This closure is necessary to enable setup and load out of a tent, chairs, carpeting, audiovisual equipment, and other supplies for the event. This closure will protect public safety by allowing contractors and park staff to operate equipment needed for the setup and load out in a safe and efficient manner. This closure also is necessary to allow the permitted special event to take place in a safe environment for participants and guests. In general, the park closure is necessary for the safety of park users and the protection of natural and cultural resources in the permit area. Less restrictive measures will not suffice because of the necessity to maintain safety and resource protection. This temporary and partial closure is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a "significant alteration in the public use pattern." Indeed, other nearby park areas will remain open to the public. The closure will not adversely affect the park's natural, aesthetic, or cultural values; nor require significant modification to the resource management objectives; nor is it of a highly controversial nature. Accordingly, the National Park Service determines that publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 CFR 1.5(c). This is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial and temporary park closures, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. ANSWER coalition v. Norton, No. 05-0071, (D.D.C. January 18, 2005, Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 22, 2002), plaintiffs’ emergency motion for appeal for injunction pending appeared denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-5275 (D.C.Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curiam); Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. December 7, 1987); Speigel v. Babbitt, 855 F Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), affd in parr wlo op. 56F. 3d 1531(D.C.Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C.Cir. May 31,1995). Pursuant to 36 CFR 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure will be made by posting this closure on the park’s official website, https://www.nps.gov/rocr. Finally, pursuant to 36 CFR l.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request. Brian D. Joyner Superintendent |
Last updated: September 17, 2025