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By Susan Smith |
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The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR) held a very informative Community Meeting on the afternoon of June 19, 2003, at the McCarthy Lodge. The room was packed with local residents, ready to learn about and discuss ANILCA access issues, public trust doctrine, navigable waters rulings, RS2477 trails, and many other topics. |
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Sam Means, Natural Resource Manager for ADNR and Tina Cunning, Wildlife Biologist and ANILCA Program Manager with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) narrated a slide presentation which outlined the State's role in access issues and relevant state and federal |
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legislation guaranteeing access rights. Natural Resource Managers Mike Sullivan and Marcie Menefee were also present. |
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The 1980 ANILCA legislation was described in detail with respect to subsistence access and access to inholdings. Known as "The Great Compromise," ANILCA law established Alaska's National Parks as the most liberal conservation areas in the nation, allowing special access, subsistence, and other public assurances "to protect the Alaska lifestyle." Section 811 "Access for Subsistence" ensures reasonable access for rural residents and allows for use of "snowmobiles, motorboats, and other means of surface transportation traditionally enjoyed for such purposes by local residents, subject to reasonable regulation." |
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Public Trust Doctrine was documented with respect to land and navigable waters and easement regulations from the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act were explained. A detailed review of RS2477 trail designations gave crucial information about legislation, qualifications, documentation of historical use, permitting, maintenance, and current allowable uses. |
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An important realization for many who attended the meeting was the recognition of ADNR's role as a valuable ally in settling RS2477 issues. ADNR has been mandated by the state legislature to identify other existing trails which qualify for RS2477 status, report them to the legislature, and work with the National Park Service (NPS) as an intermediary to help resolve RS2477 claims as yet unrecognized by the federal government. |
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Another worthwhile outcome of the meeting was the wealth of documentation brought by ADNR and ADF&G. A 19931998 study of trail usage conducted by ADNR and the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities resulted in the preparation of a map packet plotting all known trails. Tina Cunning helped in its preparation and presented the community with two reference copies of this important resource. Also available were handouts for National Park Service Regulations (1981), ANILCA Access Regulations (1986, outlining the permitting process for transportation or utility systems and inholder access), a Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve General Management Plan (1986), the ADNR RS2477 Project, Identification and Management of RS2477, Fish & Wildlife Resource Management Tools, Allowed Uses on State Land, and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers permitting regulations. |
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A lively question and answer period followed the formal presentation. Many local residents had questions relating to recent NPS closures in the McCarthy area on valid staterecognized RS2477 trails. ADNR spokesmen acknowledged that those trails had documented historical use and had need for regular maintenance, sometimes even heavy equipment. Since RS2477 designations were "selfexecuting" and no recording process was necessary, docuŽmentŽing construction or use with records, maps, photographs or affidavits becomes increasingly difficult as time passes. Surveying, recording and permitting of existing trails becomes an expensive and timeconsuming process. NPS regulations for permitting, as outlined in ANILCA regulations, are laborious and are decided now on a case by case basis with the absence of negotiations between the State and NPS to collectively settle control over access of all state rightofways across Park land. |
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Other topics addressed were bollard placement and prohibiŽtion of motor vehicles on local trails and bridges, land access for Long Lake residents, access fees based upon square footage proposed to some inholders, and snowmachine and ATV use in the Park. Several local NPS problems were mentioned, keeping ADNR informed of the local situation. |
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In closing, the community would like to thank Sam Means, Tina Cunning, and their associates for their time in coming out to McCarthy to present this important informaŽtion at a time when many access issues are surfacing on National Park lands in Alaska. They showed a real interest in educating the public about access law rights and acting as an intermediary with the NPS to help resolve local access issues. |
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