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Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement 

PDF Version (2 pp, 52K, About PDF)


[Federal Register: August 12, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 156)]
[Notices]
[Page 46915-46916]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12au08-72]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan Environmental Impact
Statement

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to develop and implement a plan to
manage vehicles along the Denali park road, including carrying capacity
(the maximum number of vehicles that can be accommodated on the Denali
park road May-September). The goal of the plan is to provide a high
quality experience for visitors while protecting wilderness resource
values, scenic values, wildlife and other park resources, and
maintaining the unique character of the park road. The plan will
comprehensively evaluate the existing visitor transportation system to
determine its effectiveness in protecting park resources and providing
for visitor access and enjoyment. Demand for bus seats exceeds capacity
in some cases and trends indicate that visitation will continue to
increase. There is also a need to accommodate the changing
demographics, interests, and needs of visitors.
    The EIS will evaluate a no action alternative of maintaining the
existing vehicle management system on the Denali park road including
current bus schedules, vehicle allocation, and carrying capacity. The
effectiveness of the existing transportation system will be assessed
and used to guide development of a range of action alternatives.
    Action alternatives will consider potential changes to
transportation system components including carrying capacity, and
allocation of vehicle use among shuttle buses, tours, inholders,
professional photographers, and administrative vehicles. It will also
consider changes to bus scheduling and spacing; the size and type of
buses; tour services; educational opportunities and interpretive
services; wildlife viewing opportunities; and possibly other factors.
Alternatives may also consider operational improvements such as the
quality of the buses, space for backpacks and bicycles, communications,
accessibility and interpretive services (both on the buses or prior to
departure). The NPS may consider utilizing an adaptive management
approach based on a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) experimental
design to implement any proposed changes. This BACI approach would
increase the ability to detect and correct any future negative impacts
on visitor experience or park resources and values caused by management
actions.
    The NPS will consider a wide range of information including data
collected from the 1930's to the present. Intensive studies conducted
over the last three years on wildlife populations and behavior, social
science studies on visitor experience, and extensive modeling of
traffic patterns on the park road will be considered in the development
and analysis of alternatives.
    This EIS is being prepared in accordance with the requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4331 et seq.), and its implementing regulations at 40 CFR part 1500.
    Scoping: The planning team requests input from interested federal
and state agencies, local governments, groups, organizations, park
visitors, and the public. Written and verbal scoping comments are being
solicited. Further information on this planning process will be
available through public scoping meetings, press releases, and the park
Web site. Public scoping meetings will be held in Anchorage, Denali
Park, Susitna Valley, and Fairbanks, Alaska in 2008. Additional
locations may be added as appropriate. Specific dates, times, and
locations of scoping meetings will be announced in local media and
posted on the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) Web
site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/DENA.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other

[[Page 46916]]

personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware
that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received
on or before September 30, 2008. The draft EIS is projected to be
available in early 2010.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be mailed to the address below.
Electronic comments may be submitted to the NPS Planning, Environment,
and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/DENA.
To comment using PEPC, select the ``Denali Park Road Vehicle Management
Plan'', then select ``Open for Public Comment''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrienne Lindholm, Outdoor Recreation
Planner, Denali Planning, 240 West 5th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501,
(907) 644-3613.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Denali National Park contains one of the
most intact predator-prey ecosystems in the world as well as one of the
best opportunities in North America to view wildlife in its natural
setting. Denali National Park was established in 1917 as a game refuge
and conserving wildlife and protecting opportunities to view wildlife
remain its most important values. Key resources and values include:
Wildlife populations, wildlife habitat, and the processes and
components of the park's natural ecosystem; wilderness character,
wilderness resource values, and wilderness recreational opportunities;
scenic and geologic values of Mount McKinley and surrounding mountain
landscape; and visitor enjoyment and inspiration from observing
wildlife in its natural habitat and other natural features. Denali is
now one of the most visited subarctic national parks in the world, with
the vast majority of visitation focused along the 90-mile park road.
Park managers must ensure that Denali's vehicle management plan
protects these critical resource values.
    Before 1972, Denali visitation was low because travelers arrived
either by train or by an arduous overland route on the unimproved
Denali Highway. In 1972 park visitation increased 100% in direct
response to the opening of the George Parks Highway which created a
direct corridor from Anchorage to the park. Anticipating this increase,
park managers implemented a mandatory visitor transportation system
that same year to minimize disturbances to wildlife and scenery. This
was one of the first visitor transportation systems in the national
park system and it set the standard for transportation systems in other
park units.
    With the sustained growth in Alaska's tourism industry, Denali
continues to be a featured part of travelers' itineraries. To better
manage the park experience in light of increased pressures, the 1986
General Management Plan (GMP) for the park established a limit of
10,512 motor vehicle trips annually on the park road. This limit, which
affects the existing allocation of vehicle trips (among tour buses,
shuttle buses, private vehicles, administrative vehicles, and private
inholders and their guests) will be comprehensively evaluated in this
EIS. The transportation system enabled Denali to maintain vehicle use
levels below this figure while providing visitors the opportunity to
travel the park road. However, visitation continues to increase and
demand exceeds capacity in some cases. Trends indicate that visitation
will continue to increase and that there will continue to be a demand
for access to Denali. There is also a need to accommodate the changing
demographics, interests, and needs of visitors. This will require a
comprehensive review of the current system and evaluation of
alternatives for developing a system to better serve the needs of
visitors while protecting park resources.

    Dated: June 20, 2008.
Victor Knox,
Acting Regional Director, Alaska.
 [FR Doc. E8-18571 Filed 8-11-08; 8:45 am]

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