The Copper Valley Development Association recently hosted the spring Copper Basin Land Managers meeting.  Meant to connect local and state agencies, more than a dozen organizations from around the Copper Valley gathered virtually to share updates from last year and plans for this year.

Native Village of Kluti-Kaah (NVKK)
In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and Denali Commission, the Native Village of Kluti-Kaah (NVKK) has received funding to develop a 20-year harvest plan for its biomass heat facility, which will be constructed and installed this summer.  Willard Hand, NVKK’s tribal administrator, said, “The biomass system will use approximately 100 cords of wood per year and will heat all of the buildings at the tribal office campus.” 

The Village is also in the design stage of a water infrastructure system that will supply homes and tribal offices with water.  Hand said he expects to have updates on the system in the fall.

Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment (WISE)
Robin Mayo, executive director at WISE, said paperwork for 20 acres of land near the confluence of the Tonsina and Copper Rivers was recently completed.  The land was donated to WISE by Ruth McHenry and Cliff Eames and is adjacent to 40 acres of land the pair donated in 2018, according to the Great Land Trust.

Amid a year of closures and cancellations, Mayo said WISE’s Zoom lecture series has been a silver lining.  She said WISE is working with Prince William Sound Community College to continue offering them online.  Upcoming lectures include:  Monitoring for Marine Invasives in Prince William Sound on April 23, Conserving “Our” Birds: Migratory Birds in Alaska on April 30, and Birding for Beginners on May 7.  

Visit www.wise-edu.org for more information and to register.

Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game (ADF&G)
Sport fish management biologist Mark Sommerville shared a dismal 2020 fishing report for the personal use fishery below the Chitina-McCarthy bridge and the subsistence fishery above it.  

Despite issuing a higher-than-normal number of permits for the personal use fishery - almost 7,000 - he said only about 4,500 were used.

“A lot of permits were issued but since the fishery turned out to be so lackluster overall, a lot of people didn’t come,” Sommerville said.

The personal use fishery saw a harvest of around 88,000 sockeye and 960 king salmon, which is the lowest harvest rate since 2008.  Additionally, total fishing hours were the lowest ever recorded.  This was a result of the fishery only being open for about 14,000 hours due to poor runs.  Sommerville said that is about half of normal and that the fishery was closed the entire month of August.

The subsistence fishery above the Chitina bridge saw a total sockeye harvest of about 50,000 and king salmon harvest of a little more than 3,000.  Around 2,000 permits were issued for that fishery and less than 1,000 were used.  

Of those permits, only 250 fish wheel permits were used, which Sommerville said is a new low for the subsistence fishery.  He pointed to the lack of fish wheel use, which is part of a 10-year decline and the most effective way to catch fish there, as the reason why the fishery’s sockeye harvest was the lowest it’s been since 1992.  

Sommerville said water conditions and lack of fish contributed to the overall poor turnout.

The pre-season schedule for the personal use fishery and daily sonar projections should be ready by the end of the month, and this year’s commercial fisheries forecast for the Copper River have been posted to the ADF&G website.  

The forecast estimates a run of 1.2 million sockeye and 35,000 king salmon, which Sommerville noted are both low projections.

“How the fisheries will turn out this year is still anybody’s guess but with all the variabilities we’ve seen and the conditions of the ocean in the last few years’ runs, we’ll be going into it with a cautious approach,” Sommerville said.

Heidi Hatcher, a Glennallen area biologist with ADF&G, said 2020 saw a successful fall hunting season in Unit 13.  

She said, “For the most part [moose] populations are stable, but we are seeing bull-cow ratios dropping in three out of five subunits.”  When the target bull-cow ratio is reached, she said it will affect how many bulls are allowed in the community hunt.  

Calf-cow ratios are also decreasing in some subunits.  Hatcher said when a population starts to meet and exceed the set objectives it becomes less productive and starts to decline.  To bring the population back down in those subunits and help make it more productive, she said predator control has been suspended and cow hunts will be implemented.

For the Nelchina caribou herd, Hatcher said neonatal survival was low in the spring and summer but that the calves that did survive were doing well in the fall.  Much of the herd overwintered in the Lake Louise/Crosswinds area, which she said hasn’t been done in a long time. 

Mild temperatures and their close proximity made for a successful winter hunt.  Hatcher said around 4,000 animals were harvested.

