Middle Nenana Fish and Game AC – Meets Monday Dec. 12th in Healy
December 11, 2011
- Unit 20C extends north from the boundary of Denali National Park and includes the Stampede Townships
The Middle Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee Meeting was rescheduled for Monday, December 12, 2011, at the Tri-Valley School Cafeteria, 6 PM. The Committee, whose meeting last week was held without a quorum, collected valuable local comments opposing Proposal 213, a late season motorized hunt in the Yanert Valley. The comment collected at that meeting will be considered as the Committee develops its position on Proposal 213. There are other proposals to be considered that DCC opposes. Read our most recent alert with more information on this meeting, the proposals, and the agenda.
Important Healy meeting of Middle Nenana Fish and Game AC- Monday Dec 5th
December 3, 2011
The Middle Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee will meet this Monday, December 5th, at the Tri-Valley School Cafeteria in Healy. The meeting will begin at 6 PM, with public comments accepted. Agenda Middle Nenana AC – Dec 5th
The Committee will consider and make recommendations on proposals for statewide regulations and for the Interior Region (Region III). The proposals themselves will be up for consideration at the Interior Region Board of Game meeting in Fairbanks in March 2012. Particularly troubling to DCC members is a proposal (Proposal 213) that would open the Yanert Valley, now designated as non-motorized for hunting, to motorized hunting. The proposal, forwarded by the Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee, is widely opposed in the local community. If you are in the area this coming Monday, please attend the AC meeting and oppose this proposal.
Other troubling proposals (Proposal 227-232) would introduce intensive management, predator control and bear baiting activities into Unit 20c, which touches the northern boundary of Denali National Park and includes the Stampede townships. There is no data to support the scientific need for such activities and we feel they are being proposed (NOT by locals) to forward the “maximum yield” agenda of the current leadership at the Department of Fish and Game.
If you cannot attend the meeting, but would like to leave a comment, you may call or email Nan Eagleson, DCC Board members and Middle Nenana AC member, at surfbird@mtaonline.net, or 907-683-2822.
DCC and Friends of Stampede comment on NEON scientific site
November 30, 2011
To view DCC’s and Friends of Stampede’s comments on this proposed ecological monitoring site near 8 Mile Lake, you may click the links below. Stay tuned to our website for more information on the permitting process for this site. Check our previous post for more information on the purpose of the NEON project and its implications.
DCC NEON Healy Site Comments – November 2011
Friends of Stampede comments on NEON site 11.30.11
Middle Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee to meet in Healy
November 22, 2011
On Monday, December 5, 2011, the local Fish and Game Advisory Committee, the Middle Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee, will meet in Healy at Tri-Valley Community Center. Locals who are familiar with this group are encouraged to attend the meeting. The group will consider Fish and Game proposals to be considered by the Alaska Board of Game at their Interior Meeting, upcoming in March 2012. Concerning proposals would..
1. Introduce motorized hunting into the Yanert Valley east of Denali National Park.
2. Establishing intensive management and predator control for wolves and bears in Unit 20c, which borders Denali Park on the north.
For more information on these issues, contact us at mail@denalicitizens.org. If you are in the area, attend this meeting and speak out.
Local candidates discuss coalbed methane development and more in Healy
November 7, 2011
Candidates for local offices met with the public on Tuesday November 2nd to discuss local issues. This annual Candidate Forum, hosted by the Tri-Valley Community Library, planned and facilitated by Tri-Valley High School government students, included candidates for School Board, Borough Assembly, and Borough Mayor. Questions posed to candidates were submitted by local residents in weeks prior to the forum, and represented an array of relevant local issues. Of particular interest to DCC members, candidates discussed their positions on coalbed methane development in the Denali Borough. Read more
In-State Natural Gas Pipeline Seeks to Temporarily Use Denali Borough Lands
November 2, 2011
Reprinted from the September-October Denali Citizens Council News (with links to more information):
The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) discussed their Alaska Stand-Alone Pipeline (ASAP) plans for the Denali Borough at a Planning Commission meeting September 20th. AGDC hopes to begin geotechnical studies to “evaluate the feasibility” of burying the natural gas pipeline on Borough-owned lands southeast of the Nenana Canyon. To do so, they have applied for a “Temporary Land-Use Permit” to drill two, seventy-foot-deep boreholes. These boreholes would be used to help AGDC determine how, or whether, they could bury the proposed pipeline in this area. Permit documents were available for review at the meeting, and the Planning Commission passed a resolution of support. The Mayor approves the permit, as use of the land is less than one year. A statewide right-of-way (ROW) application was approved in August, the first in a series of permits that will be necessary for the project. While much of this ROW uses existing state highway and railroad corridors (and is mandated by founding legislation to try to do so), the pipeline detours away from the Parks Highway to avoid a seven-mile stretch of the highway that passes through Denali National Park. This bypass of the park travels through Borough land before connecting with the Willow-Healy Intertie ROW (a major energy transmission line), and then rejoining the highway around Carlo Creek. AGDC will work separately with private property owners, Native Corporations, Borough governments, etc. to establish easements traveling through private property.
