Comment from Mark Motsko

I strongly oppose increasing the vehicle numbers on the Denali Park Road. I am a retired National Park Service Ranger who spent 32 years protecting the natural and cultural resources, 17 of which were spent as a mid-level manager in Denali National Park and Preserve, specifically, the section of road that increasing vehicle numbers is being considered. That being said, I am intimately familiar with the current transportation system and the established 10,512 limit of vehicles. Using a 100 day season, roughly 100 buses are currently using the restricted portion (mile 15-94) of the Park Road. During my tenure between 1995 and 2011, I observed numerous occasions when several buses were concentrated in one area at a wildlife stop. It was virtually a ribbon of metal that altered wildlife behavior. Although the concession bus drivers are respectful of wildlife, situations do occur when multiple buses are concentrated in one section of the road. Dall sheep historically cross the Park road as they migrate to the Alaska range in search of food and shelter. Bears, caribou, red fox and wolves use the road corridor as travel paths, increasing the number of busses to 160 per day would have a devastating effect on the wildlife. Extensive vehicle uses and the impacts on wildlife is most evident during the annual road lottery held in September after bus traffic has ended. Up to 400 cars per day are permitted to drive on the restricted portion of the Park Road for a 4 day period. As an employee who was tasked with patrolling the road during this event, I observed numerous occasions where wildlife’s behavior was adversely impacted by the increase in vehicular traffic. Aside from the impacts on wildlife, consideration must also be given to the additional demands on the infrastructure which was engineered to facilitate the 10,512 vehicle number. Other than the Eielson visitor center, there are no septic systems at Primrose, Teklanika and Toklat rest areas. These rest areas needs are dependent on effluent being pumped on a regular basis. Adding an additional 3000 visitors per day would result on more sewer pumper trips to facilitate the increased use. Concession facility needs would increase translating to a larger bus barn to service the additional fleet. Employee housing would also need to be expanded. One also needs to acknowledge increased heavy weighted vehicles will require additional road maintenance and, in many places, substantial degradation to the road subsurface. Ice lenses and high concentrations of poorly drained soils have consistently challenged road maintenance crews Adding more buses can cause an increase the risk of road surface failures due to the unstable subsurface. Finally, the current administrations focus on reducing Park staff, the ability to adequately provide visitor safety and education will be drastically reduced. Inventory and monitoring the effects of increased visitation would be compromised as well. Please consider the multitude of impacts to the natural resource and the visitor experience. Based on my 17 year history of working and living in the west end of Denali National Park and Preserve, increasing the number of vehicles will degrade the visitor experience and adversely affect the wildlife. Please do not allow more traffic on this section of the Park road.