Miller Point Access Project Open House 16 March 2010

     The sentence I heard most often at the open house the evening of March 16 2010 was "Thank you - you listened and took our comments into consideration."  As I listened to participants at the open house, I got a sense that most people were supportive of the new configuration proposed for Miller Point. At least one local tour operator was very supportive and stressed the importance of safe and convenient access to Miller Point and the military museum for his elderly and disabled clients. His comments reminded me of the park's mission to serve all of its visitors. 
     Attendance, according to the sign-up list, was a total of 37 with 2 reporters and 5 KSP CAB members included in that number.  Eight of ten KSP CAB members were present, talking with attendees and listening to comments and concerns. Also present and listening were two Parks staff from Anchorage and three Kodiak Parks staff.
     I believe that as the public has learned the facts about the MPAP and realized the complexity of the situation, they've come to realize that Alaska State Parks is doing a good job of trying to remedy the safety and access concerns at Miller Point while taking into account the wishes of local residents as well as other visitors to the park.
      The eight-tenths (.8) acre parking/large vehicle turn around area has been reduced to two-tenths (.2) acre with only 37 trees affected and the area will have ADA accessible parking. Ambulances, fire trucks, and law enforcement vehicles will be able to access the area and maneuver safely in the case of an emergency.  The RV Overflow parking lot will become the central parking area with a trail head at the loop road leading up to Miller Point, thus enhancing the visitor experience and sense of discovery. The campground currently impacting important historical artifacts will be moved to an area yet to be determined - possibly in the Ram site area.  Public input on campground placement is important.
    Hard copies of the site plans are available at the Fort Abercrombie Visitor Center - see for yourself!
      I hope that those who submit written comments will heed the advice of the public comment brochure so that their comments are substantive and contribute to a constructive dialogue.

FYI - a far more serious and disturbing issue facing Kodiak State Parks at this time is the FAA proposal to extend the north/south runway at the Kodiak Airport 1200 feet toward the mouth of the Buskin River.  The agency review draft admits that such an extension would damage Buskin River salmon runs, thus threatening sport and subsistence fishing in the area.
Stacy Studebaker has started a blog, "Stewards of the Buskin River" and a Facebook page related to this issue.  Look for both to be updated within the next week.  The agency review of the draft EIS for the project has just been completed.  No word at this time as to when the general public can review the draft EIS.

The Miller Point Trees - Fact vs. Fiction

Some facts about the proposed Miller Point parking area:
(This information is based on Concept A for the MPAP approved by a consensus of the KSP CAB on April 14, 2008 - the March 16 2010 open house presented Concept B which is different from Concept A; Concept B reduces the .8 acre footprint to .2 acre while still providing ADA parking and ample room for emergency vehicles, RVs, and school buses to maneuver without assistance)
The parking area is eight-tenths (0.8) acre -  smaller than every building lot in Kodiak that cannot connect to water and sewer. (minimum lot size for septic is 1 acre)

The trees to be removed are 60 years old or less  - Jane Eisenman's high school class cored the trees and aged them. (Reported to me - not verified at this time).  They are not "some of the oldest and largest trees in the park". 

The number of "50-60" trees to be removed may be accurate, but the reason there are that number is that they are younger, smaller trees than those farther away from Miller Point.

Most, if not all, of the trees in that small area were not there when Abercrombie was an active military installation - see photos of the area from that time.

The trees are not "old-growth forest" - see above and link to Wikipedia.

No other trees in the park are slated to be removed for Miller Point access - the "clear-cutting of Fort Abercrombie" statements are inaccurate and hyperbole.

The topography of the area indicates that the stands of trees to the north and west may not be  interconnected root systems with the young trees to be removed.  There is a large hump to the north, separating the stands of trees. This substantial northern stand will shield the area from northerly winds.

The area does not affect the cross-country course in any way - in fact, a parking area at Miller Point will help alleviate the unsafe practice of X-C spectators parking on the road which is not wide enough to safely accommodate parking.

Interestingly, there was no public outcry when the trees blocking the view at Miller Point were removed a few years ago - in fact, many park users praised the opening up of the view. (These trees were 60 years old or younger like the trees in the proposed parking area).

And, there was no public outcry about the trees that were removed to construct the new bike trail into the park - many of those trees were larger and older than the trees in the proposed parking area.

The trees are to be recycled for communal cooking shelters if a new campground is created in the Ram Site area - this use would help create a more "Kodiak" atmosphere for the campground.

Creating a "loop road" will require cutting a substantial number of older, larger trees in the loop road area - it will also require a massive amount of fill to shore up the steep slopes to support such a road.  ASP minimum road surface width is 14 feet.  Visit the area and measure for yourself (I did, using a 14 foot rope stretched between myself and a companion) - imagine a large vehicle such as an ambulance or fire truck or RV trying to negotiate the Spotting and Plotting Bunker turn into the RV overflow parking lot.

Sources:  ASP personnel, ASP documents, historical photos of Miller Point, Stacy Studebaker, Wikipedia, KIB codes

FYI - a far more serious and disturbing issue facing Kodiak State Parks at this time is the FAA proposal to extend the north/south runway at the Kodiak Airport 1200 feet toward the mouth of the Buskin River.  The agency review draft admits that such an extension would damage Buskin River salmon runs, thus threatening sport and subsistence fishing in the area.
Stacy Studebaker has started a blog, "Stewards of the Buskin River" and a Facebook page related to this issue.  Look for both to be updated within the next week.  The agency review of the draft EIS for the project has just been completed.  No word at this time as to when the general public can review the draft EIS.