Sep-Oct 2011 DCC News
October 31, 2011
Redistricting map showing proposed Denali Borough districts in Ordinance 11-18
The Draft Vehicle Management Plan and EIS tops the news in out latest edition of DCC News. Other features include Denali Borough redistricting, Eva Creek’s impact on birds and wildlife, and Underground Coal Gasification.
Attend the Denali Borough Candidate Forum
October 31, 2011
Be sure to attend the Denali Borough Candidate Forum.
Hosted by the Tri-Valley Community Library
M0derated By Tri-Valley High School Government Class
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 @ 6:00pm
6:00 – 6:40 School Board candidates (Lorrie Terry, Amber Renshaw, Elizabeth Hooge)
6:50 – 7:20 Borough Assembly candidates (Gordon Carlson, Vickie Lausen, Rusty Lasell)
7:30 – 8:10 Borough Mayoral candidates (John Winklmann, David Talerico)
DCC Submits Final Comments on Draft Vehicle Management Plan
October 30, 2011
We thank those members who provided suggestions and encouragement to us in the development of these comments, and who submitted us their comments for our review. Our comments reflect our commitment to the natural integrity of the park, an affordable public transit system, a regulatory limit on vehicles at Denali, and several other elements of the Draft Plan combined into a unique DCC Alternative. Read our comments at the link below.
Vehicle Management Plan comments-DCC-10-30-11
Read DCC’s updated Vehicle Management Plan comments
October 16, 2011
A VTS bus pauses below Stony Overlook
We recently completed another round of comments on the Draft Denali Vehicle Management Plan, after continued discussion with members, constituents and the National Park Service. Our comments provide greater detail on our concerns about the plan, and suggestions for improvements. We remain very skeptical about the capacity of either action alternative to fully protect park resources, and we continue to argue for a firm vehicle capacity number. Please read our latest comments below. And remember, comment deadline is October 31st. Look for more comment suggestions in the next 10 days.
DCC News – VMP comments 10-15-11-web
For more information, see the resources on our page for the Denali Vehicle Management Plan.
To comment on the plan, visit the NPS PEPC website.
Jul-Aug 2011 DCC News
August 31, 2011
DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan (center) speaks to attendees at meeting with DCC
Read DCC’s initial reaction to the Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan. Also in this edition DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan meets with DCC to discuss Healy gas exploration, Jane Bryant has a new book, and our newest board member talks about the Vehicle Management Plan.
DCC files Opening Brief in its Appeal of Healy Gas Best Interest Finding
August 26, 2011
On August 26, 2011, the Denali Citizens Council (DCC) filed its opening brief in the Alaska Superior Court lawsuit against the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ award of a gas exploration license on approximately 208,000 acres of state lands in the Denali Borough. The brief details the legal deficiencies in DNR’s decision to grant Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. a license to drill for gas, including coalbed methane, in our neighborhoods and special places, and to do so without meaningful protections for our interests and area values.
DCC is not opposed to this gas development project in its entirety, but we are opposed to this license as currently structured and will aggressively defend our interests and our rights. With modest changes in line with the drilling approach that Usibelli originally sought for the Healy area, we believe the interests of all parties can be met.
You may view the opening brief by clicking the link below:
DCC Opening Brief_Healy Gas Best Interest Finding
For background on the Healy Basin Gas Exploration License, please see our write up on the topic and visit associated links.
Healy Basin Gas Exploration License