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Project
Background
A. National Trails System
Act
The national Trails System Act,
Public Law 90-543, was approved on October 2, 1968. The Act States:
In order to provide
for the ever increasing outdoor recreation needs of an expanding
population and in order to promote public access to, travel within,
and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas
of the Nation, trails should be established (i) primarily, near
the urban areas of the Nation, and (ii) secondarily, within established
scenic areas more remotely located.
The original Act instituted a national
system of recreation and scenic trails, designated the Appalachian
and Pacific Crest Trails as the initial components of the National
Scenic Trail System, and prescribed method by which, and standards
according to which, additional components may be added to the
system. The Act directed that 14 specified routes would be studied
for the purpose of determining the possibility and desirability
of designating each as a national scenic trail. One route named
for study was the “Gold Rush Trails in Alaska.” No
further identification of the route was included in the original
Act.
B. Alaska Gold Rush Trail
Study
The primary task of the Alaska Gold
Rush Study Team, formed in September 1973, was to determine specific
trails that should be studied as a basis of appropriate proposals
for additional national scenic trails. The study team, chaired
by the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, was made up of various Federal,
State, and local government representatives.
In September 1977, the study team
made its recommendations to the President and to Congress in The
Iditarod Trail (Seward-to-Nome Route) and Other Gold Rush Trails.
The team recommended that the 2,037-mile Iditarod Trail system
be included in the National Trails System and designated as a
National Historic Trail.
C. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
Race
In March of 1973, the Iditarod Trail
Committee staged the first IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE
between Anchorage and Nome. Twenty-two mushers successfully retraced
the steps of men and dogs from over 50 years earlier by traveling
overland to Nome. The event that year captured the imagination
of many Alaskans. In the years to follow, interest in the event
would spread to many parts of the world as mushers from many different
countries began to enter the competition. Billed as a 1,049-mile
race each year, it actually exceeds that distance, as well as
alternates between a southern and a northern race route.
Some variation of the northern race
route has been used by the Iditarod Race Committee in 1973, 1974,
1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984 and 1986. This race route generally
follows Trail segments identified on the Iditarod NHT system.
Some variation of the southern race
route has been used in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in each odd-numbered
year between 1977 and 1985. This race route generally follows
Trail segments Identified on the Iditarod NHT system, with two
exceptions. Normally the southern race route leads from the town
of Iditarod to the villages of Shageluk, Anvik, and Grayling,
and then follows the Yukon River to the village of Kaltag. (This
portion of the southern race route, though not originally listed
in the Alaska Gold Rush Trails Study Report as a potential addition
to the Trail system, is certainly eligible for inclusion into
the National Trail System and should be added at some later date.”
In 1981, the Iditarod
Trail Committee ran the event through
the Anvik River and Chirosky River drainages, thereby bypassing
the Yukon River and the village Kaltag.
Without a doubt, the excitement
and success of the annual Iditarod Sled Dog Race and the organization
of people behind that race helped the once-abandoned Iditarod
Trail attain national recognition and National Trail status.
D. National Historic Trails
The Seward-Nome Route became one
of the first National Historic Trails selected when Public Law
95-625 (The National Parks and Recreation Act) was signed by the
President on November 10, 1978. This Act, amending the National
Trails System Act, provided for and specifically named the Iditarod
as a National Historic Trail. It mandated the following actions:
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The Iditarod NHT
shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior
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The Secretary
of the Interior shall submit to the Committee on Interior and
Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, a “comprehensive
plan” for the management and use of the Trail. The comprehensive
plan shall include, but not be limited to:
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The identification
of the historic Trail system and side and connecting trails.
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The identification
of all significant natural, historic, and cultural resources
to be preserved.
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Specific objectives
and pratices to be observed in the management of the Trail.
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Details of
any anticipated cooperative agreements to be consummated.
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Procedures
for establishing a uniform marker, marking the Trail, and
providing markers to cooperating agencies.
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Identifying
access needs to the Trail where appropriate and identifying
acquisition needs for significant sites or segments.
- An Advisory Council be formed
with the following members to be included.
- A member of each Federal or
independent agency administering land through which the Trail
route passes.
- A member to represent the State,
appointed by the Governor.
- One or more members appointed
to represent private organizations and individual landowners
or land users who have an established and recognized interest
in the Trail.
- The secretary shall select necessary
rights-of-way for the Trail after obtaining advice and assistance
of the State of Alaska, local governments, private organizations,
and landowners and land users concerned.
- Maps of the Iditarod NHT shall
be kept on file and available for public inspection in the office
of the Director, National Park Service, Washington D.C.
The National Trails System Act specifically authorized and designated
“The Iditarod National Historic Trail” as the “route
of approximately two thousand miles extending from Seward, Alaska
to Nome, Alaska…, follwing the routes as depicted on maps
identified as ‘Seward-Nome Trail’” in the Bureau
of Outdoor Recreation’s September 1977 study report. The
route is actually a trail system made up of a primary trail
route connecting Seward and Nome, and over thirteen
hundred miles of other trails which connect the Alaska Road
Commission’s Seward-to-Nome Route with gold strikes, communities,
and access points.
E. Comprehensive Management
Plan
The Secretary of the Interior delegated
the responsibility of preparing a comprehensive management plan
for the Iditarod NHT to the Bureau of Land Management. This responsibility
was eventually assigned to the Anchorage District Office of the
Bureau.
The project team, which was assembled
between June 1979 and September 1981, consisted of a project leader,
outdoor recreation planner, historians, historic architect, project
assistants, archeologists, and landscape architects. A writer/editor,
graphic artists, realty specialists, public affairs specialists
and others also gave invaluable assistance. The project team was
also assisted by other Federal, State, and local government representatives
and private individuals in historical research and in preparation
of a September 1981 Draft Comprehensive Management Plan.
