Public Notice: NPS releases draft EIS on vehicle plan

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Denali Park’s Vehicle Management Plan is available for public review.

The draft plan describes two alternatives plus a no action alternative for managing bus traffic and other vehicle use on the Denali Park Road for the next 15 to 20 years.

Superintendent Paul Anderson has stated that the goal of the plan to is provide a high quality experience for visitors, protect wilderness resources, wildlife and scenic values and maintain the uniqueness of the park road.

The decisions made on the EIS will affect how many vehicles are allowed on the Denali Park Road and how far they are allowed to travel on the 92 mile road.  It will affect future contractors, lodge owners, park employees and of course, visitors to the Park.

The National Park Service will be balancing comments from those that demand access and those that want to preserve the wilderness character of the Park.  The draft EIS came out of comments that were taken from the public during the first phase of the study.

Park Service officials are hosting a series of public meetings in August and September to discuss the alternatives and answer questions.

Comments are accepted through September 30th.  Listeners can submit comments to the Talkeetna Ranger Station or by email.  For the links, go to our website at ktna.org

For questions, call Miriam Valentine at 733-9102