Outdoors/Adventure

Outdoors notebook: Apply for a spot on Chugach State Park advisory board; a Denali/McKinley compromise

Join Chugach advisory panel

Want a voice in the future of Southcentral's biggest park?

The Chugach State Park Citizens Advisory Board is soliciting applications for its 15-member panel. The board advises the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation on an array of issues. It meets monthly on the second Monday of the month, and every member is expected to serve on at least two committees, which include access, budget, nominations, trails, planning, Seward Highway design and wildlife.

Board members serve three years and the new terms begin in January. The application deadline is Oct. 31.

For information, contact park superintendent Tom Harrison at 345-5014.

A Denali-McKinley compromise?

On the other end of the country, author Ron Lizzi of Connecticut is proposing what he's billing as a compromise to the disagreement over the name of North America's tallest peak. At the direction of President Barack Obama, Interior Secretary Sally Jewel replaced the name Mount McKinley with what many, but not all, Alaskans have long called it: Denali.

Lizzi, author the nature book "Go Outside and Come Back Better," suggests calling the South Peak, elevation 20,310 feet, McKinley Peak, but leaving the name of the mountain Denali. Many other geological features of the mountain already carry their own names, he notes.

"This way, the mountain's original Alaska name is restored, and McKinley still gets the honor of having his name on the nation's highest peak," Lizzi said in a press release. "It's disappointing that the administration didn't seek a compromise before acting unilaterally, but I hope that everyone will accept this simple change, so that we can finally end the dispute without dishonoring anyone."

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