Environmental Assessment for Inholder Access to Stampede Creek Area of Denali National Park Available For Comment

Date: July 9, 2009
Contact: Kris Fister, 907-683-9583

An Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluating proposed Inholder Access to the Stampede Creek Area of Denali National Park and Preserve is now available for public review and comment, announced Park Superintendent Paul Anderson. The National Park Service (NPS) is considering issuing Right of Way Certificates of Access (RWCA) to two inholders with property on Stampede Creek. RWCAs are contract agreements to document and authorize inholder access rights established by Section 1110(b) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). The inholders fly to the Stampede Airstrip and use small motorized vehicles to transport themselves and equipment to their property two miles upstream.

These RWCAs would authorize on park lands the following activities requested by the inholders:

· The Stampede airstrip could be maintained for a usable length of 1,800 feet and 75 feet of width. To maintain this usable length it would require clearing of tall vegetation for approximately 2,400 feet to maintain obstacle-free approach and take-off areas.

· Power tools such as power mowers, small chainsaws or brush cutters could be used to remove vegetation from the surface of the Stampede airstrip and from vegetation overhanging the access road.

· Small motorized equipment such as four-wheelers and power wheelbarrows could be used to transport inholders, their guests, and supplies on the 2 ½ mile long former mining access route between the Stampede airstrip and the Stampede Mine area. This use should not create ruts or cause erosion. Minor maintenance with a shovel could be done to repair natural erosion damage.

The EA for this project is titled “Environmental Assessment for Inholder Access to the Stampede Creek Area of Denali National Park.” It is available at the NPS planning web site at parkplanning.nps.gov. The EA analyzes the impacts of the proposed action and the no-action alternative. It was completed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1508.9).

Comments on the EA may be submitted through August 10, 2009, preferably via the web site at parkplanning.nps.gov. Comments may also be sent via mail to Steve Carwile, Denali Compliance Project Manager, NPS Alaska Regional Office, 240 West 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501; faxed to [phone] or e-mail us.

For questions about the EA or to obtain a hard copy of the document, contact Steve Carwile via his email address or call [phone].

-NPS-