(a) Except as otherwise provided for in this section, the regulations contained in this part apply to visitor services provided within all national park areas in Alaska.

(b) The rights granted by this subpart to historical operators, preferred operators, and Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated are not exclusive. The Director may authorize other persons to provide visitor services on park lands. Nothing in this subpart shall require the Director to issue a visitor services authorization if not otherwise mandated by statute to do so. Nothing in this subpart shall authorize the Director to issue a visitor services authorization to a person who is not capable of carrying out its terms and conditions in a satisfactory manner.

(c) This subpart does not apply to the guiding of sport hunting or sport fishing.

The following definitions apply to this subpart:

Best offer means a responsive offer that best meets, as determined by the Director, the selection criteria contained in a competitive solicitation for a visitor services authorization.

Controlling interest means, in the case of a corporation, an interest, beneficial or otherwise, of sufficient outstanding voting securities or capital of the business so as to permit the exercise of managerial authority over the actions and operations of the corporation or election of a majority of the board of directors of the corporation.

Controlling interest in the case of a partnership, limited partnership, joint venture, or individual entrepreneurship, means a beneficial ownership of or interest in the entity or its capital so as to permit the exercise of managerial authority over the actions and operations of the entity. In other circumstances, controlling interest means any arrangement under which a third party has the ability to exercise management authority over the actions or operations of the business.

Director means the Director of the National Park Service or an authorized representative.

Historical operator, except as otherwise may be specified by a statute other than ANILCA, means the holder of a valid written authorization from the Director to provide visitor services within a park area that:

(1) On or before January 1, 1979, was lawfully engaged in adequately providing such visitor services in the applicable park area;

(2) Has continued, as further defined in § 13.310, to lawfully provide that visitor service since January 1, 1979, without a change in controlling interest; and

(3) Is otherwise determined by the Director to have a right to continue to provide such services or similar services pursuant to § 13.310.

Local area means an area in Alaska within 100 miles of the location within the park area where any of the applicable visitor services is authorized to be provided.

Local resident means:

For individuals. Those individuals who have lived within the local area for 12 consecutive months before issuance of a solicitation of offers for a visitor services authorization for a park area and who maintain their primary, permanent residence and business within the local area and whenever absent from this primary, permanent residence, have the intention of returning to it. Factors demonstrating the location of an individual's primary, permanent residence and business may include, but are not limited to, the permanent address indicated on licenses issued by the State of Alaska, tax returns and voter registration.

For corporations. A corporation in which the controlling interest is held by an individual or individuals who qualify as local resident(s) within the meaning of this subpart. For non-profit corporations a majority of the board members and a majority of the officers must qualify individually as local residents.

Native Corporation means the same as defined in section 102(6) of ANILCA.

Preferred operator means a Native Corporation that is determined under § 13.325 to be “most directly affected” by the establishment or expansion of a park area by ANILCA, or a local resident as defined in this subpart.

Responsive offer is one that is timely received and meets the terms and conditions of a solicitation for a visitor services authorization.

Visitor services authorization is a written authorization from the Director to provide visitor services in a park area. Such authorization may be in the form of a concession permit, concession contract, or other document issued by the Director under National Park Service policies and procedures.

(a) A historical operator will have a right to continue to provide visitor services in a park area under appropriate terms and conditions contained in a visitor services authorization issued by the Director as long as such services are determined by the Director to be consistent with the purposes for which the park area was established. A historical operator may not operate without such an authorization. The authorization will be for a fixed term. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the authorization will result in cancellation of the authorization and consequent loss of historical operator rights under this subpart.

(b) Nothing in this subpart will prohibit the Director from permitting persons in addition to historical operators to provide visitor services in park areas at the Director's discretion as long as historical operators are permitted to conduct a scope and level of visitor services equal to those provided before January 1, 1979, under terms and conditions consistent with this subpart. A historical operator may be permitted by the Director under separate authority to increase the scope or level of visitor services provided prior to January 1, 1979, but no historical operating rights will be obtained in such increase.

(c) If a historical operator applies for a visitor services authorization in the form of a joint venture, the application will not be considered as validly made unless the historical operator demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Director, that it has the controlling interest in the joint venture.

