[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31146-31147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-15451]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service


Notice of Availability of the Draft Development Concept Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement for the Entrance Area/Road Corridor, 
Denali National Park and Preserve

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Draft Development Concept Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement for the Entrance Area/Road Corridor, 
Denali National Park and Preserve.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Park Service announces the availability of a 
Draft Development Concept Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (DCP/EIS) 
for the Entrance Area/Road Corridor (Front Country) of Denali National 
Park and Preserve. The document describes and analyzes the 
environmental impacts of a proposed action and three other action 
alternatives for visitor facilities and services. A no action 
alternative also is evaluated. This notice announces the dates and 
locations of public hearings to solicit comments on the draft DCP/EIS.

DATES: Comments on the draft DCP/EIS must be received no later than 
August 19, 1996. Hearing dates, times, and locations are listed under 
Supplementary Information, below.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the 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 draft DCP/EIS are available by 
request from the aforementioned address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Tranel, Denali National Park and 
Preserve. Telephone: (907) 683-9552 FAX: (907) 683-9612.

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, has prepared a draft DCP/EIS for proposed 
visitor facilities and services on the front country 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.
      August 5 (Monday), Anchorage, Egan Center, Room 56, 6:30 
to 10:00 pm.
      August 6 (Tuesday), Talkeetna/Trapper Creek, Upper 
Susitna Valley Senior Center, 6:30 to 10:30 pm.
      August 7 (Wednesday), Healy, Tri-Valley Community Center, 
6:30 to 10:00 pm.
      August 8 (Thursday), Fairbanks, Westmark Hotel, 6:30 to 
10:00 pm.
      August 13 (Tuesday), Cantwell, Community Hall, 6:30 to 
10:00 pm.
      August 14 (Wednesday), Denali Park, Denali Park Hotel, 
6:30 to 10:00 pm.
    The first hour of each meeting will be a discussion session. 
Representatives of the NPS 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 draft DCP/EIS includes five alternatives for providing for 
visitor use and resource protection and related facility development in 
the front country of Denali National Park and Preserve. The front 
country includes all non-wilderness areas along the Parks Highway, the 
Riley Creek/headquarters area, and the park road corridor to the 
Kantishna airstrip. The five alternatives include a no action 
alternative and four action alternatives. The proposed action is based 
on the recommendations of the Denali Task Force, a committee formed at 
the request of the Secretary of the Interior in 1994, on proposals 
received during public scoping, on previous plans, and on planning team 
work and impact analysis.
    Facilities and services considered in the proposed action and in 
each alternative include visitor accommodations, campgrounds, camper 
conveniences, interpretive facilities, transportation, parking, bus 
tours, bicycle use, rest and picnic areas, concessions, road 
maintenance, trails, employee housing, administrative and support 
facilities, airstrips, and utility systems. The alternatives differ in 
construction costs, extent and location of visitor facilities, and 
corresponding environmental, social, and economic impacts.
    The Proposed Action (Alternative D) would provide visitor 
facilities and services in the front country to meet a wide range of 
visitor needs and interests. Front country developments would be 
limited to actions in which the NPS has traditionally specialized, such 
as interpretive centers, environmental education opportunities, trails, 
and campgrounds. The park hotel would be closed, and the NPS would 
encourage the private sector to develop visitor service facilities 
(accommodations, food service, and other commercial services) outside 
the park. The existing Visitor Access Center would be remodeled and 
expanded to serve as an interpretive/science center, and a new visitor 
services building and parking would be constructed nearby. Camper 
convenience services would be provided in this same area and the 
existing store and temporary shower building removed. Some buildings in 
the former hotel area would be adaptively used to provide an 
environmental education facility. New permanent rest areas would be 
constructed at Savage and Toklat. Additional trails would be 
constructed primarily in the Nenana River and Savage River areas. New 
campsites would be developed in the entrance area, the Nenana River 
corridor, and in the Kantishna area. Road maintenance and repair would 
be upgraded to address safety concerns and major structural failures 
along the park road. These actions would be phased in over the 15- to 
20-year life of the plan.
    Alternative A (No Action--Continue Current Management Direction) 
represents no change from current management direction. With the 
exception of development concepts not yet implemented, it continues the 
present course of action set forth in existing management plans and 
guidance documents including the Statement for Management (1995) and 
the General Management Plan/Land Protection Plan/Wilderness Suitability 
Review (1986). This alternative represents the existing situation in 
the park, so existing facilities and services would remain. For 
example, the temporary park hotel would be rehabilitated as funds 
allow, adaptive use of historic structures and overcrowding of 
administrative space would continue, campgrounds would not be expanded, 
and no new trail construction or additional trail maintenance would be 
done.
    Alternative B (Implement Development Concepts from Previous Plans) 
would fully implement previous planning decisions and development 
concepts contained in approved plans such as the 1986 General 
Management Plan and the 1992 Amendment to the 1983 Development Concept 
Plan/Environmental Assessment for the park road corridor and 1987 
addendum (1992 Riley Creek Amendment). These documents not only propose 
additional facilities throughout the park to support NPS operations; 
they also propose increased visitor services and facilities within the 
park entrance area. Examples of new facilities proposed include a new 
hotel and camper convenience center to

[[Page 31147]]

replace existing temporary facilities, a hostel in the entrance area, a 
new interpretive center with additional administrative space, a 50-site 
expansion to Riley Creek campground, and upgraded trail maintenance in 
the entrance area.
    Alternative C (Reduce Facilities and Services Inside Park) would 
reduce the level of development and visitor services inside the park 
and encourage the private sector to provide necessary new facilities 
such as overnight accommodations, campgrounds, and camper conveniences 
outside the park boundary. Major new park facilities such as an 
interpretive center and an environmental education center would be 
constructed outside the park as well. The park entrance area would 
function primarily as a staging area for trips farther into the park 
rather than as a destination in itself. This alternative allows for 
minimizing resource impacts and therefore maximizing resource 
protection inside the park.
    Alternative E (Emphasize Visitor Services and Recreational 
Opportunities Within the Park) would significantly enhance the visitor 
experience by concentrating new development inside the park and 
providing a diversity of visitor facilities and services in the front 
country to meet a wide range of visitor needs and interests. The NPS 
would take the leading role in providing new visitor services. A new 
hotel would replace the existing temporary building, and a hostel or 
similar low-cost accommodations would be constructed at a separate 
location. A new interpretive center, a camper conveniences center, and 
an environmental education facility would be constructed just north of 
Riley Creek Campground. Additional campsites would be developed 
throughout the front country. New permanent rest areas would be 
constructed at Toklat and Savage, and trails would be upgraded and 
expanded at several locations. Road maintenance and repair along the 
park road would be upgraded to address documented structural problems 
as well as safety concerns and actual structural failures.

    Dated: June 6, 1996.
Robert D. Barbee,
Field Director, Alaska Field Office.
[FR Doc. 96-15451 Filed 6-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P