Notice of Availability of the Draft Development Concept Plan/ Environmental Impact Statement for the Entrance Area/Road Corridor, Denali National Park and Preserve

Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (P.L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park Service, has prepared a draft DCP/EIS for proposed visitor facilities and services on the front country Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Information meetings and public hearings are scheduled in Alaska on the dates and at the times and locations indicated below. • August 5 (Monday), Anchorage, Egan Center, Room 56, 6:30 to 10:00 pm. • August 6 (Tuesday), Talkeetna/Trapper Creek, Upper Susitna Valley Senior Center, 6:30 to 10:30 pm. • August 7 (Wednesday), Healy, Tri-Valley Community Center, 6:30 to 10:00 pm. • August 8 (Thursday), Fairbanks, Westmark Hotel, 6:30 to 10:00 pm. • August 13 (Tuesday), Cantwell, Community Hall, 6:30 to 10:00 pm. • August 14 (Wednesday), Denali Park, Denali Park Hotel, 6:30 to 10:00 pm. The first hour of each meeting will be a discussion session. Representatives of the NPS planning team will be available to answer questions and hear your comments in a more informal setting. The rest of the meeting will be a public hearing; a brief introduction by the planning team will be followed by public testimony on the plan. The draft DCP/EIS includes five alternatives for providing for visitor use and resource protection and related facility development in the front country of Denali National Park and Preserve. The front country includes all non-wilderness areas along the Parks Highway, the Riley Creek/headquarters area, and the park road corridor to the Kantishna airstrip. The five alternatives include a no action alternative and four action alternatives. The proposed action is based on the recommendations of the Denali Task Force, a committee formed at the request of the Secretary of the Interior in 1994, on proposals received during public scoping, on previous plans, and on planning team work and impact analysis. Facilities and services considered in the proposed action and in each alternative include visitor accommodations, campgrounds, camper conveniences, interpretive facilities, transportation, parking, bus tours, bicycle use, rest and picnic areas, concessions, road maintenance, trails, employee housing, administrative and support facilities, airstrips, and utility systems. The alternatives differ in construction costs, extent and location of visitor facilities, and corresponding environmental, social, and economic impacts. The Proposed Action (Alternative D) would provide visitor facilities and services in the front country to meet a wide range of visitor needs and interests. Front country developments would be limited to actions in which the NPS has traditionally specialized, such as interpretive centers, environmental education opportunities, trails, and campgrounds. The park hotel would be closed, and the NPS would encourage the private sector to develop visitor service facilities (accommodations, food service, and other commercial services) outside the park. The existing Visitor Access Center would be remodeled and expanded to serve as an interpretive/science center, and a new visitor services building and parking would be constructed nearby. Camper convenience services would be provided in this same area and the existing store and temporary shower building removed. Some buildings in the former hotel area would be adaptively used to provide an environmental education facility. New permanent rest areas would be constructed at Savage and Toklat. Additional trails would be constructed primarily in the Nenana River and Savage River areas. New campsites would be developed in the entrance area, the Nenana River corridor, and in the Kantishna area. Road maintenance and repair would be upgraded to address safety concerns and major structural failures along the park road. These actions would be phased in over the 15- to 20-year life of the plan. Alternative A (No Action--Continue Current Management Direction) represents no change from current management direction. With the exception of development concepts not yet implemented, it continues the present course of action set forth in existing management plans and guidance documents including the Statement for Management (1995) and the General Management Plan/Land Protection Plan/Wilderness Suitability Review (1986). This alternative represents the existing situation in the park, so existing facilities and services would remain. For example, the temporary park hotel would be rehabilitated as funds allow, adaptive use of historic structures and overcrowding of administrative space would continue, campgrounds would not be expanded, and no new trail construction or additional trail maintenance would be done. Alternative B (Implement Development Concepts from Previous Plans) would fully implement previous planning decisions and development concepts contained in approved plans such as the 1986 General Management Plan and the 1992 Amendment to the 1983 Development Concept Plan/Environmental Assessment for the park road corridor and 1987 addendum (1992 Riley Creek Amendment). These documents not only propose additional facilities throughout the park to support NPS operations; they also propose increased visitor services and facilities within the park entrance area. Examples of new facilities proposed include a new hotel and camper convenience center to

replace existing temporary facilities, a hostel in the entrance area, a new interpretive center with additional administrative space, a 50-site expansion to Riley Creek campground, and upgraded trail maintenance in the entrance area. Alternative C (Reduce Facilities and Services Inside Park) would reduce the level of development and visitor services inside the park and encourage the private sector to provide necessary new facilities such as overnight accommodations, campgrounds, and camper conveniences outside the park boundary. Major new park facilities such as an interpretive center and an environmental education center would be constructed outside the park as well. The park entrance area would function primarily as a staging area for trips farther into the park rather than as a destination in itself. This alternative allows for minimizing resource impacts and therefore maximizing resource protection inside the park. Alternative E (Emphasize Visitor Services and Recreational Opportunities Within the Park) would significantly enhance the visitor experience by concentrating new development inside the park and providing a diversity of visitor facilities and services in the front country to meet a wide range of visitor needs and interests. The NPS would take the leading role in providing new visitor services. A new hotel would replace the existing temporary building, and a hostel or similar low-cost accommodations would be constructed at a separate location. A new interpretive center, a camper conveniences center, and an environmental education facility would be constructed just north of Riley Creek Campground. Additional campsites would be developed throughout the front country. New permanent rest areas would be constructed at Toklat and Savage, and trails would be upgraded and expanded at several locations. Road maintenance and repair along the park road would be upgraded to address documented structural problems as well as safety concerns and actual structural failures.

Dated: June 6, 1996. Robert D. Barbee, Field Director, Alaska Field Office. [FR Doc. 96-15451 Filed 6-18-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-70-P