance of collections will be protected in accordance with established standards.

  (Sources: NPS Management Policies, National Historic Preservation Act, American Religious Freedom Act, Archeological and Historic Preservation Act, Archeological Resources Protection Act, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.)

To accomplish the above goals, the National Park Service will do the following:

• Inventory and catalog all monument museum collections in accordance with standards in the NPS Museum Handbook.
  
  
• Develop and implement a collection management program according to NPS standards to guide the protection, conservation, and use of museum objects.

Visitor Experience and Park Use Requirements

Current laws and policies require that the following desired conditions be achieved in the parks:

• Visitor and employee safety and health will be protected.
  
  
• Visitors will understand and appreciate park values and resources and have the information necessary to adapt to the monument’s environments; visitors will have opportunities to enjoy the national monument in ways that leave the resources unimpaired for future generations.
  
  
• Recreational uses will be promoted and regulated, and basic visitor needs will be met in keeping with the monument’s purposes.
  
  
• To the extent feasible, facilities, programs, and services in the national monument will be accessible to and usable by all people, including those with disabilities.
  
  
• Visitors who use federal facilities and services for outdoor recreation may be required to pay a greater share of the cost of providing those opportunities than the population as a whole.
  
  
• The national monument will identify implementation commitments for visitor carrying capacities for all areas of the unit.

  (Sources: NPS Management Policies, National Historic Preservation Act, NPS Organic Act, DO 22, “Fee Collection,” Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Americans with Disabilities Act, Architectural Barriers Act; Rehabilitation Act, 1998 Executive Summary to Congress; Recreational Fee Demonstration Program, Progress Report to Congress, vol. 1: Overview and Summary (U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service), PL 95-625, 1978 National Parks and Recreation Act.)

The laws, regulations, and policies leave considerable room for judgment about the best mix of types and levels of visitor use activities, programs, and facilities. For this reason, most decisions related to visitor experience and use are addressed in the section “What Might Be Achieved,” below, and in the alternatives. How­ever, the authority to charge fees is dictated by law and is therefore the same for all alternatives.

The National Park Service will take the following kinds of actions to meet legal and policy requirements related to visitor experience and use of the national monument:

• Give visitors the opportunity to understand, appreciate, and enjoy the monument (management directions within this broad policy are discussed in the alternatives.)
  
  
• Continue to enforce the regulations governing visitor use and behavior in Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (36 CFR).
  
  
• Ensure that all programs and facilities in the monument are accessible to the extent feasible.
  
  
• Following approval of the Final General Management Plan, the National Park Service will undertake detailed planning to establish visitor carrying capacity strategies and monitoring programs. If the Final General Management Plan includes the development of a shuttle system, the carrying capacity planning will be under­taken as part of the planning and design of the system. Studies will determine what levels of visitation will be consistent with the experiences that Tower visitors desire. Shuttle schedules and capacities will be used to manage the numbers of visitors dropped off at the base of the Tower.
  
  
• Regardless of whether or not the General Management Plan calls for a shuttle, the national monument will initiate a scheduling system for tour buses to manage the number of buses and tour groups at the Tower.

Sustainable Design/Development

Sustainability can be described as the result achieved by managing units of the national park system in ways that do not compromise the environment or its capacity to provide for present and future generations. Sustainable practices minimize the short- and long-term environmental impacts of developments and other activities through resource conservation, recycling, waste minimization, and the use of energy-efficient and ecologically responsible materials and techniques. The following are the desired conditions for sustainable design.

• NPS and concessioner visitor management facilities will be harmonious with monument resources, compatible with natural processes, aesthetically pleasing, functional, as accessible as possible to all segments of the population, energy-efficient, and cost-effective.

  (Sources: NPS Management Policies, EO 13123, “Greening the Government through Efficient Energy Management”; EO 13101, “Greening the Government through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition”; NPS Guiding Principles of Sustainable Design; DO 13, “Environmental Leadership”; DO 90, “Value Analysis.”)

The NPS Guiding Principles of Sustainable Design (1993b) directs NPS management philosophy. It provides a basis for achieving sustainability in facility planning and design, emphasizes the importance of biodiversity, and encourages responsible decisions. The guide­book articulates principles to be used in the design and management of tourist facilities that emphasize environmental sensitivity in construc­tion, the use of nontoxic materials, resource conservation, recycling, and integrating visitors with natural and cultural settings.

Sustainability principles have been developed and are followed for interpretation, natural resources, cultural resources, site design, building design, energy management, water supply, waste prevention, and facility maintenance and operations. The National Park Service also reduces energy costs, eliminates waste, and conserves energy resources by using energy-efficient and cost-effective technology. Energy efficiency is incorporated into the decision-making process during the design and acquisition of buildings, facilities, and transportation systems emphasizing the use of renewable energy sources.

In addition to following these principles, the following also will be accomplished:

• The staff of the national monument will work with appropriate experts to make the monument’s facilities and programs sustainable. Value analysis and value engineering, including life cycle cost analysis, will be performed to examine the energy, environmental, and economic implications of proposed developments.
  
  
• The monument staff will support and encourage suppliers, permittees, and contractors to follow sustainable practices.
  
  
• Interpretive programs at the national monument will address sustainable practices within and outside of the national monument.

Rights-of-way and Telecommunication Infrastructure

Current laws and policies require that the following desired conditions be achieved in the national monument.

• Monument resources or public enjoyment of the monument will not be denigrated by nonconforming uses. Telecommunication structures will be permitted in the monument to the extent that they do not jeopardize the monument’s mission and resources. No new nonconforming use or rights-of-way will be permitted through the monument without specific statutory authority and approval by the director of the National Park Service or his representative, and such use will be permitted only if there is no practicable alternative to such use of NPS lands.

  (Sources: Telecommunications Act; 16 USC 79; 23 USC 317; 36 CFR 14; NPS Management Policies; DO 53A, “Wireless Telecommunications”; Reference Manual 53, “Special Park Uses.”)

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 directs all federal agencies to assist in the national goal of achieving a seamless telecommunications system throughout the United States by accom­modating requests by telecommunication companies for the use of property, rights-of-way, and easements to the extent allowable under each agency’s mission. The National Park Service is legally obligated to permit tele­communication infrastructure in the parks if such facilities can be structured to avoid interference with monument purposes.

The management of Devils Tower National Monument has determined that because of the monument’s small size and the scenic and ethnographic significance of its resources, there are no appropriate locations for telecom­munication infrastructure in Devils Tower National Monument.

Devils Tower
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