Interpretive Plan Underway for Parks Highway
January 19, 2012
Mt. McKinley (Denali) seen from the Parks Scenic Byway near Cantwell
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation have begun the process of creating a master interpretive plan for the Parks Highway Scenic Byway. The master interpretive plan will establish a separate set of goals and objectives specific to interpretation that compliment and support the Parks Highway Scenic Byway Corridor Partnership Plan which was completed in 2008.
Public meetings were held in several communities along the byway in spring of 2011 to gather information from community members on the intrinsic qualities along the highway (see May-Jun 2011 edition of DCC News).
The purpose of interpreting the nations’ scenic byways is to create a distinctive collection of American roads, their stories and treasured places. The goal is the establishment and maintenance of interpretive sites and services along the highway.
The Parks Highway Scenic Byway stretches from the Chulitna River Bridge, at Mile 132 to Fairbanks, at Mile 362. In 2009 it was designated a national scenic byway.
If you are interested in participating in this process please contact Emily Lochart, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation at 907-269-8724 or via email: emily.lochart@alaska.gov.
More information on the scenic byway program and the Parks Highway Scenic Byway Corridor Partnership Plan is available on the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities website: http://www.dot.state.ak.us. Click on highways. You may also contact DCC’s community organizer for information on the byway via email at: julia@denalicitizens.org.
Stampede Rec Area, Yanert Non-Motorized Use on Borough Agenda
January 11, 2012
At its January 11 meeting, the Denali Borough Assembly will be considering several resolutions related to important DCC issues. Resolution 12-04 would reinforce support for the bill presently in the Alaska legislature to create the Stampede State Recreation Area (HB 113, SB60). Passing this resolution is important to show continued Borough support for the proposal.
Also on the agenda is Resolution 12-01 in support of retaining the traditional non-motorized hunting in the Yanert Controlled Use Area. Read more
View Nov-Dec DCC News online
December 11, 2011
Our end of year issue covers the controversial Fish and Game issues now before the local Denali Advisory Committee, the work of the Denali Aircraft Overflights Advisory Council, reaction to our comments on the Draft Denali Vehicle Management Plan, Poetry from Louise Gallop, and local projects such as Eva Creek Wind Power and the Neon ecological monitoring site. Click on the link to read the newsletter. Members receive a paper copy in the mail.
Middle Nenana Fish and Game AC – Meets Monday Dec. 12th in Healy
December 11, 2011
- Unit 20C extends north from the boundary of Denali National Park and includes the Stampede Townships
The Middle Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee Meeting was rescheduled for Monday, December 12, 2011, at the Tri-Valley School Cafeteria, 6 PM. The Committee, whose meeting last week was held without a quorum, collected valuable local comments opposing Proposal 213, a late season motorized hunt in the Yanert Valley. The comment collected at that meeting will be considered as the Committee develops its position on Proposal 213. There are other proposals to be considered that DCC opposes. Read our most recent alert with more information on this meeting, the proposals, and the agenda.
Important Healy meeting of Middle Nenana Fish and Game AC- Monday Dec 5th
December 3, 2011
The Middle Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee will meet this Monday, December 5th, at the Tri-Valley School Cafeteria in Healy. The meeting will begin at 6 PM, with public comments accepted. Agenda Middle Nenana AC – Dec 5th
The Committee will consider and make recommendations on proposals for statewide regulations and for the Interior Region (Region III). The proposals themselves will be up for consideration at the Interior Region Board of Game meeting in Fairbanks in March 2012. Particularly troubling to DCC members is a proposal (Proposal 213) that would open the Yanert Valley, now designated as non-motorized for hunting, to motorized hunting. The proposal, forwarded by the Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee, is widely opposed in the local community. If you are in the area this coming Monday, please attend the AC meeting and oppose this proposal.
Other troubling proposals (Proposal 227-232) would introduce intensive management, predator control and bear baiting activities into Unit 20c, which touches the northern boundary of Denali National Park and includes the Stampede townships. There is no data to support the scientific need for such activities and we feel they are being proposed (NOT by locals) to forward the “maximum yield” agenda of the current leadership at the Department of Fish and Game.
If you cannot attend the meeting, but would like to leave a comment, you may call or email Nan Eagleson, DCC Board members and Middle Nenana AC member, at surfbird@mtaonline.net, or 907-683-2822.
DCC and Friends of Stampede comment on NEON scientific site
November 30, 2011
To view DCC’s and Friends of Stampede’s comments on this proposed ecological monitoring site near 8 Mile Lake, you may click the links below. Stay tuned to our website for more information on the permitting process for this site. Check our previous post for more information on the purpose of the NEON project and its implications.
DCC NEON Healy Site Comments – November 2011
Friends of Stampede comments on NEON site 11.30.11
Permit for NEON scientific site on state lands near Healy- Comment deadline this Wednesday
November 27, 2011
DCC thanks Friends of Stampede for providing information on this proposed scientific installation, to be situated on state lands near 8 Mile Lake. The proposed site is part of a nationwide network of monitoring sites to be deployed by the National Ecologic Observatory Network (NEON) under the auspices of the National Science Foundation.
