MIDDLESBORO — The Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (CGNHP) held a public meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss the future of the park with active leaders of the community.

Park officials recently assembled a planning team to establish a General Management Plan (GMP), which will focus on protecting park resources while providing enjoyment for all park visitors.

The GMP is considered to be the basic foundation for all decision-making within the park. The purpose of the GMP is to ensure that the park has a clearly defined direction for resource conservation and visitor use.

CGNHP Superintendent Mark H. Woods opened the meeting by stating, “We’ve had a good turnout, all and all, and we have had nice representation at these public meetings.”

Woods first discussed the importance of public participation, and the lengthy process of the park’s general improvement plan.

“We started this project a number of years ago, and it’s a process as you might expect that has considerable public involvement,” stated Woods. “That’s one of the reasons that it does take several years to go from the beginning of the planning process to an actual approved plan — that we will then implement over the next ten to 15 years.”

Woods then stated that the previous planning effort to guide the management of the park was finalized in 1970. He explained that most of the elements in that “master plan” — such as the construction of the tunnels, the restoration of the Wilderness Road in Cumberland Gap, the acquisition of Cudjo’s Cave, and the development of infrastructure improvements — have already been completed, and a new plan is currently being developed.

“We recognized a number of years ago that with most of the items being complete... it was time to start the process anew, and really lay a foundation for how we will manage the park into the future,” Woods explained.

Woods claimed that the park was successful with its latest improvement proposal. He asserted that the regional director of the National Park Service in Washington promptly approved the park’s decision for a new general management plan.

“It was a very involved initial process, if you will, to start moving toward the point we are at today,” Woods said, adding that the public comment period for the direction of the park will be open until January 4, 2010. After that date, the team will begin working toward the final plan.

“This park has been a park of transformation and change in the last ten to 15 years,” Woods concluded.

Project Manager David Libman then gave a presentation detailing the park’s General Management Plan.

Libman stated that CGNHP officials are currently in “Step 3” of the planning process, which focuses on developing and evaluating alternatives. By using staff and public input, he explained that the planning team will explore what the park's future should look like, and propose a range of reasonable alternatives.

He said that park officials must now prepare a draft document, and then publish a final document. The finalized plan will be reviewed by the National Park Service and the public, and the team will revise their General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement and distribute a final plan. After the record of decision is issued, and as funding allows, the GMP will be implemented.

Libman explained that the preferred alternative, known as Alternative C, would provide a greater amount of visitor access and facilities in the park, and would also feature increased levels of education, outreach, and formalized partnering. He claimed that the alternative would provide slightly expanded visitor access to the park while minimizing the potential for adverse effects on resources.

In addition, Libman maintained that new facilities would be sited and designed within their cultural and natural settings in accordance with the GMP, and that 11 new minor facilities are being proposed for construction near Fern Lake, the Cumberland Gap area, and areas adjacent to the Hensley Settlement. He went on to explain that camping opportunities would also change by the installation of electrical hookups in select locations throughout the park, and special events would see a dramatic increase in time.

To see the proposed GMP in its entirety, or to make a public comment, visit www.nps.gov/cuga/index.htm.

Adam Young is a Staff Writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. He can be contacted by e-mail at ayoung@middlesborodailynews.com.