§ 13.450 Prohibition of aircraft use.

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions 43 CFR 36.11(f) the use of aircraft for access to or from lands and waters within a national park or monument for purposes of taking fish or wildlife for subsistence uses within the national park or monument is prohibited except as provided in this section. (b) Exceptions. (1) In extraordinary cases where no reasonable alternative exists, the Superintendent shall permit, pursuant to specified terms and conditions, a local rural resident of an “exempted community” to use aircraft for access to or from lands and water within a national park or monument for purposes of taking fish or wildlife for subsistence uses. (i) A community shall quality as an “exempted community” if, because of the location of the subsistence resources upon which it depends and the extraordinary difficulty of surface access to these subsistence resources, the local rural residents who permanently reside in the community have no reasonable alternative to aircraft use for access to these subsistence resources. (ii) A community which is determined, after notice and comment (including public hearing in the affected local vicinity), to meet the description of an “exempted community” set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall be included in the appropriate special regulations for each park and monument in this part. (iii) A community included as an “exempted community” in the special regulations of this part may be deleted therefrom upon a determination, after notice and comment (including public hearing in the affected local vicinity), that it does not meet the description of an “exempted community” set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. (2) Any local rural resident aggrieved by the prohibition on aircraft use set forth in this section may apply for an exception to the prohibition pursuant to the procedures set forth in § 13.495. In extraordinary cases where no reasonable alternative exists, the Superintendent may grant the exception upon a determination that the location of the subsistence resources depended upon and the difficulty of surface access to these resources, or other emergency situation, requires such relief. (c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of aircraft for access to lands and waters within a national park or monument for purposes of engaging in any activity allowed by law other than the taking of fish and wildlife. Such activities include, but are not limited to, transporting supplies.