Knik River blues? Some see changes under land conveyance

PALMER — As Eklutna, Inc., gets ready to receive the final pieces of land owed to it under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, concerns over impacts to users of the Knik River were raised last week after a viral Facebook post raised alarms.

The viral post made several claims that had Mat-Su Valley residents up in arms over fears they would lose recreational access to the river. Not all of the claims were accurate, however. Addressing the issue with the idea of raising funds for a non-existent lawsuit referred to in the post were even floated with the Butte Community Council.

But while most users will not be affected by the land conveyance, some hunters will.

Every summer, locals descend on Jim Creek for camping, or rallying around with ATVs and four-wheelers on the riverbed. Sometimes they head upriver to visit the glacier, or see mining claims near Metal Creek.

That’s where the majority of use is for the Knik River area, said Timothy Jensen, land manager with the state of Alaska for the Knik River Public Use Area.

Under the land conveyance, he said, none of that will change.

Much of the favored recreational areas around Knik are already owned by the state, and even any land conveyed to Eklutna can still be accessed by applying for a recreational-use permit with the ANCSA corporation itself. Jensen said he owns such a permit. Getting it is simple, he said, and best of all, it’s free. It simply asks users to recreate in a way that is respectful of Eklutna land and follows good stewardship practices.

Eklutna, Inc. CEO Curtis McQueen has said that it does not typically allow hunting on its private lands, however.

Mark Simpson, a lifelong resident whose parents homesteaded near the Knik River, said that’s bound to cause a few waves.

“Once that gets conveyed, there’s gonna be I’d say a few thousand angry people,” Simpson said.

Simpson said he only shoots with a camera now, but that he’s hunted in the area all his life and has family that still does so.

Old-timers who have hunted on federal lands selected for conveyance knew it was coming down the pipeline, he said. But some hunters who have grown to favor ANCSA selection lands for prime moose and bear spots are bound to be surprised.

Eklutna ought to put a hunting lodge on its newly-conveyed lands, he said, if anything.

“It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out,” he said, noting it’s something that was addressed long ago when he was more involved in Knik River community politics.

In an earlier interview, McQueen said Eklutna has been waiting a long time to regain the aboriginal lands it’s owed from the federal government according to ANCSA, and it’d be nice to have them back.

Jensen said he understands some folks might not be happy about the change, but that it’s been more than 20 years in the works and he’s been surprised by how many people didn’t seem to know about it.

“Eklutna has been very receptive,” Jensen said. “They’ve heard us out, we talked to their board and they listened to us, came to an agreement and they’ve been very helpful. The last thing I want is for Eklutna to be thought of in a bad light because of this, because they shouldn’t. They’ve been very helpful considering it’s been decades they’ve been waiting to get their land.”