NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES ON SPECIFIED ANADROMOUS WATERS IN THE REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game proposes to change regulations dealing with waters important for the spawning, rearing, or migration of anadromous fish, as required by AS 16.05.871.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game proposes to adopt regulation changes in Title 5 of the Alaska Administrative Code, dealing with waters important for the spawning, rearing, or migration of anadromous fish, including the following:

  5 AAC 95.011 is proposed to be changed as follows:

The Atlas to the Catalog of Waters Important for the Spawning, Rearing, or Migration of Anadromous Fishes and Catalog of Waters Important for the Spawning, Rearing, or Migration of Anadromous Fishes (atlas and catalog), which are adopted by reference in 5 AAC 95.011, will be revised and updated.

Several revisions are proposed to be made to the atlas and catalog.  The list of rivers, lakes, and streams will be updated, including additions, deletions, and changes to the legal descriptions of many of these waters.  Minor revisions will be made to the introduction of the catalog.  Species-specific information will be used in place of undifferentiated species information wherever possible.

This is a NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES concerning the regulations contained in the Department of Fish and Game file number 2021200467.

You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to Scott Graziano, Alaska Department of Fish and Game – Habitat Section, 333 Raspberry Road, Anchorage, AK 99518. Additionally, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will accept comments by facsimile at (907) 267-2499 or by e-mail to
dfg.hab.anadromous@alaska.gov. The comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. AKST, March 16, 2022.

You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to Scott Graziano by email or at the physical address above. The questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on http://awc.adfg.alaska.gov. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game may, but is not required to, answer written questions received after the 10-day cut-off date and before the end of the comment period.

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Scott Graziano at (907) 267-2143 no later than Thursday, March 10, 2022 to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

A copy of the proposed regulation changes is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System at https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Default.aspx or by contacting Scott Graziano, Alaska Department of Fish and Game – Habitat Section, 333 Raspberry Road, Anchorage, AK 99518, Phone: (907) 267-2143, email: scott.graziano@alaska.gov.

A copy of the materials proposed for adoption by reference for all six regions of Alaska (Arctic, Interior, Southcentral, Southeast, Southwest, and Western) are available for inspection and copying at the following locations: in the Anchorage ADF&G office at 333 Raspberry Rd.; at the Alaska Resources Library at 3211 Providence Dr.; in the Fairbanks ADF&G office at 1300 College Rd; and in Juneau at the Alaska State Library at 395 Whittier Street. The ADF&G offices in, Craig, Delta Junction, Douglas, Homer, Ketchikan, Nome, Soldotna, Tok, and have copies of the proposed changes and draft Atlas maps for their region only. 

Electronic equivalents of the review documents and the atlas maps are also available through the ADF&G website at: http://awc.adfg.alaska.gov

After the public comment period ends, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action on them. The language of the final regulations may vary from that of the proposed regulations. You should comment during the time allowed if your interests could be affected.

Statutory Authority:  AS 16.05.020; AS 16.05.871

Statutes Being Implemented, Interpreted, or Made Specific:  AS 16.05.871

Fiscal Information:  The proposed regulation changes are not expected to require an increased appropriation.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game keeps a list of individuals and organizations interested in its regulations. Those on the list will automatically be sent a copy of all the Department of Fish and Game, Habitat Section, notices of proposed regulation changes. To be added or removed from the list, send a request to Habitat Section at dfg.hab.anadromous@alaska.gov, giving your name, and e-mail or mailing address, as you prefer for receiving notices.

Date:     February 8, 2022                                

Ben Mulligan
Deputy Commissioner
Alaska Department of Fish and Game