PUBLIC NOTICE
Release of the Public Review Draft of the Copper River Basin Area Plan Update.
Public Comment Period EXTENDED
Open March 7, 2023 through June 12, 2023.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released the Public Review Draft (PRD) of the Copper River Basin Area Plan (CRBAP) for public review and comment. Following a 90-day public review period, which may result in changes to the PRD, the planning team will review the comments received on the PRD and prepare an Issue Response Summary (IRS). The IRS provides a summary of issues raised during the comment period, a response to those issues, and a list of recommended revisions to the plan. The PRD and the IRS will be made available for public review as part of the Intent-to-Adopt phase of the planning process that offers an opportunity to provide final comments on the revisions to the plan, prior to presenting the final plan to the Commissioner for adoption. Once adopted, this plan will serve as the basis for the management of approximately 5.4 million acres of state lands and water within the planning area for the next 15 to 20 years.
The planning area encompasses nearly 16 million acres of land and water located within the Copper River Basin in the eastern portion of southcentral Alaska, and includes major drainage such as the Copper River, Gulkana, Klutina, Tazlina, and Chistochina rivers. The CRBAP will provide guidance for the development and conservation of the state’s natural resources, with goals to provide economic benefit to Alaskans while maintaining diversity of public uses of the land. This plan reflects current and anticipated changes to physical, economic, and social factors in the area. The CRBAP will supersede management direction contained in existing site specific, management plans, or area plans within the planning area. This plan will not affect federal lands, University or Mental Health Trust lands, borough or municipal lands, private lands, lands owned by Alaska Native entities, or other state lands withdrawn from the public domain.
To facilitate your review and comment, the PRD is available on the Copper River Basin Area Plan Revision webpage at http://alaska.gov/go/FXH1.
Comments submitted by email to crbaprevision@alaska.gov, through the online Public Comment Portal at http://alaska.gov/go/9PIM, or by fax at 907-269-8915 must be received on or before June 12, 2023.
Mailed comments must be sent to the address below and post-marked by June 12, 2023:
DNR, DMLW
ATTN: RADS
550 W. 7th Ave., Suite 1050
Anchorage, AK 99501
For more information, or to request a copy of the plan on a USB drive, please email crbaprevision@alaska.gov, or contact the planning project staff indicated below.
Kevin Husa Kevin Fitzpatrick
CRBAP Project Manager CRBAP Planner
Email: kevin.husa@alaska.gov Email: kevin.fitzpatrick@alaska.gov
Phone: 907-269-8129 Phone: 907-269-8592