Lake McDonald Properties Management Plan Environmental Assessment

In the last decade, seven properties at Lake McDonald have come into park possession following expired leases or fulfillment of life estates, and are now the responsibility of the park. Most of the cabins and outbuildings associated with the properties are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This plan/environmental assessment (EA) has been developed to explore and evaluate different preservation and management strategies for the properties. Due to limited funds for historic preservation and the number of historic properties now under park administration, it is likely that the structures will deteriorate at a rate that exceeds the park’s ability to maintain them. Without maintenance, some of the buildings would likely need to be removed. This EA evaluates two alternatives. Under Alternative A, the park would continue to manage the buildings with limited funding, and management decisions would be made on an as needed basis to mitigate safety concerns. Alternative B is an adaptive approach that establishes a sequence of options for the management of each property. The options vary by property and may include historic leasing, park or concessioner use (both of which would include rehabilitation), stabilization to preserve properties not in use, or removal of buildings followed by site restoration. This EA has been prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to provide the decision-making framework that 1) analyzes a reasonable range of alternatives to meet objectives of the proposal, 2) evaluates potential issues and impacts to park resources and values, and 3) identifies mitigation measures to lessen the degree or extent of these impacts. The following resource topics are analyzed in detail: Historic structures and districts; vegetation, soils, and wetlands; wildlife; and grizzly bears. All other resource topics were dismissed as the actions would have little to no effect to those resources. No significant effects are anticipated as a result of these actions. Public scoping was conducted to assist with the development of this document.