(d) A historical operator may apply to the Director for an authorization or amended authorization to provide visitor services similar to those it provided before January 1, 1979. The Director will grant the request if such visitor services are determined by the Director to be:

(1) Consistent with the protection of park resources and the purposes for which the park area was established;

(2) Similar in kind and scope to the visitor services provided by the historical operator before January 1, 1979; and

(3) Consistent with the legal rights of any other person.

(e) When a historical operator's visitor services authorization expires, and if the applicable visitor services continue to be consistent with the purposes for which the park area was established as determined by the Director, the Director will offer to renew the authorization for a fixed term under such new terms and conditions as the Director determines are in the public interest.

(f) If the Director determines that authorized visitor services must be curtailed or reduced in scope, level, or season to protect park resources, or for other purposes, the Director will require the historical operator to make such changes in visitor services. If more than one historical operator providing the same type of visitor services is required to have those services curtailed, the Director will establish a proportionate reduction of visitor services among all such historical operators, taking into account historical operating levels and other appropriate factors so as to achieve a fair curtailment of visitor services among the historical operators. If the level of visitor services must be so curtailed that only one historical operator feasibly may continue to provide the visitor services, the Director will select one historical operator to continue to provide the curtailed visitor services through a competitive selection process.

(g) Any of the following will result in loss of historical operator status:

(1) Revocation of an authorization for historic types and levels of visitor services for failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the authorization.

(2) A historical operator's declination of a renewal of the authorization made pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section.

(3) A change in the controlling interest of the historical operator through sale, assignment, devise, transfer, or by any other means, direct or indirect. A change in the controlling interest of a historical operator that results only in the acquisition of the controlling interest by an individual or individuals who were personally engaged in the visitor services activities of the historical operator before January 1, 1979, will not be deemed a change in the historical operator's controlling interest for the purposes of this subpart.

(4) A historical operator's failure to provide the authorized services for more than 24 consecutive months.

(h) The Director may authorize other persons to provide visitor services in a park area in addition to historical operators.

(a) In selecting persons to provide visitor services for a park area, the Director will, if the number of visitor services authorizations is to be limited, give a preference (subject to any rights of historical operators or CIRI under this subpart) to preferred operators determined qualified to provide such visitor services.

(b) In such circumstances, the Director will publicly solicit competitive offers for persons to apply for a visitor services authorization, or the renewal of such an authorization, to provide such visitor services pursuant to 36 CFR part 51 and/or other National Park Service procedures. All offerors, including preferred operators, must submit a responsive offer to the solicitation in order to be considered for the authorization. If the best offer from a preferred operator is at least substantially equal to the best offer from a non-preferred operator, the preferred operator will receive authorization. If an offer from a person besides a preferred operator is determined to be the best offer (and no preferred operator submits a responsive offer that is substantially equal to it), the preferred operator who submitted the best offer from among the offers submitted by preferred operators will be given the opportunity, by amending its offer, to meet the terms and conditions of the best offer received. If the amended offer of such a preferred operator is considered by the Director as at least substantially equal to the best offer, the preferred operator will receive the visitor service authorization. If a preferred operator does not amend its offer to meet the terms and conditions of the best offer, the Director will issue the authorization to the person who submitted the best offer in response to the solicitation.

(c) The Native Corporation(s) determined to be “most directly affected”under this subpart and local residents have equal preference. The rights of preferred operators under this section take precedence over the right of preference that may be granted to existing satisfactory National Park Service concessioners pursuant to the Concessions Policy Act (16 U.S.C. 20) and its implementing regulations and procedures, but do not take precedence over the rights of historical operators or CIRI as described in this subpart.

(d) An offer from a preferred operator under this subpart, if the offer is in the form of a joint venture, will not be considered valid unless it documents to the satisfaction of the Director that the preferred operator holds the controlling interest in the joint venture.

(e) Nothing in this subpart will prohibit the Director from authorizing persons besides preferred operators to provide visitor services in park areas as long as the procedures described in this section have been followed. Preferred operators are not entitled by this section to provide all visitor services in a park area.

(f) The preferences described in this section may not be sold, assigned, transferred or devised, directly or indirectly.

