Impact Analysis of Proposed Road Meetings set

Great Smoky Mountains National Park managers have announced a series of meetings at which they will provide detailed information regarding the five alternatives being studied to resolve the future of a proposed new Park road on the north shore of Fontana Lake. The upcoming meetings are the fourth of five sets of meetings that have been organized to solicit public input needed to produce an Environmental Impact Statement that will help the National Park Service decide the future of the road. At the upcoming meetings officials from the Park, the Federal Highway Administration, and their consulting firm will present the same information on the estimated construction costs, potential economic benefits, and the possible impacts of construction on the Park’s natural and cultural resources. Each meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. with registration, followed by formal presentations beginning at 6:00, and conclude with an Open House from approximately 7:30 until 8:30 p.m. The open house will allow attendees to discuss specific details and concerns with specialists in the various areas studied such as, archeology, geology, economics and many other disciplines. The information presented at the meetings, together with public comments and other factors will guide the National Park Service in deciding upon a Preferred Alternative contained in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Park officials expect to release the DEIS late in 2005 followed by a fifth and final series of meetings. At each meeting attendees will be invited to provide written comments by April 3, 2005 either by way of a comment sheet provided or on-line at the project website: ww.northshoreroad.info/comments.htm. Comments will also be accepted orally by a court reporter at each meeting. The same slide presentation shown at the meetings will be posted to the project website after the first meeting. All five meetings will run from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The dates and locations are as follows: February 22 at Swain County High School, February 24 at Robbinsville High School, February 28 at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, March 1 at the Marriott Knoxville Hotel and March 2 at the Glenstone Lodge in Gatlinburg.