Knik River access gets 2nd hearing

Public meeting scheduled for Thursday night at Butte Elementary School

October 18, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Concerned citizens will have a second opportunity to offer their input on legislation designed to help manage the Knik River public-use area, during a hearing at Butte Elementary School from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, according to Rep. Bill Stoltze.

&#8220I think this area needs a management plan, and we're right at the beginning of this journey. We want to make sure accesses aren't shut down unless another access is opened in a less sensitive area,” Stoltze, R-Mat-Su, said during an interview Friday.

Stoltze and state Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Mat-Su, wrote the legislation that will come before lawmakers when they reconvene in January. This legislation grants DNR the ability to establish a land-management plan and enforce it as well, Stoltze said.

&#8220Some of the folks passed it with no amendments, but that's not realistic,” he said. &#8220We've run across some things in there that need to be tweaked, like the discharge of firearms. It's entirely reasonable to limit firearms near people's homes. That's not a right that should be guaranteed.”

Stoltze said he thought a public meeting during the summer succeeded.

&#8220It was certainly more professional how people provided their opinions,” he said. &#8220We heard good comments from a wide variety of people who had differences of opinions without being disagreeable. There wasn't a contentious point.”

Valley resident Cecily Fritz, chair of the Knik River Watershed Group, agreed that the forum worked.

&#8220When you don't get sucked into having discussion and debates, people listen to what other people have to say. If we listen carefully, we learn more,” Fritz said during a phone interview Friday.

At that public meeting, the names of people who signed up to speak were called in groups of three. Those people approached the microphone and were allowed to talk, uninterrupted. The meeting clocked in at under two hours.

&#8220We obviously didn't get to everyone. We kept a list of those people. If they show up, they'll have the first opportunity to speak out, in fairness to them,” Stoltze said.

A representative from the Department of Natural Resources' Division of Mining, Land and Water will describe the public-comment process so people can better understand the time frame and how their opinions can help find a solution, Stoltze said.

&#8220I always want to hear DNR's position. His comments at the last meeting were very benign and vague, and this won't really allow us to make some planning,” Fritz said.

An important component of the plan will be enforcing any limits on access and rules created by the legislation, Fritz said.

Bob Loeffler, director of the DNR's Division of Mining, Land and Water, said he didn't know exactly how to solve the problems of inappropriate use of the land, enforce new legislation or pay for that enforcement.

&#8220We need to manage access, though, by building new roads, blocking off inappropriate ones and funneling access to where we want it to be,” Loeffler said. &#8220Those who use and love the area need to have a say in those answers.”

Contact Dawn De Busk at

352-2252 or dawn.debusk@

frontiersman.com.