(1) The classification of a state natural area, designated by the board, to an alternative status, or the reclassification of these areas in accordance with 77-1-401, MCA, shall be undertaken only with the board's approval. The required criteria for removing this designation are as follows:

(a) the area in question has experienced a significant change in those natural characteristics which prompted the designation of the area;

(b) the degree of this change is of such an extent that the definition of a natural area, as described in 76-12-104(4) , MCA, is no longer applicable to the area; and

(c) it has been demonstrated that the restoration of the area, to a condition near to that which existed at the time of designation, is not a reasonable nor a desirable action complimentary to the legislative intent of 76-12-103, MCA.

(2) Prior to the declassification of a state natural area, as herein described, public notice shall be given and an opportunity for citizen's comments must then be afforded at a public hearing held within the county in which the state natural area is located. In addition, the provisions of this rule shall not be administered in such a manner that the prohibitions of 76-12-110 and 76-12-111, MCA, are compromised.