Land Ownership and Access
The various land ownership patterns and the limited available public access to the lower river were some of the challenging factors the Southcentral Regional Office (SCRO) encountered during the development of the Kasilof River Special Use Area (KARSUA). SCRO has been collaborating with the key land owners in the area such as the Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB), and the Mental Health Trust Authority (MHT) to help resolve many of the access issues. The Kasilof River, including the lands underlying the mouth and upstream to 13 miles, is a state owned navigable water body as determined through a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest process. The state, through the DNR, DMLW also owns and manages the tide and submerged lands out to a three mile limit.
The state (DNR, DMLW) owns and manages a number of upland areas adjacent to the river that are used extensively by the public and serve as main access and camping area to accommodate thousands of users of the personal use fisheries. The available state lands directly adjacent to the river mouth allow the public to readily access both sides of the river for the set and dip net personal use fisheries and the areas' commercial fisheries.
The south side of the mouth can be accessed by following Cohoe Beach Road to the end, then by travelling in a northeasterly direction towards the mouth. Another highly used point of access to the beach on the south side of the river is Fisherman's Road. This unimproved road cuts through Kenai Peninsula Borough lands. Fisherman's Road has historically been used to access the beach for the personal gillnet and the commercial gillnet fisheries. With cooperation from the KPB, annual grading of this unimproved road keeps this important access point open for the public.
Through the planning process, the state acquired several important parcels of land on the south side of the Kasilof River for inclusion into the KARSUA boundaries. The key parcels are all within Township 3 North, Range 12 West of the Seward Meridian within Sections 1 and 2 and include a 23.35 acre parcel within Lot 4; a 10.45 acre parcel within Lots 13, 14, and 15; and a 2.34 acre parcel within Lot 11. The acquisition of these parcels was a very important step in securing long-term public access and use of land on the south side of the Kasilof River.
Public access to the north side of river is via Kasilof Beach Road, then following a 60 foot public right of way to the river mouth. Several unimproved parking areas and trails are used to access the beach during the personal use fisheries. This public road traverses Tract B of U.S. Survey 83 which was donated to DMLW to be managed as a unit of the KARSUA in August of 2012. This 38.5 acre parcel was acquired in part with funds received through the in-lieu fee agreement between the Alaska District, U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Conservation Fund. The purpose of this acquisition is to permanently protect, and manage the property to ensure conservation of wetland ecosystems, and to perpetuate the anadromous fish, wildlife and habitat values, while recognizing the importance of this property for public use.