Temporary Access Permit to Cross Bering Land Bridge National Preserve for the Shishmaref Relocation

The National Park Service (NPS) is considering issuing a special use permit for temporary access across Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA) to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), to conduct reconnaissance level engineering studies in support of the Shishmaref Relocation Road Project. The NPS is considering this access request under Title XI of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA) and its implementing regulations at 43 CFR Part 36.3 as a pre-application activity to obtain information for a possible future application for a road across BELA.

Congress has made funds available through FHWA to study the potential for developing a suitable material site with an access road connecting the material site to a potential barge landing site in Shishmaref Inlet. As part of the reconnaissance level studies, ADOT&PF is proposing to conduct exploratory drilling along a route that extends from Shishmaref Inlet (a potential barge landing site) to Ear Mountain (a potential material source).

A portion of this exploration route is within the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (Preserve).

Contact Information

Bud Rice
National Park Service
240 West 5th Avenue
Anchorage, Alaska 99501