(a) The Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated (CIRI), in cooperation with village corporations within the Cook Inlet region when appropriate, will have a right of first refusal to provide new visitor services within that portion of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve that is within the boundaries of the Cook Inlet region. In order to exercise this right of first refusal, the National Park Service will publicly solicit competitive offers for the visitor services authorization pursuant to 36 CFR part 51 or other applicable National Park Service procedures. CIRI must submit a responsive offer within 90 days of such solicitation. If CIRI makes such an offer and is determined by the Director to be capable of carrying out the terms and conditions of the visitor services authorization, it will receive the authorization. If it does not, the authorization may be awarded to another person pursuant to usual National Park Service policies and procedures if otherwise appropriate.

(b) The CIRI right of first refusal will have precedence over the rights of preferred operators. An offer from CIRI under this section, if the offer is in the form of a joint venture, will not be considered valid unless it demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Director that CIRI has a controlling interest in the joint venture.

(c) The CIRI right of first refusal may not be sold, transferred, devised or assigned, directly or indirectly.

(a) Before the award of the first visitor service authorization in a park area to be made after the effective date of this subpart, the Director will provide an opportunity for any Native Corporation interested in providing visitor services within the applicable park area to submit an application to the superintendent to be determined the Native Corporation most directly affected by the establishment or expansion of the park area by or under the provisions of ANILCA. An application from an interested Native Corporation will include the following information:

(1) Name, address, and phone number of the Native Corporation; date of incorporation; its articles of incorporation and structure;

(2) Location of the corporation's population center or centers; and

(3) An assessment of the socioeconomic impacts, including historical and traditional use and land-ownership patterns and their effects on the Native Corporation as a result of the expansion or establishment of the applicable park area by ANILCA.

(4) Any additional information the Native Corporation considers relevant or the Director may reasonably require.

(b) Upon receipt of all applications from interested Native Corporations, the Director will determine the “most directly affected” Native Corporation considering the following factors:

(1) Distance and accessibility from the corporation's population center and/or business address to the applicable park area; and

(2) Socioeconomic impacts, including historical and traditional use and landownership patterns, on Native Corporations and their effects as a result of the expansion or establishment of the applicable park area; and

(3) Information provided by Native Corporations and other information considered relevant by the Director to the particular facts and circumstances of the effects of the establishment or expansion of the applicable park area.

(c) In the event that more than one Native Corporation is determined to be equally affected within the meaning of this section, each such Native Corporation will be considered as a preferred operator under this subpart.

(d) The Director's most directly affected Native Corporation determination applies to the award of all future visitor service authorizations for the applicable park area. However, a Native Corporation that did not apply for this determination in connection with an earlier visitor services authorization may apply for a determination that it is an equally affected Native Corporation for the applicable park area in connection with a later visitor services authorization. Such subsequent applications must contain the information required by paragraph (a) of this section, and must be made in a timely manner as described by the Director in the applicable solicitation document so as not to delay the consideration of offers for the visitor services authorization.

An appeal of the denial of rights with respect to providing visitor services under this subpart may be made to the next higher level of authority. Such an appeal must be submitted in writing within 30 days of receipt of the denial. Appeals must set forth the facts and circumstances that the appellant believes support the appeal. The appellant may request an informal meeting to discuss the appeal with the National Park Service. After consideration of the materials submitted by the appellant and the National Park Service record of the matter, and meeting with the appellant if so requested, the Director will affirm, reverse, or modify the denial appealed and will set forth in writing the basis of the decision. A copy of the decision will be forwarded to the appellant and will constitute the final administrative decision in the matter. No person will be considered to have exhausted administrative remedies with respect to a denial of rights to provide visitor services under this subpart until a final administrative decision has been made pursuant to this section.

(a) The information collection requirements contained in this part have received emergency approval from the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3507, et seq., for the basic contracting program under OMB clearance number 1024-0125. The information is being collected as part of the process of reviewing the procedures and programs of State and local governments participating in the national historic preservation program. The information will be used to evaluate those procedures and programs. The obligation to respond is required to obtain a benefit.

(b) The public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to be 480 hours for large operations and 240 hours for small operations, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed and completing and reviewing the collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Information Collection Officer, National Park Service, 800 North Capitol Street, Washington, DC 20013; and the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of Interior (1024-0125), Washington, DC 20503.