Parkwise - Denali Planning WebQuest: Process

Denali Planning WebQuest:
The Process

Tour buses take thousands of visitors a year into Denali National Park and Preserve. Planning for the future of national parks means that park researchers have to study park resources to make sure they are not threatened. There are many ways that visitors can enjoy their national parks, by car, on foot, and like these two visitors, on bikes.
NPS Photos from left to right: Tour bus at Denali National Park, a national park researcher,
two bicyclists enjoy the beauty of Denali.

You need to investigate, analyze and evaluate the different proposed plans and come to a consensus about which plan will be best. Your group can choose between the following options for planning Denali's future:

Decide that "No Action" (no new roads or routes into the park) is the best choice for Denali's future.
Decide that a new north access route is the best choice for Denali's future.
Decide that a new south side route is the best choice for Denali's future.
Decide that BOTH new north and south access routes are the best choice for Denali's future.
Decide that your group has a better proposal to meet Denali's future needs and outline that proposal in detail.

Your group will then write a letter to the Planning Department of Denali National Park and Preserve stating your preference and why you have chosen that action plan. This is a real situation like many others that face the park planners.

Step 1

Work in teams of two and read the National Park Service studies below. These studies are written by National Park Service managers and are the result of an important public process that allows people the opportunity to voice their views and opinions on Denali National Park's future. They are two of the four options you can choose from to plan for Denali National Park's future.

North Access Feasibility Study
South Side Development Plan

Now take a look at the maps which show the proposed plans. Maps of the North and South Side Development Plans.

Step 2

Research the proposed action plans using this link. The five choices in the chart below are all options for Denali's future planning. Of course there are always pros and cons for every action. Carefully review the action plans and read what others have to say about the plans. Remember, park managers must balance the public's interests and concerns with the policy and laws that are already set. Of course, your group might come up with their own plan. If you do, carefully think through and write down what the pros and cons of your plan would be. Here is a graphic organizer to help you compose your thoughts.

Action Plan	Pros	Cons
#1. Do Both	Provide more opportunities for visitors to see the park Provide opportunities for businesses outside the park Maximize the number of visitors to Denali Alaska's Congressman Don Young	Would impact natural resources in the park (for example, displace wildlife, trample vegetation, degrade wilderness character) Would diminish the sense of wildness in the park and decrease opportunities for visitors to experience wilderness
#2. North Access Only	Would provide a new way for visitors to see the park Helps businesses outside the park More people could get to the park interior Executive Director of the Alaska Miners Association	Expensive to build Would diminish the wilderness character of the park Would fragment a large parcel of undisturbed habitat that is critical to wolves and caribou 1999 Road to Ruin Report National Parks Conservation Association North Route Position
#3. South Side Development Only	Would provide a new way for visitors to see the park Would provide varied opportunities for visitors (for example, hiking trails, campsites, a visitor center, interpretive programs) Provide opportunities for businesses outside the park President of Princess Tours Communications Director of the RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL For Alaska, Inc.	May impact the character of the surrounding communities May impact park resources like wildlife, vegetation, and natural quiet Requires new road construction into an undisturbed area Letter from a Concerned Citizen Letter from a Concerned Citizen Letter from a Concerned Citizen
#4. Do Neither	Park resources like unfragmented habitat, wildlife, and unobstructed views would be protected Natural quiet and the wilderness character of the park would be preserved There would be greater opportunities for visitors to experience solitude and wilderness	Visitors would have fewer choices for places to enter the park Some visitors may be turned away at some point in the future
# 5. Your Own Proposal!	Share your own solution to Denali's planning challenges.

Step 3

Discuss the action plans and decide which would be best. Remember not every one may agree, but it is important to listen to each person's perspective.

> Writing Activity >

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