Laying down the law

MAT-SU — The law is coming to the Knik River.

The Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land and Water has finalized its regulations for the notoriously lawless Valley recreation area and is holding meetings to let folks know what they are.

The three meetings will all be from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., the first convening Wednesday at Butte Elementary, followed the next day by a meeting at Teeland Middle School and the day after that at Wendler Middle School in Anchorage.

The department wants people to show up, but stresses it’s not meeting to gauge community support for the regulations.

“It’s a big darn deal. The rubber’s hitting the road here and we really want to make sure that folks are aware of the changes that are happening,” said David Griffin, a natural resource specialist with the division who’d just gotten back from a trip to the area to post fliers.

“The decisions have been made and these regulations are final,” Griffin said.

Looking over the regulations, available online at knikriver.Alaska.gov, Griffin said probably the top three in no particular order are: a ban on burning wooden pallets, a ban on littering and a large “no fire” zone where guns can only be used for hunting.

The first regulation, Griffin said, is mainly a means to reduce the amount of waste left behind.

“The main reason for that is the remnants of pallet fires consist of screws and nails,” Griffin said.

The second regulation he singled out is a big deal mainly from an enforcement perspective. While littering is generally not a lawful activity, having it in this particular set of regulations gives DNR some new powers.

“That basically gives the division the ability to write a ticket for littering, which we haven’t had before,” Griffin said.

As for the third regulation — gunfire, sometimes irresponsible gunfire, is something the area is famous for.

Griffin said the new no-fire zone ranges from the Knik River Bridge on the Old Glenn Highway up to Friday Creek.

“All along the river flats there’ll be no target shooting,” Griffin said. “It’s a regulation that really needed to be instituted out here because the current rules and laws that the state troopers use, they are also in effect out here but legally on general state land folks can target shoot. We restrict that down further so it’s a lot easier for the troopers to enforce.”

He said the regulation does not apply in the case of hunting.

“Folks will still be able to hunt rabbits or grouse or moose in these areas but they won’t be able to go out there and just plink,” Griffin said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.