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Oct 22, 2024:
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Kenai Fjords National Park Frontcountry Management Plan
Kenai Fjords National Park » Kenai Fjords National Park Frontcountry Management Plan » Document List
Friends,
We are excited to share our frontcountry management plan for Kenai Fjords National Park. You are encouraged to review the plan, which includes an environmental assessment, and join park staff to learn more about the plan at a public meeting on October 8th.
The plan addresses visitor use at the park's most popular inland destination. For many years, the frontcountry area has offered visitors a unique opportunity to see and experience Exit Glacier up close. However, as the glacier has retreated substantially due to a warming climate, we need a new plan to adapt and diversify visitor opportunities in this area while stewarding park resources.
The area's previous visitor use plan was completed in 2004. At the time, the National Park Service emphasized opportunities for visitors to approach Exit Glacier. However, due to the glacier's rapid retreat, it is no longer possible for most visitors to approach the glacier easily and safely. The updated plan emphasizes a more diverse array of visitor opportunities, helps us manage resource impacts and safety concerns associated with increasing visitation, provides guidance for managing infrastructure impacted by changing conditions, and updates regulations in response to the changed conditions.
Public feedback in early 2022 helped to inform the development of the plan. Many commenters expressed a desire to shift the focus to interpreting climate impacts, continue access to the Harding Icefield Trail and mountaineering routes, expand activities in fall and winter, and manage parking congestion. This plan updates the management vision for the area. While many people were interested in expanding the trail system, this plan also explains why adding to the trail system is not feasible at this time.
Now, as a member of the public, the National Park Service is seeking your input again, this time on the plan and accompanying environmental assessment. For those of you interested in learning more about the plan and asking questions of my staff and me, please join us for a public meeting on October 8th. For more information, click "Meeting Notices" on the left.
You can find the plan and environmental assessment by clicking "Open for Comment" on the left. Once you've reviewed the plan, you can submit comments by clicking the "Comment Now" button on the "Open for Comment" web page. Please submit your comments by October 22, 2024.
Following the public comment period, we will analyze and thematically summarize the comments. Amendments to the plan and environmental assessment will be made as needed, and, if appropriate, a finding of no significant impact will be prepared to document our plan and decisions.
Sincerely,
John W. Carroll, Superintendent
We are excited to share our frontcountry management plan for Kenai Fjords National Park. You are encouraged to review the plan, which includes an environmental assessment, and join park staff to learn more about the plan at a public meeting on October 8th.
The plan addresses visitor use at the park's most popular inland destination. For many years, the frontcountry area has offered visitors a unique opportunity to see and experience Exit Glacier up close. However, as the glacier has retreated substantially due to a warming climate, we need a new plan to adapt and diversify visitor opportunities in this area while stewarding park resources.
The area's previous visitor use plan was completed in 2004. At the time, the National Park Service emphasized opportunities for visitors to approach Exit Glacier. However, due to the glacier's rapid retreat, it is no longer possible for most visitors to approach the glacier easily and safely. The updated plan emphasizes a more diverse array of visitor opportunities, helps us manage resource impacts and safety concerns associated with increasing visitation, provides guidance for managing infrastructure impacted by changing conditions, and updates regulations in response to the changed conditions.
Public feedback in early 2022 helped to inform the development of the plan. Many commenters expressed a desire to shift the focus to interpreting climate impacts, continue access to the Harding Icefield Trail and mountaineering routes, expand activities in fall and winter, and manage parking congestion. This plan updates the management vision for the area. While many people were interested in expanding the trail system, this plan also explains why adding to the trail system is not feasible at this time.
Now, as a member of the public, the National Park Service is seeking your input again, this time on the plan and accompanying environmental assessment. For those of you interested in learning more about the plan and asking questions of my staff and me, please join us for a public meeting on October 8th. For more information, click "Meeting Notices" on the left.
You can find the plan and environmental assessment by clicking "Open for Comment" on the left. Once you've reviewed the plan, you can submit comments by clicking the "Comment Now" button on the "Open for Comment" web page. Please submit your comments by October 22, 2024.
Following the public comment period, we will analyze and thematically summarize the comments. Amendments to the plan and environmental assessment will be made as needed, and, if appropriate, a finding of no significant impact will be prepared to document our plan and decisions.
Sincerely,
John W. Carroll, Superintendent