Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan Page 1

Planning Update 1

Alaska Federal Lands 

Long Range Transportation Plan

October 2009

Pioneering Planning Effort

(Continued on page 2)

BLM/Alaska

Federal land management agencies 

in Alaska (National Park Service, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. 

Forest Service, and the Bureau of 

Land Management) together with the 

Alaska Department of Transportation 

and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) 

are undertaking a pioneering effort 

to develop a multi-agency long range 

transportation plan (LRTP) for Federal 

lands in the state. This plan will facilitate 

the identification and prioritization of 

needed transportation improvements. 

This LRTP is being developed to 

help Federal land managers and the 

ADOT&PF make better funding 

decisions for transportation facilities 

that provide access to and within 

public lands in Alaska. This document 

will not identify specific projects for 

implementation or suggest changes in 

the way Federal lands resources are 

managed. Rather, it will serve as a tool to 

collectively engage the various agencies 

on how they can work together to set 

statewide transportation priorities and 

leverage funds to meet transportation 

needs for Alaska’s Federal lands. 

This regional, multi-agency approach to 

long range transportation planning is 

the first of its kind, and will serve as a 

demonstration project for region-level 

transportation planning. It will also bring 

Alaska Federal lands into compliance 

with Federal legislation requiring all 

Federal land management agencies 

to conduct long range transportation 

planning, and put into place a defensible 

structure for sound transportation 

planning and decision-making.

Although often overlooked, Alaska’s 

multimodal transportation system 

provides critical links to connect local 

residents and visitors with their Federal 

lands and, in many cases, provides 

critical links for inter-village travel and 

subsistence use. Understanding the 

connection between transportation and 

conservation, the Alaska Federal land 

management agencies have established 

mission, goals, and objectives to 

serve as benchmarks for evaluating 

improvements to the transportation 

system as part of this LRTP. Together 

with an understanding of existing 

transportation infrastructure deficiencies 

in the state of Alaska, this plan will 

enable agencies, individually and 

collectively, to make better decisions 

regarding the most critical needs.

At a time when resource and 

infrastructure funding is scarce, this 

LRTP will provide leaders with a 

toolkit to use in working with local 

communities, native tribes, and other 

Federal land management agencies, 

many of whom could potentially 

contribute funding or in-kind services 

to advance priority projects.
Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan Page 2

In addition to those mentioned 

previously, the LRTP brings multiple 

benefits to Alaska’s Federal lands.

LRTP Benefi ts

■ Enables Alaska Federal land 

managers to make informed decisions 

based on long term transportation 

mission, goals, objectives, and 

performance measures.

■ Provides a holistic and long-term 

view of transportation in relation 

to core operations and other 

programs and priorities such as asset 

management, deferred maintenance, 

resource protection, visitor services, 

and the visitor experience.

■ Enables Alaska Federal land 

managers to direct funding to 

the most beneficial and highest 

priority transportation projects.

■ Enables Alaska Federal land 

managers to synchronize 

transportation planning with 

individual unit-level travel 

management and resource 

management plans, and other 

planning efforts in small communities, 

tribal governments, other Federal 

land management agencies, and 

stakeholder agencies outside 

Federal land boundaries.

■ Provides current data on 

multimodal transportation issues 

and needs across the region.

■ Provides an opportunity for Alaska 

Federal land units to partner and 

discuss areas of mutual interest 

with the public and regional entities 

such as minimizing carbon footprint, 

alternative transportation systems, 

and transportation systems linkages.

■ Provides Alaska Federal land 

managers with a better picture of 

future transportation needs and 

information for discussion regarding 

reauthorization of Congressional 

transportation legislation.

Pioneering Planning Effort

(Continued from page 1)

Mission of the Long Range 

Transportation Plan

To implement a regional long range 

transportation plan that fulfills 

Alaska Federal land management 

agencies common strategies for 

transportation enhancement while 

remaining compatible with individual 

land management agency missions in 

partnership with the Alaska Department 

of Transportation and Public Facilities.

System Preservation: Develop a 

long-term transportation system 

to satisfy current and future 

land management needs.

Visitor Experience: Proactively enhance 

the Alaskan multimodal transportation 

system experience and connectivity.

Mobility: Provide safe, efficient, 

sustainable, affordable, and 

agency-appropriate access to 

and through Federal lands.

