ITEM TITLE:
Report: Management of Mineral Creek Trails on State of Alaska Lands
SUBMITTED BY: Paul Nylund - Senior Planner/GIS Technician
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file.
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
In January 2022, the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) South Central Regional Land Office (SCRO) contacted the City of Valdez Planning Department regarding a complaint from a member of the public about motorized access of the Mineral Creek Trails during an event.
Several of these trails exist on DNR administered lands. DNR did not have any record of authorizing the restriction of motorized access on these lands. The Planning Department provided the DNR with a letter of non-objection from the DNR dated October 29, 2002, in response to the request from the City of Valdez to restrict motorized access on these trails and the land immediately surrounding them. Following the receipt of this letter from the DNR, the City of Valdez passed Ordinance NO. 02-21, which codified the separation of motorized and non-motorized on these trails.
During recent discussions, DNR has expressed concerned “that the letter from 2002 may not be sufficient to authorize continued restriction over the 80 acres of state land surrounding the Mineral Creek Trails, as this action was not subject to a full public process at the time”, and that “in the long term, it is SCRO’s position that a public process is necessary to authorize any use restrictions over general state land.”
In order to continue to manage these trails in a manner that is consistent with Ordinance NO. 02-21, the DNR is advising the City of Valdez to enter a Cooperative Resource Management Agreement (CRMA) with the state. A CRMA would undergo the same public process as any other agreement with DMLW and would serialize the resulting administrative action so that the public has the opportunity to review the decision/casefile and view the boundaries of any authorization granted.
In order to enter into this agreement with the state, the City of Valdez has been advised to fill out an application to lease the land in question, which will begin the public notice process and lead to the CRMA being established. This cooperative agreement between the City of Valdez and DNR would allow the Parks and Recreation Department to continue to manage the portions of the Mineral Creek Trail system on state land. The Planning Department will initiate the application process and report back to Council after DNR responds. Should the lease application be approved by the state, an agreement will be brought to Council for City of Valdez approval.