Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on the Backcountry Management Plan and General Management Plan Amendment for Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

Résumé

The National Park Service (NPS) is amending the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve General Management Plan with a Backcountry Management Plan and accompanying Environmental Impact Statement (plan/EIS). Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve was established by the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conversation Act (ANILCA). With passage of ANILCA, Congress designated 7.2 million acres of wilderness within the park and set forth special provisions for management in recognition of the unique situations and traditional lifeways of Alaska. The purpose of the plan/EIS is to formulate a comprehensive plan that will provide management direction during the next 15-20 years for the backcountry of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. The backcountry consists of all of the acreage within the park and preserve boundary, including 7.2 million acres of designated wilderness. Tracts in private ownership are excluded. Gates of the Arctic National park and Preserve is one of four national park units in Alaska to initiate a backcountry management planning process and GMP amendment. This notice of intent is being published simultaneously with notices to prepare plan/EI