POLICY OPTIONS AND POLITICAL DIFFICULTIES

NORTHERN ACCESS ROAD

The policy options regarding the proposed Northern Access Road in Denali National Park and Preserve include allowing unrestricted use of the road, implementing a busing system, charging a fee for road use, issuing a predetermined number of permits to use the road annually, and not building the road altogether. Denali officials have already gained exposure to traffic volume issues in other areas of the park. They have developed a permit system for the main access road running up through the center of the park toward the Kantishna ranger station. 10,512 permits are issued to motor vehicles annually, including private automobiles, buses, and even emergency vehicles. Park officials prefer buses to cars, as the existing bus systems work rather well for a variety of reasons. First, the total number of vehicles is decreased while not necessarily decreasing the number of visitors to the park. This benefits both surrounding wildlife and visitors. Animals have been observed to flee the surrounding areas during periods of increased traffic due to the noise of the vehicles and curious tourists who often stop their cars beside the road to catch a glimpse of animals in their natural habitat. Buses allow just as many people to see the park but do not disturb the environment so much as to drive away the local wildlife. This protects what appears to be the park’s most notable benefit for visitors – observing wild animals interacting with their environment and each other.

Another policy option could include a fee to be paid by users of the road. Although this could effectively limit the number of vehicles entering the park and potentially encourage the use of mass transportation by selective pricing, tolls would not control the number of vehicles entering the park as well as the permit system. People who have responded to public opinion opportunities concerning the main road have unanimously preferred to keep the number of vehicle permits to the current number of 10,512 or less (Dept. of the Interior 1999). Assuming this public opinion applies to the Northern Access Road as well, the permit system has a much better chance (almost 100%) of achieving the desired goals.

The two remaining options, allowing unrestricted use and not building the road at all, do not appear to be viable solutions. The main deterrent to building the road is the overuse of the path by visitors, which could harm the surrounding environment. If, for some unforeseen reason, traffic begins to harm the surrounding area, the number of vehicles on the road can always be reduced. Not building the road saves money but does nothing to reduce the travel time of visitors from northern locations such as Fairbanks. The road could both provide this convenience as well as relieve the main access road from overuse – something that has been a problem in the past.

The best solution to the issue of the Northern Access Road, like those of many other economic problems, seems to consist of a combination of several actions. Constructing the road appears to be a good investment because it will allow the park more flexibility; the number of visitors can always be controlled. Experience seems to indicate that a combination of permit and bus systems achieves the goals of minimizing the number of vehicles while maximizing the number of visitors. The number of permits to be distributed can be determined at a later time, but one could hypothesize that the annual number of vehicle permits issued in the park should not be much greater than the current number of approximately 11,000. For instance, distributing 10,512 on both the Northern Access and main access roads would most likely double traffic in interior regions of the park. Overall, it appears that the best course of action for Denali National Park and Preserve would be to build the Northern Access Road and set up permit and busing systems for that region of the park, making sure to account for the park’s other vehicular traffic as well.