Chapter 5—A Vision for North Campus
The North Campus Subcommittee met throughout fall 2002 and spring 2003 to develop a vision for the North Campus. The first step in this process was to define the mission for the North Campus. It also identified opportunities and strategies to gather public input.
Defining the Mission of the North Campus
UAF's Master Planning Committee directed the North Campus Subcommittee to develop a plan to:
"Protect the integrity of the North Campus for education, research and recreation, including maintaining and promoting the UAF trail system as a significant campus and community asset."
The subcommittee subsequently defined their mission, developed value statements for the North Campus, and outlined steps for implementation.
Value statements
The Subcommittee established three value statements for the North Campus to reflect their interpretation of the Master plan's directive for the North Campus Subcommittee and their vision of North Campus. The value statements formed the foundation of the North Campus plan.
With respect to value statement 1, the NCS recognizes the North Campus has been subject to a variety of manipulations throughout its history and many structures and trails exist in the area that do not constitute a "natural state." However, the value statement is intended to guide future management of the area in a manner that maintains existing conditions and prevents soil erosion.
Planning Goals
Following the interviews with users, and based on the directive from the MPC and mission of UAF, the NCS developed a list of goals that would guide the development of the North Campus Master Plan:
1. The NCS will take a balanced approach in which all uses-research, education, and recreation-are equally important.
2. All current, allowed uses will be permitted in the future, with expansions in use subject to examination.
3. All current, allowed uses fulfill the mission of UAF.
4. The management plan will emphasize current and potential future issues identified by stakeholders and the planning committee.
5. The management plan will provide guidelines for current uses. The management plan will also provide recommendations for future expansions in use with a ten-to-twenty year timeframe.
6. Certain areas of the North Campus may be more appropriate for specific uses, and the designation of areas for a particular use will be considered.
Recommendation for the North Campus
Currently the North Campus functions as a multiple use area for research, education, and recreation.
Based on the mandate from the MPC, the mission and value statements of the NCS, previous North Campus studies, feedback from different stakeholders, and the March 2003 public involvement meetings, the NCS recommends that the NC continue to be managed for multiple use. The action items in Figure 5.1 focus on balancing needs of different users within the constraints of the mission and values of the NC.
The recommendations listed below are not intended to form a specific work plan, because such an approach would render the plan obsolete once the tasks have been completed. Rather, the recommendations listed below provide guidelines that can be used by the NCS to evaluate proposals for projects and use as they are received by giving meaning and specific definition to the value statements of the NC. The meaning and definition of the values statements can be thought of as issues of concern. In other words, a value statement such as "preserve the biological and physical integrity of the North Campus," could be defined in terms of removal of vegetative cover, ruts on trails, melting of permafrost, trail width, trail surface (see Table 5.1, pp. 43-44). Thus as a project is proposed, whether it be research, education, or recreation, it can be evaluated against the issues of concern as developed by the plan to ensure the management decision is consistent with the mission and values of the North Campus.
The Planning Process |
