• Visitors stand on the boardwalk of Grand Prismatic, the park's largest hot spring which is ringed with orange, brown and yellow runoff channels.

    Yellowstone

    National Park ID,MT,WY

Park Planning

The following links will take you to planning projects in Yellowstone National Park, including Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), Environmental Assessments (EAs), management plans, and decision documents, such as Findings of No Significant Impact (FONSIs) and Records of Decision (RODs). A glossary of these terms is found at the end of this document. A number of these documents are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free online, to be viewed or printed.

PEPC - Planning, Environment, and Public Comment
Many of our ongoing planning projects are now found on the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) web page. Please click on the PEPC link (http://parkplanning.nps.gov) if you do not find what you need below.
Winter Use in Yellowstone National Park

The enjoyment of Yellowstone and its unique resources during the wintertime has drawn deep and passionate interest in the park for nearly 80 years Click here for more info.

Yellowstone Roads
An environmental assessment for the reconstruction of the Isa Lake Bridge will soon be prepared. A scoping period to collect input from the public will be announced within the next few weeks.

Plans currently seeking Public Comment or on Public Review


Please check PEPC (NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment) for documents open for comment.


Completed Planning Projects

Park Planning Archives

2011 Wireless Telecommunications Committee Annual Report
Glossary of Terms

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): An EIS is prepared when a proposed action or alternatives have the potential for significant effect on the human environment.

Environmental Assessment (EA): An EA is prepared to determine whether the impact of a proposed action or alternatives could be significant.

Record of Decision (ROD): The document that is prepared to substantiate a decision based on an EIS. It includes a statement of the decision made, a detailed discussion of decision rationale, and the reasons for not adopting all mitigation measures analyzed, if applicable.

Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI): A determination based on an EA and other factors in the public planning record for a proposal that, if implemented, would have no significant impact on the human environment.

Scoping: The procedure by which an agency identifies important issues and determines the extent of analysis necessary for an informed decision on a proposed action. Scoping, an integral part of environmental analysis, includes early involvement of interested and affected public, as well as internal and external agency contacts. Although formal scoping occurs for a specific time period, we welcome your comments on projects while we are in the process of preparing plans.

Did You Know?

Fishing Bridge.

You cannot fish from Fishing Bridge. Until 1973 this was a very popular fishing location since the bridge crossed the Yellowstone River above a cutthroat trout spawning area. It is now a popular place to observe fish.