[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]
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