The National Park Service, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, is considering a project for safety improvements to the western end of the 92-mile long Denali Park Road in Denali National Park and Preserve. The project is being considered because this stretch of road has been identified as having had the fewest safety improvements since it was constructed in the 1930s. The goal of the plan is to improve safety for visitors while maintaining the unique character of the Denali Park Road.

The park’s 1997 Entrance Area and Road Corridor Development Concept Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (DCP/EIS) describes the present view of the character of the park road:

“West of the Teklanika River, the landscape and the road change. Rolling terrain gives way to steep mountains and rugged canyons. The park road changes from a uniform width, two-lane facility to a variable width one lane road with two-lane sections and pullouts. At this point, the landscape and the character of the road become integral parts of the park experience. The sinuous path emphasizes the dramatic terrain. Engineered structures such as bridges are used only as necessary to protect the resource or preserve the road. Signs and related items are kept to a minimum. The character of the road is in keeping with the character of the land: a primitive, low-speed road located in a wild and pristine land.”

The Denali National Park Road Design Standards (RDS), finalized in 2007, established quantitative “character” definitions for each segment of the park road, as described in the DCP/EIS. The RDS addresses the size, shape and strength of - and the footprint covered by - the road structure, sight distance issues, drainage issues, roadside brushing, and the use of geotechnical products. This would be the first road rehabilitation project to fully incorporate the 2007 standards.

Road improvements in this section will be focused on strengthening outside road edges to reduce the risk of collapse, formalizing existing pullouts and adding new ones to increase safety for passing vehicles, and reconditioning and placing additional surface material to improve the maintainability of the road surface.

A reasonable range of alternatives will be developed for consideration that are responsive to significant issues identified through agency and public involvement. An Environmental Assessment will be developed during Fall 2008.

A public scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday,
September 10, 2008 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Murie Science and Learning Center, located at Mile 1.3 on the Denali Park Road. Copies of the park’s Road Design Guidelines, drawings of typical improvements and pictures of typical areas potentially affected will be available.

Please contact Steve Carwile at (907- 644-3612), or by email at steve_carwile@nps.gov for additional information.

The third meeting of the Denali National Park Aircraft Overflights Advisory Council will take place on Sunday, September 7 from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., and Monday,
September 8, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Murie Science and Learning Center Dining Hall located at Mile 1.3 on the Denali Park Road in Denali National Park and Preserve. The meeting is open to the public with time allocated for public testimony. Written comments are also welcome and can be brought to the meeting or mailed to Miriam Valentine, Talkeetna Ranger Station, P.O. Box 588, Talkeetna, AK 99676.

The Denali National Park Aircraft Overflights Advisory Council will advise the Superintendent, through the Secretary of the Interior, on mitigation efforts that should be made to reduce the impacts from aircraft overflights at Denali National Park and Preserve. The group will develop voluntary measures for assuring the safety of passengers, pilots, and mountaineers and for achieving desired future resource conditions at Denali that were outlined in the 2006 Backcountry Management Plan. Council membership contains broad representation of interested stakeholders and has a balance of local, state, and national interests.

During the multi-year planning process to complete the 2006 Denali National Park and Preserve Backcountry Management Plan, the public identified impacts from aircraft overflights and airplane landings as a critical issue. Aircraft are an important means of visitor access to remote areas of the Denali backcountry, but overflights and landings, generally unrestricted by management plans in the past, have resulted in substantial changes in the natural sound environment and generated new conflicts with park users on the ground.

Information on the Advisory Council can be found at http://www.nps.gov/dena/parkmgmt/currentprojects.htm.

Information on Denali's 2006 Backcountry Management Plan is located at http://www.nps.gov/dena/parkmgmt/gmp.htm.

For additional information on the meeting, please contact Miriam Valentine at (907) 733-9102 or via email at miriam_valentine@nps.gov.

Denali National Park and Preserve intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to develop and implement a plan to manage vehicles along the Denali Park Road. The goal of the plan is to provide a high quality experience for visitors while protecting wilderness resource values, scenic values, wildlife, other park resources, and maintaining the unique character of the park road.

