The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released the Public Review Draft (PRD) of the Matanuska Valley Moose Range and Jonesville Public Use Area Management Plan (Moose Range and JPUA) for public review and comment. Following the public review period, DNR intends to adopt the plan with any changes that may result from the input received. Once adopted, this plan will serve as the basis for the management of the Moose Range and JPUA for 20 years. This plan includes a Land Classification Order (SC-23-001) that affects approximately 131,700 acres of state owned and state selected land distributed throughout the planning area. The Moose Range and JPUA are nestled in the southern foothills of the Talkeetna Mountains east of the Little Susitna River and north of the Glenn Highway extending as far as the Boulder Creek drainage to the east. The classification order implements the plan and primarily classifies land as Habitat, Public Recreation, Forestry, and Coal.  

In 2018, the Alaska Legislature passed Alaska Statute 41.23.280 establishing the JPUA to address concerns of safety and to provide a spectrum of public recreation opportunities while maintaining fish and wildlife habitat. The JPUA lies almost entirely within the Moose Range, Alaska Statute 16.20.340, that is managed through the Moose Range Management Plan. The Moose Range was established to maintain, improve, and enhance moose population and habitat and other wildlife of the area, and to perpetuate multiple public uses of the area. The Moose Range Management Plan was adopted by DNR and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) in 1986.

Alaska Statute directs DNR to prepare a management plan that includes long-range guidelines and management recommendations for the JPUA and the Moose Range. The PRD for the Moose Range and JPUA has been developed as one document to ensure compatibility and consistent management of state resources.

The PRD presents a range of management guidelines and recommendations for public review that are intended to fulfill the purposes of the Moose Range and JPUA, protect natural resources, manage user conflicts, and improve public safety including:

• Updating management guidelines and recommendations to be consistent with current best management practices. Much has changed since the original plan was adopted in 1986.
• Recommending the need for a specific Trail Management Plan to identify trail routes that protect wetlands and wildlife habitat and reduce trail user conflicts.
• Establishing Public Use Sites within the planning area so that places with concentrated use can be more actively managed.
• Recommending a designated area for the discharge of firearms in the Jonesville Management Subunit and other management subunits as necessary.

Many of these management recommendations would require the promulgation of subsequent regulations for successful implementation.

To facilitate your review and comment, the PRD is available online at https://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/planning/mgtplans/jonesville-mooserange/.  Public meetings are scheduled in several communities within the planning area during this comment period.

Comments on the Public Review Draft of the Moose Range and JPUA Management Plan must be received on or before November 9, 2023 by email at jonesvillemooserange@alaska.gov, or through the online Public Comment Portal at https://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/comment/.

Mailed comments must be received by November 9, 2023, and should be mailed to the following:

DNR, DMLW ATTN: RADS
550 W. 7th Ave., Suite 1050
Anchorage, AK 99501