Land-use debate on tap

August, 16, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Imagine the Knik River recreational area as a place where drivers of off-road vehicles can explore miles of the basin, while fragile wetlands are preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Imagine picnickers and horseback riders who feel safe from gunfire and ATVs zipping by, while gun owners can legally target shoot.

Imagine neighboring residents never having to worry that the access to their home might be blocked off by the state, or torn up by people accessing the popular Jim Creek area. Imagine a continuing abundance of fish and game for sportsmen whose parents hunted or trapped there.

Sound like utopia, or just an attempt to reach a happy medium?

State Sen. Charlie Huggins,

R-Mat-Su, and Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Palmer/Chugiak, will host a public hearing to discuss two bills related to land use in the Knik River recreational area. That meeting will be held from 7-9 p.m. Thursday at Butte Elementary School, located on Plumley Road off the Old Glenn Highway.

"I think there'll be a large turnout," Knik River Watershed Group chair Cecily Fritz said. "It'll be a good opportunity to come to some understanding of what different groups want."

The main topics to be put before the public include safety issues, firearms discharge and motorized-vehicle use, especially in areas vital to wildlife and vegetation habitats and those spots where most people congregate, according to a press release from the Mat-Su Borough community development department.

The proposed legislation aims to include all user groups, but at the same time, seeks to preserve wildlife and fish both for hunting and viewing purposes.

To address conservation, the bill states the Army Corps of Engineers would assist in identifying wetland areas.

Huggins was bear hunting with his son and could not be reached for comment.

Fritz said the part of the legislation she questioned is the section on incompatible uses.

The bill says commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game will be allowed to "prohibit or restrict uses determined to be incompatible," but the legislation later states the commissioner shall allow all activities to occur in the area.

"That tells me there will be no restriction on those uses, even if they are incompatible," Fritz said.

The activities listed include every sort of recreation that is typically done in the Knik River basin - from boating to horseback riding, shooting a camera to training a sled dog. The commissioner will not restrict the use of weapons, except in high public-use area like picnic spots and boat ramps, according to the legislation.

"This bill seems to keep the status quo," Fritz said. "Restrictions is a four-letter word. We're not talking about prohibiting a use, just limiting some uses in some areas."

She said she's heard people suggest assigning different weekends to incompatible user groups as one solution.

"People who have a moderate position should get involved," Fritz said. "Hopefully, people can find a middle ground."

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252 or dawn.debusk@ frontiersman.com.