HATCHER PASS RECREATIONAL AREA ACCESS, TRAILS, AND TRANSIT FACILITIES, HATCHER PASS, ALASKA. [Part 4 of 6]
Dates
Year
2010
Citation
2010, HATCHER PASS RECREATIONAL AREA ACCESS, TRAILS, AND TRANSIT FACILITIES, HATCHER PASS, ALASKA. [Part 4 of 6]: v. 4.
Summary
PURPOSE: The construction of transit-related improvements to develop transportation access and infrastructure at both the Northern and Southern areas of the Hatcher Pass Recreational Area located 55 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska is proposed. Hatcher Pass is a popular year-round recreational area in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough (MSB) that has experienced a steady annual increase in visitation numbers over the last decade and an increase of 34 percent between 2008 and 2009. Current recreational use of the areas includes Nordic and Alpine skiing, snowboarding, all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile use, mountain biking, hiking, mountain racing, sledding, hunting, horseback riding, berry picking, and paragliding. Both Hatcher Pass Recreational [...]
Summary
PURPOSE: The construction of transit-related improvements to develop transportation access and infrastructure at both the Northern and Southern areas of the Hatcher Pass Recreational Area located 55 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska is proposed. Hatcher Pass is a popular year-round recreational area in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough (MSB) that has experienced a steady annual increase in visitation numbers over the last decade and an increase of 34 percent between 2008 and 2009. Current recreational use of the areas includes Nordic and Alpine skiing, snowboarding, all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile use, mountain biking, hiking, mountain racing, sledding, hunting, horseback riding, berry picking, and paragliding. Both Hatcher Pass Recreational Area Access, Trails, and Transit Facilities project (Hatcher Pass Transit Project) areas fall within the 10,000-acre Government Peak Subunit of Hatcher Pass where the MSB owns and manages 3,000 acres of land. The remainder is owned by Alaska Department of Natural Resources and is leased and managed by the MSB. The proposed action would include construction of the following improvements: paved access roads (upgrade/realignment of existing gravel road in the Northern Area; new access road in the Southern Area); paved parking lots with lighting (upgrade of existing gravel parking lot in Northern Area to accommodate 413 vehicles and two buses; new parking lot in Southern Area to accommodate 210 vehicles and six buses); enclosed 20- to 30-passenger transit facilities with restrooms includes heating and lighting; utility extensions such as telephone or fiber-optic cable and electrical lines; additional proposed improvements in the Southern Area including a paved non-motorized separated pathway that would parallel the new access road. This final EIS analyzes the proposed project and a No Action Alternative. It also includes secondary analysis of a separately funded project to develop Nordic and Alpine ski areas in conjunction with the proposed Hatcher Pass Transit Project. However, the proposed transportation improvements are needed whether the MSBs ski area improvements are constructed or not, and thus they have independent utility as defined by the Federal Transit Administrations National Environmental Policy Act regulations. Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2011, with operation under way in winter 2011. POSITIVE IMPACTS: The development of transportation access and transit-related infrastructure in both the Northern and Southern Areas would help support existing and future year-round recreational use. NEGATIVE IMPACTS: Cumulative impacts would include minor increases in air emissions, habitat loss which may decrease wildlife in the area, loss of wetlands, and possible minimal effect on water quality, and visual resources. Implementation would require acquisition of 13.6 acres of privately owned property for construction of the proposed paved access road and non-motorized, paved, separated pathway. LEGAL MANDATES: Federal Transit Law (49 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) and Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). PRIOR REFERENCES: For the abstract of the draft EIS, see 10-0076D, Volume 34, Number 1.