[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 58 (Monday, March 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12095-12096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7108]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service


Notice of Availability of the Revised Draft Development Concept 
Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for South Side Denali, Alaska

AGENCIES: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Revised Draft Development Concept 
Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for South Side Denali, Alaska.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service announces the availability of a 
Revised Draft Development Concept Plan/Environmental Impact Statement 
(DCP/EIS) for South Side Denali, Alaska. The document describes and 
analyzes the environmental impacts of a proposed action and two action 
alternatives for visitor facilities and services on the south side. A 
no action alternative also is evaluated. This notice announces the 
dates and locations of public hearings to solicit comments on the 
revised draft DCP/EIS.

DATES: Comments on the revised draft DCP/EIS must be received no later 
than May 21, 1996. Hearing dates, times, and locations are listed under 
Supplementary Information, below.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the revised draft DCP/EIS should be submitted to 
the Superintendent, Denali National Park and Preserve, Post Office Box 
9, Denali Park, Alaska 99755. Copies of the Revised Draft South Side 
Denali DCP/EIS are available by request from the aforementioned 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Swanton, Park Planner, Denali 
National Park and Preserve. Telephone: (907) 257-2651 Fax: (907) 257-
2485.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (P.L. 91-190, as amended), 
the National Park Service, as lead federal agency, in cooperation with 
the State of Alaska, Matanuska-Susistna Borough, and Denali Borough, 
has prepared a DCP/EIS for proposed visitor facilities and services on 
the south side of Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. 
Information meetings and public hearings are scheduled in Alaska on the 
dates and at the times and locations indicated below.
     April 16--Fairbanks, John A. Carlson Center, Pioneer Room, 
2010 Second Avenue. Information meeting (5:30-6:30 p.m.); Hearing 
(6:30-8:30 p.m.)
     April 17--Healy, Tri-Valley Community Center, Windjammer 
Room, First Floor. Information meeting (6:30-7:30 p.m.); Hearing (7:30-
9:30 p.m.)
     April 18--Cantwell, Community Hall. Information meeting 
(6:30-7:30 p.m.); Hearing (7:30-9:30 p.m.)
     April 23--Trapper Creek, Trapper Creek Elementary School, 
Mile 2.5 Petersville Road. Information meeting (6:30-7:30 p.m.); 
Hearing (7:30-9:30 p.m.)
     April 24--Talkeetna, Talkeetna Elementary School, Mile 14 
Talkeetna Spur Road. Information meeting (6:30-7:30 p.m.); Hearing 
(7:30-9:30 p.m.)
     April 25--Anchorage, William A. Egan Civic and Convention 
Center, Board Room, Second Floor, 555 West Fifth Avenue. Information 
meeting (5:30-6:30 p.m.); Hearing (6:30-8:30 p.m.)
    The first hour of each meeting will be a discussion session. 
Representatives of the South Side Denali Cooperative Planning Team will 
be available to answer questions and hear your comments in a more 
informal setting. The rest of the meeting will be a public hearing; a 
brief introduction by the planning team will be followed by public 
testimony on the plan.
    The revised draft DCP/EIS represents a cooperative planning effort 
that builds

