[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3118-3119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-481]



[[Page 3118]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Denali National Park and Preserve, AK; Final Backcountry 
Management Plan, General Management Plan Amendment and Environmental 
Impact Statement

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Final Backcountry Management 
Plan, General Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of 
the Final Backcountry Management Plan, General Management Plan 
Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Denali National 
Park and Preserve. The document describes and analyzes the 
environmental impacts of a preferred alternative and three other action 
alternatives for managing the park and preserve's backcountry. A no 
action alternative also is evaluated.

DATES: A Record of Decision will be made no sooner than 30 days after 
the date the Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of Availability 
for this final EIS appears in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: The Final Plan and EIS may be viewed online at http://www.nps.gov/dena through the ``in Depth'' link on our homepage under 
``Planning and Management.'' Hard copies or CDs of the Final 
Backcountry Management Plan and General Management Plan Amendment and 
EIS are available on request from the address below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Tranel, Chief of Planning, Denali 
National Park and Preserve, 240 West 5th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 
99501. Telephone: (907) 644-3611, Fax: (907) 644-3803.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), 
the NPS has prepared a final environmental impact statement that 
considers five alternatives for managing the park and preserve's 
backcountry. The five alternatives evaluated in this EIS included four 
action alternatives and a no action alternative.
    Alternative 1 (No Action): The National Park Service would continue 
the present management direction, guided by the 1986 General Management 
Plan, the 1997 Entrance Area Road Corridor Development Concept Plan, 
the 1997 South Side Denali Development Concept Plan, the 1997 Strategic 
Plan, and the 1976 backcountry management plan with amendments. 
Recreational use and access patterns would continue to develop and the 
agency would respond as necessary on a case-by-case basis. No new 
services or facilities would be developed to meet increased levels of 
use in the backcountry, except for those identified in the Entrance 
Area or South Side plans.
    Alternative 2: This alternative would distinguish a unique Denali 
experience based on dispersed use in a wilderness landscape with few 
sights or sounds of people or mechanized civilization. There would be 
few services, facilities, or signs of management presence. This 
alternative would most clearly distinguish the backcountry experience 
in Denali from the surrounding public lands, providing a place 
primarily for visitors who are very self-reliant, and including many 
opportunities for extended expeditions in very remote locations. 
Backcountry users seeking other experiences would find those 
opportunities on neighboring lands.
    Alternative 3: This alternative would provide a variety of 
wilderness recreational activities by establishing areas to serve those 
visitors who want to experience the wilderness resource values of the 
Denali backcountry but require services, assistance, or short time-
commitments. The areas would be the minimum necessary to provide these 
experiences based on present demand and would be focused along the park 
road in the Old Park and Kantishna and at the existing high activity 
areas at the Ruth Glacier and Kahiltna Base Camp. The majority of the 
backcountry would be managed for dispersed, self-reliant travel and 
would include opportunities for extended expeditions in very remote 
locations.
    Alternative 4: Modified (Preferred Alternative): Alternative 4 from 
the Revised Draft was modified for the final plan to respond to 
substantive public comments. Management area allocations and corridors 
were adjusted slightly, and indicators and standards for wildlife were 
added. The hierarchy for guided services and educational programs was 
removed and replaced with a statement indicating that NPS and Murie 
Science and Learning Center activities would have a priority for 
available backcountry capacity where such capacity is limited. 
Definitions of scenic air tours and air taxis were clarified. The 
restriction that would prohibit scenic air tours from landing on the 
Pika or Eldridge Glaciers when climbers or mountaineers are present was 
modified. Scenic air tour landings may take place when climbers are 
present, but those landings are subject to management area standards, 
cannot occur when other landing locations are available, and are 
discouraged when climbers are present. Guided day-hiking in the Old 
Park would be restricted to areas west of Toklat River with access from 
Kantishna, plus the hiking in the Wonder Lake area authorized by the 
Entrance Area and Road Corridor DCP. The total number of groups would 
be limited to the average number of groups over the previous 5 years. 
Language describing backcountry facilities and administrative and 
scientific activities was also modified to address substantive public 
comments. Specifically, the requirement to develop management area-
specific criteria for research and resource management activities was 
removed in favor of a requirement to obtain research permits.
    This modified alternative would guide the National Park Service in 
providing opportunities for a variety of wilderness recreational 
activities and experiences while recognizing and protecting the premier 
wilderness resource values of the entire backcountry. Areas in the 
Dunkle Hills and around the Ruth and Tokositna Glaciers on the south 
side of the Alaska Range would be managed for those visitors who want 
to experience the wilderness resource values or other resource values 
of the Denali backcountry but require services or assistance, or who 
are unable to make a lengthy time commitment. Areas along the park road 
in the Old Park and the Kantishna Hills would provide accessible 
opportunities for short- or long-duration wilderness recreational 
activities with only limited options for guidance or assistance the 
farther one gets from the park road. The remainder of the backcountry 
would be managed for dispersed, self-reliant travel, and would include 
opportunities for extended expeditions in very remote locations.
    Alternative 5: This alternative would create two distinct 
geographic areas that provide different kinds of visitor experiences in 
the Denali backcountry. The Old Park and the Denali Additions north of 
the Alaska Range would be primarily managed for dispersed, self-reliant 
travel although no areas would be managed specifically to preserve 
opportunities for extended expeditions in remote locations. Areas along 
the park road and in Kantishna that presently receive a relatively high 
volume of use and large parts of the additions south of the Alaska 
Range would be managed for a greater intensity and variety of 
appropriate recreational activities and would have more visible 
management presence and

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opportunities for more services and facilities.
    The responsible official for a Record of Decision on the proposed 
action is the NPS Regional Director in Alaska.

    Dated: December 23, 2006.
Marcia Blaszak,
Regional Director, Alaska Region.
[FR Doc. 06-481 Filed 1-18-06; 8:45 am]
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