Environmental Assessment for Rehabilitation of Coastal Emergency Shelter Cabin available for public review and comment

Date: July 15, 2015

Nome, Alaska –An Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Replacement of a coastal emergency shelter cabin is now available for public review and comment, announced Park Superintendent Jeanette Koelsch.

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is proposing to construct a replacement cabin on the southeast shore of the Cowpack Lagoon.In 2006, the Kividluk Emergency Shelter Cabin, located at Kividlo, was destroyed by high winds. There are currently no NPS shelters available for many miles - about 37 miles by snow machine to Shishmaref or 50 miles to Kotzebue if Kotzebue Sound is frozen. A new coastal emergency shelter cabin would provide life-saving emergency shelter for subsistence users, the public, and NPS staff in the area during severe weather.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, calls on federal agencies to consider environmental issues as part of their decision making process and to involve interested parties in the process.The NEPA process was initiated in 2009 with a public scoping meetings in Shishmaref and again in 2013, soliciting issues and concerns on preliminary project proposals.Responses to these scoping efforts were used during preparation of the EA, which is the next step in the NEPA process.

The EA can be reviewed at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=25458.Comments can be submitted online at the same web address (the preferred method) or mailed to Jeanette Koelsch, Superintendent, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, PO Box 220, Nome, AK 99762;or by fax to 907-443-6139;or by email to [e-mail] will be accepted through August 13, 2015.

For questions and additional information about this project, or for copies of the EA, please contact NEPA project manager email [e-mail] or call 907-644-3536.