[Federal Register: February 13, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 30)]
[Notices]
[Page 7253-7254]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13fe04-112]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
SUMMARY: The National Park Service in cooperation with the State of
Alaska, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities; State of
Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Outdoor
Recreation; and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska intend to prepare
the South Denali Implementation Plan and accompanying Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS). The 1986 General Management Plan for Denali
National Park and Preserve called for the development of visitor
services and access to the South Denali region, and the 1997 South Side
Denali Development Concept Plan/EIS identified a site within the
western portion of Denali State park for new visitor facilities. The
Implementation Plan will study new site locations and provide more
detailed information on the proposed facilities.
The purpose of the plan is to implement the 1997 South Side Plan
and to evaluate specific locations for proposed visitor and
administrative facilities, including a nature center, access road,
trail systems, campsites, picnic shelters, employee housing and
administrative facilities. In addition to siting the facilities, the
plan will identify and evaluate the design, capacity and function of
proposed development. Options and opportunities to enhance recreation
and access throughout the South Denali region will also be evaluated.
The study area for the Implementation Plan encompasses the Petersville
Road corridor, the southern boundary area of Denali National Park and
Preserve, the western section of Denali State Park and the Peters
Hills. The goals are to provide a quality visitor experience while
protecting resource values in Denali State Park and Denali National
Park and Preserve and preserving the quality of life for residents in
nearby communities, and to enhance recreational and access
opportunities for a wide variety of visitors including Alaskans, and
independent and package tour travelers. Alternatives under
consideration for
[[Page 7254]]
this project focus on variations in location and extent of new visitor
opportunities and facilities and access options in the areas mentioned
above:
1. No new construction of facilities or access. (No-Action
alternative).
2. Construct facilities in the Peters Hills at the southern
boundary of Denali State Park and provide access to the site from the
Petersville Road (Proposed Action).
3. Construct facilities at the Tokositna site identified in the
1997 South Side plan, and provide access to the site by extending the
Petersville Road.
Other facility locations and access options within the study area may
be identified for alternative evaluation based on the public comments
received during public scoping.
Scoping: The planning team requests input from interested federal
and state agencies, local governments, groups, organizations,
recreational users, 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
newsletters. Public scoping meetings will be held in Anchorage,
Wasilla, Susitna Valley, McKinley Village, and Fairbanks Alaska in
early 2004. Specific dates, times, and locations of scoping meetings
will be announced. An agency scoping meeting will be held in Anchorage,
Alaska in early 2004.
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home address from the administrative record, which we will honor
to the extent allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name
and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of
your comment. We will not, however, consider anonymous comments. We
will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their
entirety.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received
on or before April 13, 2004. The draft EIS is projected to be available
in late 2004. Comments may be sent to the address or Web site provided
below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miriam Valentine, Park Planner, at the
Talkeetna Ranger Station, P.O. Box 588, Talkeetna, AK 99676, (907) 733-
9102, or at the following Web site: http://parkplanning.nps.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The implementation plan will be based on
existing federal and state plans including the 1986 Denali National
Park and Preserve General Management Plan, the 1997 National Park
Service South Side Denali Development Concept Plan. the 1989 Denali
State Park Master Plan, the 1998 Matanuska-Susitna Borough Petersville
Road Corridor Management Plan, and consideration of the Governor-
chartered South Denali Citizens Consultation Committee report (1999).
The 1986 Denali National Park and Preserve General Management Plan
calls for the development of visitor services and access to the South
Denali region to take advantage of the area's dramatically sculptured
landscapes and mountain-oriented recreational opportunities. This plan
recommends the project be planned and developed cooperatively with the
state of Alaska and with involvement from the private sector.
The 1997 South Side Denali Development Concept Plan is a regional
cooperative plan formulated by a team representing the National Park
Service, State of Alaska, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Denali Borough,
Ahtna, Inc., and Cook Inlet Region, Inc. In the Record of Decision the
NPS decided to construct visitor facilities at the western edge of
Denali State Park near the end of an upgraded and extended Petersville
Road. Developments would include a visitor center, parking, up to 50
campsites, a picnic area, hiking trails, information and safety
signage, and associated facilities.
The 1999 South Denali Citizens Consultation Committee Final Report
recommended modifying the development concepts in the South Side Denali
Development Concept Plan while remaining consistent with its goals and
objectives: to provide resident and visitor facilities throughout the
south side of the Alaska Range to meet a wide range of needs and
interests of the region's diverse user groups. The committee
recommended that a nature center be constructed within the Denali State
Park boundary and avoid an extensive upgrade of the Petersville Road
through the canyon, thereby minimizing impacts to mining and
backcountry uses.
The 1989 Denali State Park Master Plan recommends facility
construction in the South Denali region: ``Tremendous views of the Mt.
McKinley massif and the diversity of surrounding areas make the park an
appropriate location for a ``South Denali Visitor Complex''. The
visitor complex will provide a focal point and staging area for the
Denali State Park interpretive program.''
One of the objectives of the 1998 Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Petersville Road Corridor Management Plan is to enhance the visitor
experience of Petersville Road in conjunctions with facility
development in the South Denali region. Recommendations include
interpretive panels, informational kiosks, vegetative buffers, and
retention of scenic qualities along the road corridor.
Dated: January 28, 2004.
Thomas J. Ferranti,
Acting Regional Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 04-3250 Filed 2-12-04; 8:45 am]