[[Page 12096]]
on previous planning for the region, including a draft DCP/EIS issued 
in 1993. The south side refers to an area that includes Denali National 
Park and Preserve land, Denali State Park land, and other lands to the 
south of the national park and preserve boundaries. This revised draft 
DCP/EIS describes and analyzes the environmental impacts of a proposed 
action, two other action alternatives, and a no action alternative. The 
proposed action is based on south side recommendations made by the 
Denali Task Force, a group formed in 1994 at the request of Secretary 
of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, to provide recommendations through the 
National Park System Advisory Board regarding visitor facilities and 
services in and near Denali National Park and Preserve, including the 
south side. Other sections of the document, including alternatives to 
the proposed action, are based on the 1993 draft DCP/EIS, with 
modifications made in response to public comments and environmental and 
economic considerations.
    The proposed action includes a new visitor center (up to 13,000 
square feet), picnic area, campground, public use cabins, and short 
interpretive/hiking trails in the Tokositna area at the western end of 
Denali State Park. Some of the hiking trails would lead into Denali 
National Park and Preserve. The Petersville Road would be upgraded and 
extended to provide improved access to this area. In cooperation and, 
where desirable, partnership between the National Park Service, local 
government, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Native Corporations, 
and the State of Alaska would develop visitor facilities and services 
at Talkeetna, Broad Pass, and the central development zone of Denali 
State Park when the need and opportunity to do so are established. For 
the central development zone of Denali State Park, this would entail 
constructing up to a 3,000 square foot visitor center. The Byers Lake 
campground would be expanded by up to 25 sites or a new campground of 
up to 50 sites would be built elsewhere in the central development zone 
of the state park. Up to five primitive fly-in only campsites would be 
constructed at Chelatna Lake, along with two public use cabins and a 
short hiking/interpretive trail and trailhead interpretive sign. The 
Dunkle Hills road could provide new access opportunities in the Dunkle 
Hills/Broad Pass area, including access into Denali National Park and 
Preserve, pending resolution of land status/access issues. These 
actions would be phased in practical and achievable steps over the 15 
to 20-year life of the plan, under the guidance of an intergovernmental 
implementation team.
    The focus of the two other action alternatives is to provide 
visitor facilities and services within easy access from the George 
Parks Highway. No facilities would be constructed in the Tokositna 
area, in the Dunkle Hills, or near Chelatna Lake. No public use cabins 
would be constructed. In one alternative, a new visitor center (up to 
13,000 square feet) would be located at either the northern, central, 
or southern development zone of Denali State park, with short hiking/
interpretive trails established near the visitor center. The Byers Lake 
campground would be expanded by up to 25 sites or a new campground of 
up to 50 sites would be built elsewhere in the central development zone 
of the state park. In the other action alternative, a new visitor 
center (up to 1,500 square feet) would be located at either the 
northern, central, or southern development zone of the state park, with 
short hiking/interpretive trails established near the visitor center.
    With the no action alternative, management activity and the current 
level of backcountry visitation would continue. A 320 square foot 
visitor contact station would be built near the Vietnam Veteran's 
Memorial in Denali State Park, and a short trail to the Chulitna River 
would be developed in the central development zone of the state park. 
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough likely would construct snowmachine and 
all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trails and facilities near the Forks 
Roadhouse along the Petersville Road. An existing privately built 
(trespass) cabin near Chelatna Lake would be converted to public use. 
No campgrounds or other visitor facilities would be developed by the 
state, the National Park Service, or boroughs on the south side. 
Certain policies and actions would be implemented under each action 
alternative (some actions also would apply under the no-action 
alternative). The policies would call for locating commercial 
facilities (e.g., lodging) primarily on private lands; protecting the 
wild character of the south side; minimizing impacts on existing uses; 
adhering to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, 
sections 1306 and 1307, and phasing development. The following actions 
would be taken (those applying to the no action alternative are noted 
with an asterisk):
     Developing up to five additional roadside exhibits along 
the George Parks Highway
     identifying and establishing watchable wildlife areas
     developing self-guiding interpretive brochures
     implementing state highway right-of-way restrictions and 
conducting selective brushing and vista clearing along the George Parks 
Highway
     reviewing and revising the Matanuska-Susitna Borough's 
Special Land Use District in Denali State Park to improve 
implementation and enforcement*
     completing corridor management plans for the George Parks 
Highway and implementing management guidelines*
     working cooperatively to manage uses on the south side
     seeking designation of the George Parks Highway within 
Denali State Park as a state scenic byway *
     conducting research on the natural and cultural resources 
and human uses in the area in advance of development on the south side 
*
     formally establishing a Denali South Side Plan 
Implementation Partnership to continue the cooperative partnership 
approach in implementing the DCP.
    The DCP/EIS is the result of a collaborative process that takes a 
regional rather than a jurisdictional approach to planning. The 
cooperative planning team is comprised of representatives from the 
National Park Service, State of Alaska, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 
Denali Borough, and two Native Regional Corporations (Ahtna, 
Incorporated and Cook Inlet Region Incorporated). All six partners in 
this cooperative effort have land management authorities on the south 
side. In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 
as amended, the National Park Service is the lead federal agency 
responsible for the environmental impact statement; the state and the 
two boroughs are cooperating agencies. The two Native Corporations are 
not cooperating agencies but are considered planning partners in 
accordance with National Park Service guidelines and the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act.

    Dated: March 15, 1996.
Robert D. Barbee,
Field Director, Alaska Field Office.
[FR Doc. 96-7108 Filed 3-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P