North Cascades National Park To Hold Public Meetings

Date: June 12, 2013
Contact: Roy Zipp, 360-854-7313

Stehekin: June 24
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. open house
Golden West Visitor Center

Stehekin: June 25
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. site walk-through
NPS Maintenance Yard

Wenatchee: June 25
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Chelan County Public Utility District Auditorium
327 North Wenatchee Avenue

Seattle: June 26
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
319 Second Avenue South

Sedro Woolley, WA – Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - The National Park Service invites you to help identify the issues and concerns to be addressed in the Environmental Assessment for the “Replacement of Administrative Facilities at Stehekin” by attending one of three public meetings. Join members of the planning team and the park superintendent in Stehekin on June 24, Wenatchee on June 25, and Seattle on June 26 to discuss your ideas, thoughts, and concerns regarding the proposed actions.

The meeting format will include a short presentation on the proposed project, followed by an open house format during which you can review project information, talk with park staff, ask questions, and provide comments. The meeting at Stehekin will also include a walk-through of the alternative sites under consideration.

The purpose of the proposed action is to provide cost-effective and sustainable facilities and infrastructure for maintenance and fire operations and housing critical to Lake Chelan National Recreation Area operations that are outside of environmentally sensitive areas. The proposed action is needed to remove several of the existing facilities from the Stehekin River floodplain. The existing facilities also are inefficient to operate and maintain, and a long-term solution for solid waste disposal must be identified and implemented.

Existing maintenance facilities would be removed from the channel migration zone of the Stehekin River, allowing the area to be restored to more natural conditions. In accordance with the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area General Management Plan, new maintenance facilities would be consolidated near the airstrip and would include shuttle bus storage and maintenance; equipment storage; a repair building; a fire cache and dorm; helicopter pad; hazardous storage; and a solid waste compaction/recycling transfer facility. One single-family house for NPS staffs would be built in one of four potential locations.

Comments received before the close of the public scoping period on July 10, 2013, will help identify the issues and concerns to be addressed in the Environmental Assessment. In addition to the public meetings, comments can be submitted on-line at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/noca or in writing to:

National Park Service, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Stehekin Administrative Facilities EA
810 State Route 20
Sedro-Woolley, Washington 98284