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Denali National Park and Preserve

Denali National Park and Preserve

National Park Service crews began clearing the road earlier this month in preparation for the summer tourist season. Shuttle buses are scheduled to begin operating in the park on May 20.

Weather permitting, visitors may drive the first 15 miles of the road, and the park service expects to open the road to the Teklanika River Rest Stop at Mile 30 by mid-April. Once shuttle buses begin running, visitors can only drive as far as Savage River.

The road crew is now clearing ice from the Teklanika River Campground at Mile 29. The river jumped its banks and deposited overflow ice throughout the campground, covering roads, campsites and most of the vault toilets with 2 to 3 feet of ice, park spokeswoman Kris Fister said.

It’s the first time in more than 25 years that the road crew has encountered that much ice within the campground. The crew will clear as much ice as possible from the roads and campsites but getting ice out of the toilets will be more problematic and could delay the opening of the campground, set for May 20.

The park service is no longer taking any reservations for the Teklanika campground until at least June and may have to move campers who have already made early-season reservations to other campgrounds, she said.

The road crew has not reported seeing any bears, though a family of four lynx was spotted on the road just west of the Savage River, Fister said.

The park service started clearing the road a week earlier than normal this year to try to facilitate the opening of the new Eielson Visitor Center at Mile 66. The new visitor center is scheduled to open sometime in June.

UAF names School of Management dean

Economics professor Mark Herrman has been named dean of the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Management.

As dean, Herrman will oversee academic programs offering bachelor’s degrees in accounting, business administration, economics and emergency management as well as graduate degrees in business administration and resource and applied economics.

Herrman has been at UAF since 1990, he has served as interim dean since July and was the school’s associated dean from 2006-2007.

“In addition to his excellent academic qualifications, I particularly value his commitment to the long-term success of the School of Management and its students,” UAF Provost Susan Henrichs stated in a press release.