COPPER CENTER, AK - Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Superintendent Ben Bobowski has announced two public listening sessions for the park residence zone communities of Slana and Kenny Lake. These listening sessions are scheduled as follows:
Slana
(With a focus on the Nabesna Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan)
Monday May 6, 2019 at the Slana School 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Kenny Lake
Wednesday May 8, 2019 at the Kenny Lake Library 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
The listening sessions are designed to engage all resident zone communities and federally recognized tribal governments in discussions about planning and management of wilderness, frontcountry and backcountry areas within the park.
A total of nine listening sessions in five surrounding communities were held during the summer of 2018: Copper Center, Chitina, Slana, McCarthy, and Kennecott. A total of sixty-one individuals attended and over two hundred comments were recorded. Four primary themes of comments emerged during this first round of listening sessions. To read the full summary report, visit: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/WRSTListens2018.
Additional communities where listening sessions will be scheduled beginning this fall may include Anchorage, Cantwell, Chistochina, Cordova, Fairbanks, Gakona, Glennallen, Mentasta, Northway, Tazlina, Tok, Valdez, and Yakutat. A separate news release will announce the dates and times for those listening sessions. To see a map of all of the listening session locations, visit this online interactive map.
The community listening sessions are informal opportunities where the public can share their thoughts and ideas on issues and concerns regarding management at Wrangell-St. Elias in person with Superintendent Bobowski and the planning team. Attendees can offer their input through a variety of media ranging from comment cards, transcribed verbal comments, and other options. In addition to the open houses, the public can e-mail comments to WRST_planning@nps.gov or through the NPS planning website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/WRSTListens.
For further information contact Morgan Gantz, Outdoor Recreation Planner, at 907-822-7213.
Tags: community meetings public engagement park planning and management
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
