**Frequently Asked Questions**

Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan and EIS

July 2008

**1) How did you come up with 10,512?**

The seasonal road limit was established through the public planning
process for the 1986 GMP and was determined by the best means available
to park management at the time. The limit allowed some growth while
protecting park resources.

The goal of limiting vehicles past mile 15 was to protect wildlife
viewing opportunities, wildlife health and habitat, and the wilderness
character of the park road. According to the 1986 GMP, total traffic on
the Park Road between Memorial Day weekend and mid-September would be
reduced 17% from the 1984 level and capped at 10,512.

**2) Is the maximum number of vehicles (10,512) going to change? Are you
doing this project to justify increasing the number of buses?**

It is likely that the action alternatives will propose changes to the
10,512 number, both raising it and lowering it. It is also conceivable
that, based on all the road studies and the traffic model, we'll be able
to come up with a way to achieve desired conditions on the road by
defining carrying capacity in a different way, such as by road segment
(paved segment, Savage to Teklanika, west of Tek), or some other means.

**3) Why are we doing these things now?**

The transportation system has been in place since 1972 and the seasonal
road limit has been in place since 1986. The entire transportation
system has never been comprehensively evaluated with the goal of
answering the question: Are we providing the best transportation system
possible \-- One that provides the highest quality visitor experience
and protects park resources? It is time to answer that question.

There is a growing demand for the park road experience and trends
indicate that visitation to Alaska and the Denali area will continue to
increase. By evaluating the park road capacity now, we will be able to
more effectively handle the projected growth rate in the future. There
is also a need to accommodate the changing demographics, interests, and
needs of our visitors. Today's visitors are more active than the past
generation. As the Baby Boomers retire and come to Alaska and visit
Denali there will be increased pressures for additional activities, such
as day hiking, within the park.

The park has a lot more information and technology available to it
today, and conditions in the park have changed (visitation patterns have
changed, the desires of visitors have changed).

**4) How will you decide what the carrying capacity should be?**

Any new carrying capacity for the Denali Park Road will be based on the
following components;

1)  studies of wildlife movements along the road corridor

2)  visitor surveys that determine what components of the experience are
    most important to visitors

3)  further analysis of traffic patterns

4)  evaluating the past 20 years of experience with road limits and 80
    years of experience managing buses on the park road,

5)  using a traffic model that will simulate changes in traffic patterns
    when various factors are manipulated. This model will also predict
    changes to resources and the visitor experience if we change the
    number of vehicles on the road.

See also 2007 Road Study Fact Sheet
<http://www.nps.gov/dena/naturescience/upload/Roadcapacity07Su.pdf>

With the Road Study, we are creating a management model so that
decisions are made based on sound scientific information to offer a
level of consistency regardless of NPS leadership changes.

**5) What is carrying capacity?**

Carrying capacity is the type and level of visitor use that can be
accommodated while sustaining the desired resource and visitor
experience conditions in the park (NPS Management Policies 8.2.1). In
simpler terms and in this context, at what point does the amount of use
and activity along the road spoil the things that make the park road
experience special?

NPS Management Policies also direct superintendents to identify visitor
carrying capacities for managing public use within parks. This planning
process will address carrying capacity for the Denali Park Road visitor
experience.

**6) What will the EIS do?**

The EIS will evaluate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of
managing the park road in different ways.

The EIS will evaluate a no action alternative of maintaining the
existing vehicle management system on the Denali park road including
current bus schedules, vehicle allocation, and road capacity. Action
alternatives will consider potential changes to transportation system
components including road capacity (traffic volume and patterns), and
allocation of vehicle use among shuttle buses, tours, inholders,
professional photographers, and administrative vehicles. It will also
consider changes to bus scheduling and spacing; the size and type of
buses; tour services; educational opportunities and interpretive
services; and wildlife viewing opportunities.

The goal is to provide the flexibility to meet the needs of our visitors
while retaining our commitment to preservation.

**7) What type of visitor experience are you mandated to provide for?**

NPS Management Policies (8.1.1) direct us to allow only uses that are
appropriate to the purposes for which the park was established that can
be sustained without causing unacceptable impacts to visitors or
resources.

**8) If there is currently a high level of visitor satisfaction, why
change anything?**

See also #3. We are approaching the seasonal road limit in the next five
years and may reach it under the current system. Visitors will soon be
dissatisfied if they can't access the park. In the same breath, if the
limit is increased without scientific research and a thoughtful planning
process, the quality of the visitor experience could be degraded. We are
being proactive, trying to ensure that we have the most efficient and
effective transportation system possible that meets the needs of
visitors while protecting the park resource values they came to
experience.

**9) Are bus tickets going to cost more?**

The EIS will examine how the pricing of bus tickets might change in
different scenarios.

**10) When will it happen?**

The current concession contract for the park visitor transportation and
tour system expires in 2012. The schedule for this plan and EIS will
provide the opportunity to implement decisions during the bid process
for the new contract.

Some changes could happen quickly and others would be implemented over
many years. We would use adaptive management to incrementally change the
system and assess impacts with each incremental change.

**11) Are you going to pave the road?**

No. The park road was constructed in the 1930s as an unpaved road. This
planning process is not considering paving the road because doing so
would degrade this important cultural landscape. It would also be
impractical to pave the road. The existing roadbed heaves significantly
throughout the year due to its poor sub base; paving would require
re-constructing virtually the entire road in order to provide the
structurally sound sub-base required for an asphalt surface.

The 2007 Denali National Park Road Design Standards define how the road
should be maintained.

**12) Will this project address a North Access proposal?**

No. The scope of this project is the existing park road only. The park
believes it can provide quality visitor experiences along the existing
road corridor and with the new South Denali visitor center and
associated facilities. Four studies in the past 10 years were less than
supportive of a northern access route.

13) **Will this plan affect access for park inholders?**

Under ANILCA 1110(b) inholders are guaranteed adequate and feasible
access to their property subject to reasonable regulations. During this
planning process, park staff will work with inholders to look at ways
inholder access can be more efficient and effective and meet the goals
of this plan.

14) **Will this plan address visitor facilities along the Denali Park
    Road (e.g. the Toklat Bookstore)?**

The 1997 Entrance Area and Road Corridor Development Concept Plan
provides guidance for facility development along the road corridor. This
plan will address the number and type of busses that can travel the road
and their "behavior." Any additional compliance for facilities along the
road will be done through a separate process. However, this EIS will be
used to inform any future planning efforts.