Date: November 19, 2010
Contact: Chip Jenkins, (360) 854-7204
The National Park Service has scheduled two additional public meetings to discuss the Draft Stehekin River Corridor Implementation Plan Environmental Impact Statement and Land Protection Plan.
Stehekin: January 10, 2011
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Golden West Visitor Center
Sedro-Woolley: January 12, 2011
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
North Cascades National Park Complex Headquarters
810 State Route 20
The National Park Service has also extended the public comment period for the draft Stehekin River Plan and Land Protection Plan. Comments must be submitted by February 11.
"We have received several requests to extend the public comment period and to hold another public meeting in Stehekin," said Chip Jenkins, North Cascades National Park Complex Superintendent. "We are trying to develop the best possible plan, and the ideas that come from the public during the comment and review period help us to do that.”
Comments can be shared on the Draft Stehekin River Corridor Implementation Plan Environmental Impact Statement by attending a public meeting, via email at e-mail us or on-line at https://www.nps.gov/noca/parkmgmt/srcip.htm. You can also access an Executive Summary, Frequently Asked Questions, supporting documents, and the complete Draft Stehekin River Corridor Implementation Plan Environmental Impact Statement from this site. If you do not have internet access, you can obtain a copy of the River Plan and associated Land Protection Plan at the Golden West Visitor Center in Stehekin or at the North Cascades National Park Complex Headquarters in Sedro-Woolley.
In response to the record floods of 1995, 2003 and 2006, the National Park Service has developed the Draft Stehekin River Corridor Implementation Plan Environmental Impact Statement to address, in a comprehensive way, the steps needed to continue to implement the 1995 Lake Chelan National Recreation Area General Management Plan. The goals in creating this plan are to provide high-quality recreational experiences, protect natural and cultural resources, support the private community of Stehekin, and establish sustainable administrative facilities.
Major elements of the preferred alternative of the Draft Stehekin River Corridor Implementation Plan Environmental Impact Statement include the relocation of about two miles of the Stehekin Valley Road around flood-prone McGregor Meadows and a change to large wood management at the river mouth. The preferred alternative would also make several new recreational opportunities available to the public, including a new raft take-out at the river mouth, a new campground at Rainbow Falls, and a Lower Valley Trail to connect the Stehekin Landing to High Bridge. Other important elements of the preferred alternative are carried forward from the 1995 Lake Chelan National Recreation Area General Management Plan, including a move of the NPS maintenance facility and some NPS housing on Company Creek Road out of the floodplain.
This planning effort also includes a revision of the 1995 Land Protection Plan (http://bit.ly/9b6gQJ). While based largely on the 1995 LPP, the Draft Land Protection Plan proposes to update priorities for land trades or acquisitions from willing property owners. These priorities are based on criteria that emphasize areas most at risk for flooding and erosion. The LPP also identifies federal lands outside of the Stehekin River floodplain suitable for exchange for at-risk private lands.
