Alaska officials rethink park use after concert cancelled

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Alaska officials are reconsidering whether special events like outdoor concerts are a responsible use of state park land.

The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday that a concert in Chugach State Park was cancelled following complaints about potential negative environmental impacts.

The manager for folk band Blackwater Railroad Company says the proposed concert at Williwaw Lakes was intended to provide an intimate, outdoor experience encouraging conservation.

He says the band expected attendance would be no more than 200 people due to the 12- to 16-mile round-trip hike to the event.

More than a thousand people registered interest on social media.

A park official says some outdoor enthusiasts feared the concert would damage the environment and backcountry experience at the site southeast of Anchorage.
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Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com