For many years, the established transportation system has been an effective mechanism to manage vehicle use while providing for quality visitor opportunities along the park road. However, the transportation system that has been in place since 1972 has never been comprehensively evaluated. There is a growing demand for the park road experience and trends indicate that visitation to Alaska and the Denali area will continue to increase. By evaluating the park road capacity now, the National Park Service will be able to more effectively handle the projected growth rate in the future.

A reasonable range of alternatives will be developed for consideration that are responsive to significant issues identified through agency and public involvement.

Public scoping meetings will be held in the month of September. All meetings will be from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. with a presentation at 6:30 p.m. Members of the public are invited to share their ideas and concerns with park staff.
Anchorage - September 3, J.Z. Loussac Library, Wild Marston Theater
Susitna Valley - September 4, Talkeetna Ranger Station
Denali Park - September 10, Murie Science and Learning Center
Fairbanks - September 11, Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center

Please contact Miriam Valentine at (907-733-9102, or Miriam_Valentine@nps.gov) for additional information, or visit the website at www.nps.gov/dena/parkmgmt/roadvehmgteis.htm .

Denali National Park and Preserve’s new Eielson Visitor Center will be officially dedicated during a ceremony taking place on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. Park staff will host the dedication event at the visitor center, which is located at Mile 66 of the Denali Park Road, in the heart of Denali National Park and Preserve. The ceremony will include addresses by invited dignitaries, with Lyle Laverty, Deputy Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, as the keynote speaker. The event will culminate with a ribbon-cutting, immediately followed by an open house. The ceremony and following activities are open to the public, who can reach the remote facility via the park’s shuttle bus system.

The new 7,400-square-foot visitor center features large indoor and outdoor viewing areas, an indoor dining area, and an alcove for indoor ranger presentations. Major attractions include an interactive topographical model of Mount McKinley, an art exhibit featuring works done by participants in Denali’s Artist-In-Residence program, and an exquisite, hand-crafted fabric art piece by local Denali artist Ree Nancarrow. The total cost of the building and its exhibits was $9.2 million.

Throughout the six-year design and construction period, park managers made sustainability a primary goal, striving for the highest standards under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System. The National Park Service anticipates achieving a Platinum Certification, the highest LEED rating possible, which will be the first for a building designed and constructed by the National Park Service. Elements that contribute to the LEED nomination include: the building’s low-profile design; transplanted tundra mats salvaged during construction that camouflage the roof deck; renewable energy sources such as solar panels, hydroelectric power, and natural light; energy-efficient heating, ventilation and plumbing systems; using recycled materials from the original visitor center in the new building; and carefully selecting products that are locally produced or recycled for construction.

The Eielson Visitor Center opened to the public on June 8, 2008, and will be open through September 15, 2008, weather permitting. It will reopen in June 2009.

Additional park information is available on the web at www.nps.gov/dena or by calling (907) 683-2294 from 8-4:30 p.m. daily.

The National Park Service is currently accepting nominations for candidates to fill two upcoming vacancies on the Denali National Park Subsistence Resource Commission. The Subsistence Resource Commission (SRC) provides a venue for local subsistence users to have input into the management of subsistence resources in Denali National Park and Preserve.

The SRC was established by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and is charged with recommending a program for subsistence hunting in the park. The SRC prepares proposals to change federal subsistence regulations and comments on proposals submitted by others that affect Denali National Park. The nine-member SRC meets twice a year at various locations in or near the park. Commission members serve as volunteers but may be reimbursed for their travel expenses. Initial appointments are typically for three year terms and may be renewed.

One of the positions is appointed by the South Central Regional Advisory Council, and the other is selected by the Department of Interior. In order to be nominated by the South Central Regional Advisory Council, the candidate must be first appointed to the Denali Fish & Game Advisory Committee. Nominees to the SRC should be members of a subsistence residence community or have a permit to engage in subsistence activities within Denali National Park. For more information on the Denali Fish & Game Advisory Committee, contact Jason Rucker at (907) 768-2610.

Anyone interested in an application or additional information for submitting a nomination is asked to contact Subsistence Manager Amy Craver at (907) 683-9544 or amy_craver@nps.gov.