This screenshot shows part of a map published by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources showing the Dalton Highway corridor between the Yukon River and the North Slope Borough's southern boundary. (Screenshot)
The state of Alaska is starting to plan where new trails or roads may branch off the Dalton Highway in Interior Alaska.
The choices made during the process likely have implications for hunting, fishing and tourism access, as well as the hundreds of people who live in the sparsely populated area.
On Wednesday, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources announced that it will take public input through late June about “public access routes to and across state selected lands” near the Dalton Highway.
The proposed Ambler Road intersection with the Dalton Highway is authorized under a separate program and is not being considered in this new effort, a DNR employee said.
State law says the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has the authority to authorize branch access from the Dalton Highway between the Yukon River and the southern boundary of the North Slope Borough.
This week’s announcement comes after the federal government withdrew claims to more than 2.1 million acres of land along portions of the highway. That withdrawal would allow the state to claim the land under the Alaska Statehood Act and take ownership.
Environmental groups have filed suit to stop the transfer, and the case remains in court.
No public meetings on potential intersections and trail access have been scheduled yet, but DNR said they will be subject to public notice and listed online.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Courtesy of Alaska Beacon
