BLM Announces Proposed East Alaska Resource Management Plan Amendment
By Allison Sayer
Map showing the areas of land to be made eligible for exchange. Image publicly available from the BLM.
On September 29, the Alaska Bureau of Land Management (BLM) confirmed it had found “no significant impact for a proposed amendment to the East Alaska Resource Management Plan,” to make two parcels of land near Thompson Pass available for a land exchange. The BLM’s chosen alternative following an Environmental Assessment and public comment period is to make the amendment. The parcels of land are located to the west of the hairpin turn approaching Thompson Pass from the south, and consist of approximately 1,280 acres (see map).
These lands are currently state selected. The state’s relinquishment of the lands are conditional upon both the guarantee of a public easement through the parcels and that the Chugach Alaska Corporation (CAC) be the entity receiving the land in any future exchange.
This proposal does not create an actual land exchange; a renewed public process would be necessary to exchange the land to another entity. The current process is to amend the relevant local Resource Management Plan, which currently does not permit any land exchanges. The amendment applies only to these 1,280 acres and not to the rest of the public lands covered by the plan.
The Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) Statement prepared by Glennallen Field Office Manager Marnie Graham for this proposal addressed numerous negative public comments regarding the potential for impacts a future exchange could have on recreation, stating, “There are an additional 12,800 acres of State lands which are comparable in accessibility and recreational opportunity located along the Richardson Highway from milepost 19-37... Due to nearby State lands, the BLM expects no change in recreational impacts, other than some users changing physical locations to conduct similar activities.”
The FONSI Statement addressed additional comments on the “social and economic impacts” of the proposal, stating, “Commenters identified a variety of winter recreation opportunities to include skiing, snowboarding, and snow machining… Establishment of public access easement(s) within sections of land under consideration for exchange would allow for continued access to the Lowe River, through the project area to Marshall Pass, and/or for other uses and therefore would decrease the likelihood of changes in use patterns that could result in social and economic impacts.”
The FONSI Statement also identified cultural resources including historic trails and Gold Rush artifacts present on the parcels of land in question. These resources will need to be addressed in the event of any future land exchange in a separate future process.
The Environmental Analysis (EA) performed by the BLM stated that the land could not be considered for the highest level of concerns regarding “viewshed” or “wilderness” because of its small size, proximity to the highway, and current high levels of motorized use including snow machines, ATV’s, and tracked vehicles.
The EA’s analysis of the effects of a future land exchange on viewshed, water, and other resources, or the potential for mineral exploration, repeatedly referenced an assumption that development in the area would be minimal due to the limitations imposed by “terrain, winter snow loads and conditions, and cost of development as well as the mitigation to establish public access easements for continued access to the Lowe River.” However, the authors also acknowledged, “we do not know how a potential entity that would receive these lands in exchange would manage the lands.”
CAC, recently named by Alaska Business as the #6 Alaskan-owned company by gross revenue ($919,000,000 in 2020), has not indicated specific future plans for the area. However, in a prior conversation CAC CEO Sheri Buretta stated the obvious value these parcels hold is the connection between remote holdings and the state highway system. Buretta has also expressed a commitment to honor both the letter and the spirit of a 17(b) easement through the parcels.
The lands currently held by CAC that would be traded to the federal government in the event of a future exchange would expand Wrangell St-Elias National Park by 1,256 acres.
Complete documents including public comments are available on the BLM e-Planning website, and can be found by searching “Thompson Pass.”
Read past coverage of this proposed amendment here:
BLM Finds “No Significant Impact” of Making Thompson Pass Area Lands Eligible for Exchange
Proposed Land Exchange in Thompson Pass
Opposition Mounts to Potential Thompson Pass Land Exchange
BLM Holds Public Meetings on Thompson Pass Management Plan Amendment
Additional Thompson Pass Coverage from CRR:
Avalanche Safety in the Snowmachine Community with Instructor Kyle Sobek