Yellowstone and Grand Teton Paddling Act

Yellowstone and Grand Teton Paddling Act

(Sec. 3) This bill directs the Department of the Interior to promulgate regulations to allow the use of hand-propelled vessels on certain rivers and streams within: (1) the Yellowstone National Park in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming; and (2) the Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway in Wyoming.

The regulations issued under this Act shall not consider any expansion of commercial use of hand-propelled vessels in the Parks.

When promulgating such regulations, the Department of the Interior shall consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service to help ensure that the regulations make recreational use of hand-propelled vessels on the Gros Ventre River within the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming adjacent to Grand Teton National Park consistent with the requirements of the National Refuge System Administration Act of 1966.

Upon the issuance of final regulations, existing regulations prohibiting hand-propelled vessels on streams and rivers in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park shall no longer have any force or effect.

Interior is authorized to recover all costs associated with monitoring the use of hand-propelled vessels, including the cost of inspecting and decontaminating vessels to prevent the introduction or spread of invasive or injurious species in such National Parks and the Memorial Parkway.