Map of proposed site.
NEON has applied to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for a permit to install the site on the upper Stampede Road, about a half mile south of the road. The plan of operations states that the installation will be temporary, 5-7 years, but the site will need electric power and the applicant has asked that power lines be installed to the site. This would involve construction of power lines either up the Stampede Road or through some part of the Panguingue Creek subdivision. Locals are reasonably concerned regarding the long-term implications of this single-purpose utility construction into an undisturbed area. Possible moving of the site to an area closer to existing power lines has been suggested. Some have asked for continued extension of comments to allow representatives of NEON to come to the borough and explain the project.
We urge you to comment to DNR regarding this permit application. Check the NEON website for additional information, see the Friends of Stampede website, where a variety of materials are linked and concerns documented.
Comments to DNR are due this Wednesday, September 30th, to AJ Wait at the Division of Mining, Land and Water: aj.wait@alaska.gov. You may call Mr. Wait for more information at 907-451-2777.
Mission of the Project (from NEON website): The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will collect data across the United States on the impacts of climate change, land use change and invasive species on natural resources and biodiversity. NEON is a project of the U.S. National Science Foundation, with many other U.S. agencies and NGOs cooperating.
NEON will be the first observatory network of its kind designed to detect and enable forecasting of ecological change at continental scales over multiple decades. The data NEON collects will be freely and openly available to all users.
Middle Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee to meet in Healy
November 22, 2011
On Monday, December 5, 2011, the local Fish and Game Advisory Committee, the Middle Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee, will meet in Healy at Tri-Valley Community Center. Locals who are familiar with this group are encouraged to attend the meeting. The group will consider Fish and Game proposals to be considered by the Alaska Board of Game at their Interior Meeting, upcoming in March 2012. Concerning proposals would..
1. Introduce motorized hunting into the Yanert Valley east of Denali National Park.
2. Establishing intensive management and predator control for wolves and bears in Unit 20c, which borders Denali Park on the north.
For more information on these issues, contact us at mail@denalicitizens.org. If you are in the area, attend this meeting and speak out.
In-State Natural Gas Pipeline Seeks to Temporarily Use Denali Borough Lands
November 2, 2011
Reprinted from the September-October Denali Citizens Council News (with links to more information):
The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) discussed their Alaska Stand-Alone Pipeline (ASAP) plans for the Denali Borough at a Planning Commission meeting September 20th. AGDC hopes to begin geotechnical studies to “evaluate the feasibility” of burying the natural gas pipeline on Borough-owned lands southeast of the Nenana Canyon. To do so, they have applied for a “Temporary Land-Use Permit” to drill two, seventy-foot-deep boreholes. These boreholes would be used to help AGDC determine how, or whether, they could bury the proposed pipeline in this area. Permit documents were available for review at the meeting, and the Planning Commission passed a resolution of support. The Mayor approves the permit, as use of the land is less than one year. A statewide right-of-way (ROW) application was approved in August, the first in a series of permits that will be necessary for the project. While much of this ROW uses existing state highway and railroad corridors (and is mandated by founding legislation to try to do so), the pipeline detours away from the Parks Highway to avoid a seven-mile stretch of the highway that passes through Denali National Park. This bypass of the park travels through Borough land before connecting with the Willow-Healy Intertie ROW (a major energy transmission line), and then rejoining the highway around Carlo Creek. AGDC will work separately with private property owners, Native Corporations, Borough governments, etc. to establish easements traveling through private property.
Sep-Oct 2011 DCC News
October 31, 2011
Redistricting map showing proposed Denali Borough districts in Ordinance 11-18
The Draft Vehicle Management Plan and EIS tops the news in out latest edition of DCC News. Other features include Denali Borough redistricting, Eva Creek’s impact on birds and wildlife, and Underground Coal Gasification.
DCC holds Constituent Meeting, posts second Vehicle Management Plan Reaction Paper
September 18, 2011
This past week has been a busy one for DCC. On Wednesday, September 14th, we held a well-attended constituent meeting at the McKinley Village Community Center, promoting an intelligent discussion on the Draft Vehicle Management Plan EIS. At the meeting, a number of suggestions and concerns were raised, and we’d like to thank you all for attending. We’ll be continuing our queries to NPS regarding details of this Draft Plan. Remember, although DCC will be submitting comments on behalf of our members, your individual comments are extremely important. They will be due on October 31, 2011.
Check the DCC Vehicle Management Plan page for more history and copies of our comments. The webpage also provides information on how to submit comments.
Our most recent reaction paper is posted at the link below.
DCC Reaction to Denali VMP_September 14, 2011
Jul-Aug 2011 DCC News
August 31, 2011
DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan (center) speaks to attendees at meeting with DCC
Read DCC’s initial reaction to the Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan. Also in this edition DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan meets with DCC to discuss Healy gas exploration, Jane Bryant has a new book, and our newest board member talks about the Vehicle Management Plan.