The project team, disbanded after
completion of the Draft Comprehensive Management Plan, accomplished
various tasks during their assignment.
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Field inventories
were conducted during 1980 and 1981 to locate and evaluate
historical sites and segments.
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State and Federal
records and private collections throughout the United States
and Canada were researched for Iditarod-related documents,
photographs and maps. Maps and photographs collected were
cataloged.
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Site information
files were established to compile known information on each
historic site and segment which were indexed to the Alaska
Historical Resources Survey (AHRS) system as maintained by
the State of Alaska.
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Maps at the
1:63,360 scale depicting historic site and Iditarod Trail
segment locations were produced by the project staff.
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Informal conversations
as well as formal oral history interviews with people who
recollect the days of the Iditarod Trail were recorded, annotated,
and contributed to the Alaska State Historical Library in
Juneau.
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An extensive
public involvement program designed to inform and involve
citizens in the planning process was carried out.
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A Draft Comprehensive
Management Plan was prepared for transmittal to the Secretary
of the Interior.
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A document entitled
Resources Inventories was completed. This document
summarized the recommendations of the individual resource
specialists as of September 1981. (Copies of Resources
Inventories are available form the Anchorage District
Office, Bureau of Land Management.)
In August 1984 the Anchorage District
was directed to revise the Comprehensive Management Plan for the
Iditarod NHT. This revision was necessary primarily because of
budget and organizational implications found in the 1981 draft
plan.
F. Advisory Council
On January 14, 1981, the Secretary
of Interior officially appointed a twenty-member Advisory Council
to assist the Bureau of Land Management in the formulation of
the Comprehensive Management Plan. The original Advisory Council,
appointed for a two-year term, met on March 6,1981, and May 7-8,
1981. It reviewed the BLM’s management proposal and approved
the recommendations and management approach contained within the
draft document. The membership of the original Advisory Council
is shown in Appendix 1. Minutes of Advisory Council meetings are
on file at the Anchorage District Office, Bureau of Land Management.
This Advisory Council will be reinstated
once the expired charter is replaced with a new charter signed
by the Secretary. The main objective of the new Advisory Council
will be to advise the Secretary and all Iditarod NHT managers
and cooperators in the implementation of this comprehensive management
plan.
G. Management Goals
“National
historic trails shall have as their purpose the identification
and protection of the historic route and its historic remnants
and artifacts for public use and enjoyment” (Section 3
(c), National Trails System Act, as amended).
The primary goal of this
comprehensive plan is to establish a common guide which will be
used to promote the preservation, enjoyment, use, and appreciation
of the historic route of the Iditarod Trail. This plan identifies
the trails and sites making up the historic Trail system and recommends
non-binding possible management actions for protecting significant
segments, historic remnants, and artifacts for public use and
enjoyment.
In addition, the plan identifies
the opportunities for outdoor recreation and public enjoyment
which are compatible with the integrity of the historic route
and are not destructive to the cultural and natural resources
associated with the Iditarod Trail.
This comprehensive management plan
proposes a cooperative management system for the Iditarod NHT
which is based on a PARTNERSHIP of: 1) the Federal land managers
already responsible for sections of NHT; 2) State, local, and
private landowners/managers who have entered into cooperative
agreements supporting the historic Trail management concept; and,
3) the Trail management organization(s), who will accept major
responsibilities for carrying out on-the-ground work on the Trail.
The Bureau of Land Management will be responsible for the COORDINATION
of efforts of all Trail partners.
H. Management Objectives
Components of the Iditarod NHT should
be managed by the respective land managers or owners in a manner
consistent with the intent of the enabling legislation so as to
achieve the following broad, long term objectives:
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The Iditarod
NHT should be managed under a cooperative agreement system,
involving Federal agencies, the State of Alaska, local governments,
private Trail organizations, and an Advisory Council, using
the Comprehensive Management Plan as a common guide.
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Encourage and
assist the “Iditarod Trail Blazers” a coalition
of Trail organizations and interest groups, to participate
as a working partner in the management of the Iditarod NHT.
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On behalf of
the Secretary of the Interior, use the Bureau of Land Management’s
Anchorage District Office as liaison for Iditarod NHT matters.
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Utilize the
Iditarod NHT Advisory Council for consultation with respect
to matters related to the Trail.
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In order to
increase public use and enjoyment, all Trail segments identified
for active management should be managed to protect and interpret
their historic values, and should be identified by the placement
of uniform markers.
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Public use of
Trail segments should be encouraged, protected, and managed
to the extent that such use does not impact the historic values
of the Iditarod NHT. Rights-of-way, easements,
management corridors, cooperative agreements, and access improvements
will all be used to meet this objective.
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Non-federal sites and segments
should be included in the Iditarod NHT through cooperative
agreements as soon as possible.
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A full range of publications,
maps, and other materials interpreting the Trail and the
component sites and segments should be made available to
the public in order to increase public appreciation and
understanding of the Iditarod NHT system. This information
and education program should be a cooperative effort of
Trail managers and volunteer groups.
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Certain segments and all historic
sites identified in Appendix 5 should be further evaluated
for possible nomination to the National Register of Historic
Places. This should be done prior to making any binding
management decisions which eventually may include various
degrees of values. It is recommended that Level 1 and 2
sites be given the highest priority. Detailed management
and use plans for accomplishing this objective should be
prepared by the appropriate land management agency.
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Nominations to the National
Register of Historic Places should be by a thematic group
format submission. If not possible, then each managing agency
should consider undertaking site-specific nominations of
the site recommended.
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