(Revision of the western portion of the Tanana Basin Area Plan)

The Resource Assessment and Development Section (RADS), within the Division of Mining, Land and Water (DMLW) has released a Public Review Draft of the Yukon Tanana Area Plan (YTAP) and would like to obtain public input on the draft plan. DNR intends to adopt this plan and once adopted, this plan will serve as the basis for the management of state lands and waters within the planning area for the next 15 - 20 years. The plan includes a Land Classification Order (NC-10-005), affecting approximately 9,068,010 acres of state owned and state selected land that classifies state land, primarily for Agriculture, Coal, Forestry, Habitat, Minerals, Settlement, Water Resources and General Use. See the plan maps on this webpage for the plan location.

During this public comment period, a series of public meetings will be held in August, 2012 to provide information, answer questions, and an opportunity for public comments. The dates and locations of the meetings have not yet been determined  

Background

The land included in the YTAP is located within the west side of the existing Tanana Basin Area Plan (TBAP), which was adopted in 1985, and updated in 1991. The YTAP has been developed because the TBAP is outdated and needs to be revised to account for changes in land ownership; to reflect the current and anticipated physical, economic, and social factors in the area; and, to provide a sufficient land-base for the development and conservation of the state's natural resources.
The YTAP boundary encompasses over 9 million acres of state land. There are approximately 9 million acres of general state owned or selected land.  Almost 1 million acres of state and state selected land is located within three Legislatively Designated Areas (LDA's) included in plan the boundary. The LDA's are the Tanana Valley State Forest, the Minto Flats State Game Refuge, and James Dalton Legislatively Designated Area.  This plan will not affect federal, borough, Mental Health Trust, University, Native, or other private lands, and will not affect oil and gas lease sales or gas only lease sales.

For more information about the new YTAP please review this fact sheet: http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/planning/areaplans/ytap/pdf/ytap_aspects_08_07_2012.pdf

Why are Area Plans Developed?

State lands can provide many different resources to many different people including fish, wildlife, water, timber, minerals, recreation and tourism opportunities, and settlement opportunities. There are many different ideas about how these state resources should be used, and sometimes these uses conflict with each other. However, if the land is managed carefully, many uses can occur in the same area. Planning is a way of sorting through the possibilities for using state land and choosing those with the greatest benefits for all Alaskans. Developing plans for state land is especially challenging because people have differing ideas of how state land can best be used. Also, not all desired uses of state land can occur compatibly in the same place at the same time. In the planning process all resources are considered and evaluated.

What is the Process for Developing the Area Plan Revision?

Below is an outline of the major steps that are being taken during the development of the YTAP.

1. Gather Information. Information is collected about natural resources, present land use, land ownership, local history and economy (a great deal of this is done in the beginning, but it occurs throughout the planning process).
2. Identify Issues. Public Scoping Meetings were held to learn about local interests and issues with state lands. These meetings also helped to get the word out that the planning process had begun (Spring/Summer 2009).
3. Prepare Public Review Draft. Using resource information that has been gathered and public and agency comments, planning staff developed a draft plan, the Public Review Draft (PRD).
4. Public Review Period. The PRD has been made available, and public meetings will be held to discuss the draft, receive comments, and identify parts of the plan that may need to be changed.  This period will last approximately 70 days for this plan.
5. Prepare Issue Response Summary.  After the 70 day public review period, RADS will evaluate the public comments and recommendations received about the PRD and will prepare a response to address those issues and provide a summary list of the approved revisions to the document.  
6. Intent to Adopt.  The Issue Response Summary, List of Approved Revisions and the PRD constitute a draft of the final plan and will be released to the public for an additional 30 day public review period.  Upon review of any additional comments received, additions or deletions to the List of Approved Revisions may be made.
7. Prepare Final Draft.  Based on the comments during both public review periods, a final draft will be prepared.
8. Adoption by the Commissioner of DNR.  The Commissioner signs the plan which then guides management decisions on state land in the planning area.

What happens next?

The State has released an Issue Response Summary for the Public Review Draft of the YTAP. Your written comments are encouraged during this public comment period and must be submitted, in writing, on or before November 2, 2012 by mail, email, fax, or through the YTAP website provided above. Comments may also be hand delivered until 5:00 PM, AST, November 2, 2012 to the address below. To review and download an electronic version of the Issue Response Summary, including the List of Approved Revisions and Appendices , or submit comments online please see the links included above on this webpage.

Upcoming Meetings

There are no meetings shceduled for the Yukon Tanana Area Plan at this time.

Contact Information

For additional information regarding the YTAP, the Public Review Draft, Issue Response Summary and List of Approved Revisions, please contact either Philana Miles.

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