§3200 Denali Scenic Highway study

Summary

Stops mining claims and federal mineral leases on public land along a corridor one mile each side of the centerline of several Alaska roads. The corridor runs along the Parks Highway from the Denali National Park entrance to the Talkeetna junction (136 miles south of Cantwell), the Denali Highway from Cantwell to Paxson, the Richardson and Edgerton Highways from Paxson to Chitina, and the existing road from Chitina to McCarthy as shown on Alaska Department of Transportation maps. Minor road realignments, small road work, and taking gravel for those road projects are still allowed. Requires a three-year study starting December 2, 1980, to see if a Denali Scenic Highway should be created from some or all of those lands. The Secretary must form a team with the Secretary of Transportation, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the State, and each Regional Corporation that has lands there. The team must review scenic and recreation values, protection needs, the value of linking national parks, and the driving experience between parks. Nonfederal team members get per diem and travel pay at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Alaska GS–15 rates. The Secretary must work with the State, consult Village Corporations and nearby landowners when possible, give public notice in local newspapers, and hold public meetings. Within three years after December 2, 1980, the Secretary must report findings and a recommendation to the President, including team views, maps, boundaries, cost estimates, administration advice, and any proposed law. The lands stay withdrawn until Congress acts on the President’s recommendation, but not longer than two years after that recommendation is sent to Congress.