Verizon Wireless wants to install a cellphone tower disguised as a nearly 14-story-tall tree near Wuksachi Village in Sequoia National Park in California.

To gauge public sentiment on that idea, the National Park Service has initiated a public review of the proposal. The Park Service is required by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to consider all applications for the installation of cellular equipment on NPS lands, according to a park release.

Verizon Wireless wants to erect a 138-foot cellular tower west of Wuksachi Village to provide cell phone coverage to a portion of the Generals Highway, the Wuksachi Village area, the Lodgepole Area, and the Wolverton Area. For some perspective, many of the sequoias in the park stand more than 200 feet tall.

"Antennas would be directed, as much as possible, away from the wilderness," a park release said. "The proposed tower would be located in an established utility site west of Wuksachi Village at the end of an existing paved access road, which provides access to existing above-ground water storage tanks."

The proposed wireless communications facility would include the following components within a 40-foot by 40-foot area adjacent to two existing above-ground water storage tanks:

* A 138-foot tall tower with panel antennas and microwave dishes, potentially constructed to simulate a pine tree, mounted on a 4 to 5-foot diameter footer;

* A covered 28-foot by 13-foot steel equipment platform;

* A 500-gallon propane tank mounted on a concrete pad.

An estimated 1,420 feet of buried electrical cable would be installed along the existing access road to connect the tower to an existing electrical transformer. Two 14-inch diameter fir trees would be removed from the facility site. A total of approximately 0.23 acres of land within the park would be affected by the project, including the trenched area adjacent to the access road (0.19 acres), and the communications facility (0.04 acres).

Sequoia National Park is overseeing the preparation of an environmental assessment for this project, and is interested in any public concerns and issues the public may have concerning the proposal.

To obtain supplemental information about the proposed project, or to provide comments, visit this page.

Written comments may be sent via mail or hand-delivery to:

Superintendent
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Attn: Wuksachi Village Cell Tower
47050 Generals Highway
Three Rivers, CA 93271