Environment: Protect and enhance 

natural and cultural resources 

through comprehensive transportation 

planning and management

Ferry Terminal

Alaska Marine Highway

Highway

Major Road

Railroads

BLM Land

FWS Refuge

National Park

National Forest

Alaska FLMA LRTP 
Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan Page 3

Alaska’s Multimodal 

Transportation Network

Multi-modal transportation refers to the diversity of choices 

and necessities for linking people and goods. Multi-modal 

transportation is a particularly important factor for regional 

accessibility, travel opportunities to and through Alaska’s 

Federal public lands, and reflecting the state’s economic 

potential for growth. More than anywhere else in the 

United States, Alaska depends upon a mix of highway, 

rail, and most importantly, marine and air connections to 

meet its transportation needs. This expansive and remote 

state faces many unique challenges in doing so, including: ■ Significant diversity of population density ■ Great distances between remote communities ■ Diversity of cultural and societal norms 

from subsistence to urban livelihoods

■ Variety of land use interests from resource 

extraction to wilderness protection

■ Complex geophysical features specific to 

arctic and subarctic environments

■ Climatic constraints, particularly seasonal 

temperature fluctuations and accumulation 

of precipitation in its many forms

■ High transportation infrastructure and maintenance costs

Considerable differences between trip purposes, 

linkages, and vehicle size can occur among various 

travel modes, as shown by the following examples 

related to travel to or within Alaska’s Federal lands: ■ Visiting tourists and residents use a combination 

of their own or rented vehicles aboard ferries and 

on roads, or interchangeably transfer from aircraft 

to rail, water, or bus transit on a single trip 

■ Native Alaskans depend upon animal- or gasolinepowered travel modes between villages and 

hunting grounds for subsistence uses 

■ A single seaport can be a common launching point for a 

tourist exploring nearby coastal shores by sea kayak, a 

local fishing boat, or a large international cruise ship 

With respect to the Federal land management 

agencies, all of these elements can play a part in 

determining the role that multi-modal transportation 

opportunities can provide for visitors, agency staff, and 

other non-recreational users such as contractors and 

concessionaires. Establishing priorities for their use and 

encouragement, along with the costs of doing so from 

construction to system preservation is one of the many 

functions of the analyses performed for this LRTP. 

 Andrei Taranchenko Ansgar Walk BLM blachfordlakelodge Frank Kovalchek
Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan Page 4

Stakeholder 

Outreach

An important aspect of this LRPT is 

to conduct outreach with the public 

to identify how access and travel is 

achieved through Alaska’s Federal 

public lands. Because these lands are 

accessed by a variety of transportation 

modes, this plan will attempt to identify 

priorities from the public that can be 

used to leverage funds where common 

interest exist. This is especially 

important for future efforts that could 

not be completed through single funding 

sources or without partnerships. 

Outreach strategies for this 

LRTP will include:

■ Distributing planning update newsletters 

to select stakeholders at key milestones

■ Distributing e-blasts with update 

information on the planning 

process at key milestones

■ Conducting outreach meetings with 

select stakeholders via face-to-face 

meetings and web-conferences

■ Conducting brief presentations 

at scheduled agency and 

community meetings

■ Providing updates on planning 

milestones on a centralized website

■ Providing portions of the draft document 

for key stakeholder review and comment

■ Collecting comments on the 

planning process and document 

on a centralized website

Due to the geographic size and 

diversity of the state of Alaska and its 

transportation network, traditional 

public involvement efforts will be 

modified to achieve meaningful input 

from stakeholders through a variety of 

media and events. Stakeholders for this 

planning effort will include Anchorage 

and Fairbanks metropolitan planning 

organizations, tribal governments, 

communities and villages, local interest 

groups, and the Alaska tourism industry.

For more information contact:

Federal Highway Administration

Roxanne Bash

Transportation Planner

AK LRTP Project Manager

360-619-7558

National Park Service

Paul Schrooten

Alaska Region Transportation 

Program Coordinator

907-644-3388

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Helen Clough

Division Chief of Conservation 

Planning and Policy

907-786-3353

Bureau of Land Management

Randy Goodwin

Alaska Travel Management 

and OHV Coordinator

907-474-2369

U.S. Forest Service

Marie Messing

Transportation Systems Engineer

907-586-8834

Alaska Department of 

Transportation and Public 

Facilities

Eric Taylor

Statewide Planning Manager

907-465-8958

BLM/Alaska

BLM/Alaska