Management Unit 20

Willow Lake

General DescriptionWillow Lake is a memorable landscape feature and serves asthe foreground to a panorama of the Wrangell Mountains.

Management Unit 20 includes 6.6 miles of thecentral Richardson Highway between Willow Lakeand the Edgerton Road cutoff. The highway skirtsthe base of Willow Mountain and runs close to theshores of both Willow Lake and Pippin Lake.

Land development is scattered along this sectionof the Richardson, and predominantly consists ofresidential structures situated near the lakesor highway and pipeline associated land uses.The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is a distinguishingvisual feature and closely parallels the highway.

The area's scenic resource values are high.Willow Lake plays a dominant role in the fore-

R90 ground and middleground views throughout most of

the unit, particularly for northbound travelers.The alignment of the highway along the terracesof Willow Mountain provides dramatic views acrossWillow Lake and the surrounding Copper River Low-lands to the majestic peaks of the Wrangell Moun-tains .

Land Ownership &Management ResponsibilityMost of the land adjacent to the highway is ownedby Native corporations and other private indivi-

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20 Willow LakeAssessment Units R58 - R61

NORTH*0

KEYT~ TurnoutM~ Impact MitigationIT'Information Turnout

J Native Corp. Land

11 Federal Land

Private Land

12 mi.

duals, except a relatively small tract of oil andgas right-of-way land and the Alaska Pipelineroute and some federal land shown in the mapabove. The DOTPF manages a 300 foot highwayright-of-way throughout this unit unless theadjacent private land was patented beore 1952.In this case the right-of-way is narrower.

Visual ObjectivesManagement GoalsThe management recommendations which are present-ed for this unit focus on the themes of reten-tion, impact mitigation, sensitive land use anddevelopment, and enhancement. R91

Retention: To retain the existing high qualityof the visual resources which may be seen fromthe highway.

Impact Mitigation: To mitigate the impact ofland management practices which are not sensitiveto these scenic resources.

Sensitive Land Use and Development: To encouragesensitive land use and development which takesadvantage of landscape opportunities to minimizevisual impacts.

Enhancement: To respond to the traveler's needfor information and to enhance the opportunitiesto experience the landscape's natural and man-madefeatures.

ManagementRecommendationsGreenbeltsThroughout most of this rather densely vegetatedcorridor, a narrow greenbelt would be adequate tomaintain scenic resource values. However, thearea around Willow Lake requires special consi-derations because of its greater visual exposure.

Due to the lack of any means of implementing agreenbelt classification on private lands, anumber of guidelines are suggested for privatelandowners to follow in their development plans.

Greenbelt Width

Willow Lake - a 100 foot greenbelt shouldextended around the shore of the lake.

be

R92• For one mile on either side of Willow Lake a 100

foot greenbelt should be extended beyond theright-of-way on the east side of the road.

• For the remainder of the corridor, a minimum of25 feet beyond the right-of-way is an appropriategreenbelt width.

Greenbelt Management Guidelines

• Locate permanent structures outside the green-belt.

• Remove no more than 25% of the natural vegeta-t ion, except where there are opportunities foropening distant views.

• Utilize greenbelt and right-of-way vegetation toscreen parking areas and other unattractive landuses.

• Retain deciduous trees to provide fi l tered views;retain spruce trees to block or screen views.

Land Use & Development

In keeping with the visual resource managementobjectives, residential, agricultural and recrea-tional activities should be encouraged as appro-priate land uses which will help retain the highscenic quality of this area. Industrial develop-ment or material extraction should be discouragedwhere they would be visible from the highway orother high use areas. The following guidelinesshould apply the to the development of landsadjacent to the highway and to Willow Lake:

• Respond to the greenbelts consideration to guidedevelopment setback distances and vegetationmanagement.

• Incorporate colors, materials and building formswhich complement or blend in with the naturallandscape, and which create diversity in theman-made features of the landscape.

• Site lakeside development to take advantage ofviews of the lake while minimizing the visibilityof structures from the highway or from the lakeitself.

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• Encourage industrial development to locate inareas of lower scenic quality (e.g. further northon the Richardson Highway).

• Site structures to take advantage of areas withhigh visual absorption capability (e.g. densevegetation on level to gently rollingtopography).

Right-of-Way ManagementSensitive management of the right-of-way can playa major role in maintaining the scenic resourcesof this area. Because most of the land beyondthe right-of-way is privately owned, only landwithin the right-of-way can be publicly managedto enhance scenic resource values. It is recom-mended that, because of the unit's particularlyhigh scenic resource values, retention andenhancement of these qualities be a priority.

Today, there are wide, cleared areas adjacent tothe road which visually isolate the highway fromthe surrounding landscape. Vacated alignmentswhich have not been reclaimed accentuate thisquality. Additionally, the exposed soils on cutbanks and fill slopes emphasize the highway'sintrusion on the landscape. Right-of-way landshould be managed to better integrate the road inthe landscape and utilize the right-of-way as abuffer for adjacent land uses.

The following recommendations have been developedto guide this management scheme.

>Encourage revegetation within the cleared landsadjacent to the roadside. Initial seeding withvetch, lupine and alder could provide soilconditioning and encourage more rapidestablishment of taller vegetation as well as addimmediate visual diversity.

Wide right of way clearings tend to separate the highway from the surrounding landscape. ' ".•'•'". .

' • ' • Establish both scattered trees and masses oftrees within the cleared area, especially betweenthe existing and vacated alignments.

• Vary the width of fu tu r e clearings in response tosite specific needs (i.e. clear only the insideof curves for visibi l i ty or around known moose

*™~*"'"" '" crossing areas).

• Clear selected vegetation only when necessary to- | - meet specif ic objectives rather than clearing all

. , . . - •.; vegetat ion.

• Ut i l ize right-of-way vegetation as a visual' • ' • • ' , b u f f e r for ad jacent land by mainta ining at least,-•, ; 75 feet in natural vegetation, except in those

' , s i tuat ions where there are opportunit ies to openviews. R93