(a) A historical operator has the right to continue to provide visitor services under appropriate terms and conditions contained in a special use authorization, as long as such services are determined by the authorized officer to be consistent with the purposes for which the CSU was established or expanded. A historical operator may not operate without such an authorization.

(b) Any person who qualifies as a historical operator under this subpart and who wishes to exercise the rights granted to historical operators under section 1307(a) of ANILCA (16 U.S.C. 1397(a)) must notify the authorized officer responsible for the CSU.

(c) A historical operator may apply for a special use authorization to provide visitor services similar to but in lieu of those provided by that historical operator before January 1, 1979. The authorized officer shall grant the application if those visitor services are determined by the authorized officer to be:

(1) Consistent with the purposes for which the applicable CSU was established or expanded;

(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.

(d) Upon the authorized officer's determination that the person qualifies as a historical operator, under either paragraph (a) or paragraph (c) of this section, the authorized officer shall amend the current special use authorization or issue a new special use authorization to identify that portion of the authorized services that is deemed to be historical operations. The special use authorization shall identify the location, type, and frequency or volume of visitor services to be provided.

(e) When a historical operator's special use authorization expires, the authorized officer shall offer to reissue the special use authorization for the same or similar visitor services, as long as the visitor services remain consistent with the purposes for which the CSU was established or expanded, the historical operator was lawfully and adequately providing visitor services under the previous special use authorization, and the historical operator continues to possess the capability to provide the visitor services adequately.

(1) If the operator accepts the offer to reissue, the authorized officer shall issue a new special use authorization that clearly identifies the historical operations as required by paragraph (d) of this section.

(2) If the authorized officer determines that it is necessary to reduce the visitor services to be provided by a historical operator, the authorized officer shall modify the historical operator's special use authorization to reflect the reduced services as follows:

(i) If more than one historical operator provides services in the area where visitor service capacity is to be reduced, the authorized officer shall apportion the reduction among the historical operators, taking into account historical operating levels and such other factors as are relevant to achieve a proportionate reduction among the operators.

(ii) If the reductions in visitor service capacity make it necessary to reduce operators in an area, the authorized officer shall select, through a competitive process that is limited to historical operators only, the operator or operators to receive a special use authorization from among the historical operators. Historical operators participating in this competitive process may not claim a preference as a preferred operator under §251.124.

(f) Any of the following shall result in the loss of historical operator status:

(1) Revocation of a special use authorization for historical types and levels of visitor services for failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the special use authorization;

(2) A historical operator's refusal of an offer to reissue a special use authorization made pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section;

(3) A change in the controlling interest of a historical operator through sale, assignment, devise, transfer, or otherwise, except as provided in paragraph (g) of this section; or

(4) An operator's failure to provide the authorized services for a period of more than 24 consecutive months.

(g) 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 service activities of the historical operator before January 1, 1979, shall not be deemed a change in the historical operator's controlling interest for the purposes of this subpart.

(h) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the authorized officer from authorizing persons other than historical operators to provide visitor services in the same area, as long as historical operators receive authorization to provide visitor services that are the same as or similar to those they provided on or before January 1, 1979.

(i) If an authorized officer grants to a historical operator an increase in the scope or level of visitor services from what was provided on or before January 1, 1979, beyond what was authorized under paragraph (d) of this section, for either the same or similar visitor services, the historical operator has no right of preference for the increased amount of authorized services. If additional operations are authorized, the special use authorization shall explicitly state that they are not subject to the historical operator preference.