Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan and EIS

Check out the Record of Decision for the Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, signed in September, 2012.

Background on the plan:

The Denali Park Road is the only road that winds into the six-million-acre wilderness landscape of Denali National Park and Preserve. It is a portal, though which thousands of people travel each year to discover the wonders of this wild place.

With visitation steadily growing, the park is approaching the core season vehicle limit of 10,512 set by park managers in the 1986 General Management Plan. Whereas the vehicle limit is clearly measureable, it is less clear that a numerical limit alone is enough to adequately protect park resources and provide for a high quality visitor experience. Other factors come into play, such as visitor perceptions of crowding at wildlife stops and rest stops; interactions between busses and wildlife; and wildlife movements in the Park Road corridor.

Ultimately, the carrying capacity of the Park Road will be expressed in a measureable way. It will, however, take into account a range of variables related to visitors and the resource. With your help, the Vehicle Management Plan will guide management of the Park Road experience, so it continues to offer visitors of diverse needs, wants and desires opportunities to come to know our wilderness heritage.

 

Denali Park Road Capacity Study	Background Information
Frequently Asked Questions	What is Adaptive Management?
2007 Road Design Standards

Links to documents used in preliminary development of the VMP

 

Public Comment Meetings

Denali National Park: Tuesday, August 23 Murie Science and Learning Center

Fairbanks: Wednesday, August 31 Morris Thompson Visitors Center, 101 Dunkel St.

Anchorage: Thursday, September 7 Campbell Creek Science Center, 5600 Science Center Dr.

Project Schedule

Task	Completion date
Notice of Intent	July 15, 2008
National Park Service scoping	Sept 30, 2008
Public scoping meetings	Sept 30, 2008
Public Review of Denali Park Road Planning Workbook	Jan 1, 2010 - Mar 1, 2010
Draft plan and EIS written	2010
Public comment period on the draft plan and EIS	Summer 2011
Final EIS and Record of Decision	Summer 2012

For further information contact: Denali Park Planning, Miriam Valentine, P.O. Box 588, Talkeetna, AK 99676