Trouble is, Knik area has lots of public uses
DEBATE: When comment is asked for, motor sports butt heads with wildlife protection.
By ZAZ HOLLANDER
Published: June 27, 2007
Last Modified: June 27, 2007 at 05:17 AM
WASILLA -- As state officials draft rules for the new Knik River Public Use Area, they're calling on the public to help.
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Trouble is, public opinion is just about split between the broad motorized access allowed for years on the Knik and more limits to protect trails and wildlife, according to more than 230 comments received by the state Department of Natural Resources and released last week.
Roughly half favor some form of limit on ATVs and other motorized uses.
Two citizen groups, saying nonmotorized recreation and wildlife got virtually ignored, even came up with their own suggestions.
That's not sitting well with a group representing motorized recreation.
The outside suggestions -- and the comments in favor -- shouldn't count as the state writes the rules, said Mike Erickson, president of the Alaska ATV Club.
"I'm really disappointed that so many people in the comments went with things that are outside the law, outside what (the state) can legally do," said Erickson, whose club has 60 members, mostly in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
The state expects to unveil draft rules in October for the 260,000-acre Knik River Public Use Area, which covers everything from the rowdy scene at Jim Creek to marshy lakes popular with ducks and duck hunters to the blue ice of the Knik Glacier.
ORDERING OFF THE MENU
In March, officials released for public comment a complex grid of preliminary alternatives that include user fees, a shooting ban near Jim Creek and lifting the existing laws that limit environmental damage from driving on the Knik River Flats.
In response, the two groups issued their own alternatives.
A proposal from the Butte Area Residents Civic Organization suggests banning motorized uses at the popular Knik River access; a ban on airboats in salmon streams, wetlands and lakes; and an immediate ban on shooting until a safe target-shooting area is found.
The Knik River Watershed Group wants better protection for waterfowl and wildlife around Jim and Swan lakes via seasonal bans on boating and driving near nesting areas. It also suggests making the Rippy Trail -- the well-traveled dirt road at the end of Maud Road that accesses Mud and Jim lakes -- into a nonmotorized track.
State officials say they will take the proposals into account.
"Because it is at the preliminary alternative stage, we did open it up to all comments," said Brandon McCutcheon, the state's plan coordinator for the Knik.
"No decisions have been made. We're happy to get the response that we did."
Shut out of most backcountry areas around Anchorage, motorized groups say the Knik is a valuable playground.
They bristle at limits on all users to make up for the bad actions of a handful.
"Do not punish everyone for the actions of a few idiots," one anonymous comment states.
Erickson said the state's list of preliminary alternatives for the Knik is based on legislation that created the public use area.
The bill, HB 307, includes a provision to "recognize the existing off-road motor vehicle trails" and the access they provide.
The citizen suggestions to ban motorized vehicles on trails, then, fall outside state authority, he said.
GRANDFATHERING, OR NOT?
McCutcheon said the bill language preserves motorized access, but other state laws give the state the authority to protect wildlife.
Trails need to take the shortest possible route to avoid critical habitat areas, for instance.
There are provisions to re-route or close trails too.
"We just need to make sure we're consistent with the laws that are on the books, and we need to weigh public input as well," he said.
The original text of HB 307 grandfathered all existing trails, according to minutes of the Senate Finance Committee from May 2006.
It was amended to "recognize" trails, so there was room to protect streams or habitat harmed by ATV use, for example.
Still, the Knik River Watershed Group issued its proposal to make up for the lack of a "true habitat protection alternative" for the more sensitive marshy areas around Jim and Swan lakes, home to a unique volume of birds, chairwoman Cecily Fritz said.
"I've worked on enough similar-type efforts where typically you get a slate of alternatives, you sort of get the whole realm of possibility," Fritz said. "Our concern throughout the process really is that there hasn't been any real public recognition or agency recognition that Jim, Swan is different from the rest of the public-use area."
Brit Lively, co-founder of the Butte Area Residents Citizens Group, said she could only hope the state will seriously consider the two citizen proposals.
"If you don't have faith in the process then you might as well give up right from the beginning," Lively said.
"You have to give it a chance. There are many reasonable responses from every kind of user. They should all weigh in."
LAW ENFORCEMENT CONSENSUS
The Butte Community Council, however, is asking the state to preserve all historic uses of the trails -- meaning motorized.
"Please help us keep our motorized trails and other traditional uses," the council urged in its comments.
Regulating trail use is just one of several hot topics being addressed. Others are shooting, fees and law enforcement.
In March, the state released preliminary alternatives for the Knik plan.
Most people agreed better law enforcement is essential. Following one heated public meeting at Butte Elementary School a few months ago, the Alaska State Troopers boosted patrols to cut down on torched vehicles, trash dumping and rogue gunfire.
Opinion was fairly divided on shooting, with some comments supporting a designated shooting range and others favoring a shooting ban near Jim Creek and the flats.
A number of people, albeit a minority, favored a state alternative that suggests making no changes.
"I would like to see the Knik area stay pretty much the way it is, with less trash, burned cars and stupidity," one comment stated.
Find Zaz Hollander online at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call 352-6711.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Knik River Public Use Area, go to
www.knikriver.alaska.gov