Aerial control for wolves was open in subunits 13A and B last year, and about 60 wolves have been harvested through that program.

Wildlife proposals for state regulations in unit 11 and unit 13 are being accepted through May 28.  

Copper Country Alliance (CCA)
Altum Minerals recently staked claims in the Tangle Lakes region, and Ruth McHenry of CCA said they will “continue to monitor the situation and look for ways to protect Tangle Lakes area wildlife.”  

Cliff Eames, also with CCA, said mineral exploration near Tangle Lakes has been ongoing for many decades.

“The newest claims are just the latest installment.  There has been exploration up there in the past by some of the largest mining companies in the world,” Eames said. “We don’t believe that large-scale industrial mining is compatible with the many resources and activities up there, including the Nelchina caribou herd.”

More information about the claims will be available on www.savetanglelakes.com soon.

CCA will be partnering with Kenny Lake Community League again this year for spring cleanup and is asking for pledges from residents to collect trash from both sides of the highway for about a quarter of a mile in each direction of their driveway.  

Free trash bags and truck transport to the landfill will be provided.  

Ahtna, Inc. Land Management Department
John Leonhart of the Ahtna, Inc. Land Management Department shared a variety of projects the department is working on this year, including:
- Expanding its Carnivore Stewardship program, which collects hair samples for DNA analysis.
- Working with the State and National Parks Service to start wolf population studies in unit 11. 
- Rehabilitating old log landings along the road in the Klutina area, which involves scraping an estimated three feet of woodchips up and repurposing them for various projects.
- Gathering data and specimens for an ethnobotany plant book that Ahtna, Inc. is creating. 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
BLM will continue to have limited staff in its office and follow protocol similar to last year’s for subsistence permitting.  Marnie Graham, Glennallen field manager, said to call the Glennallen office to set up a time to meet outside the physical office or to arrange for information to be mailed.  

Regarding the Thompson Pass land exchange, Graham said BLM has received around 100 scoping comments about it, and she understands people’s frustration with the lack of information on what land would be exchanged.  

The reason for that, she said, is because BLM isn’t proposing a land exchange, rather reviewing a planning effort to determine whether it’s appropriate to consider future exchanges of the subject land, located east of the hairpin turn where the Richardson Highway descends from Thompson Pass towards the Lowe River.

Then, when or if a land exchange proposal is received, there will be a plan in place that that proposal will need to be in conformance with.

Graham said once it has gone through secretarial review, they should have more information on the effort.

State Pipeline Coordination Office (SPCO)
Jodi Plikat with the SPCO said Alyeska Pipeline Service Company is doing an integrity investigation that will involve crossing the Trail of 1898.  She said one lane of the Richardson Highway near milepost 17.9 will  be closed and public access to the trail will be blocked from June to November. 

Plikat also informed attendees of a 100-cow, 400-mile cattle drive from Delta Junction to Palmer that is being planned for 2022 by Mugrage Hay & Cattle, located in Delta Junction.

She said the event’s organizers proposed using the TAPS right of way, and that a route is expected to be scoped this summer by those planning it.

According to the website www.greatalaskancattledrive.com, their mission is to “increase food security and advocate for sustainable Alaskan agriculture.”  Spots for the event are expected to open in December of this year.

National Park Service (NPS)
Joshua Scott, Chief of Lands and Planning, provided attendees with updates for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, including:
- Visitation is expected to be down for a second year in a row due to the lack of cruise ships coming to the state.
- Scientific research permits have been issued for research on the Malaspina Glacier and to fly LIDAR over approximately 400,000 acres in the Nabesna area. 
- NPS partnered with YukonU Research Centre to release an updated version of “An Ethnohistory of the Chisana River Basin.”  Scott said it discusses the historic use of the area. The new version is currently available online at https://www.nps.gov/wrst/learn/historyculture/an-ethnohistory-of-the-chisana-river-basin.htm, and will be available in print in the future.

Chitina Native Corporation (CNC)
CNC, the Native Village of Chitina (NVC), and Ahtna, Inc. have formed a joint task force to better protect culturally sensitive land in the O’Brien Creek, Eskilida Canyon, and Haley Creek area.  Ed Herndon, CEO of CNC, said the focus will be on increasing “Private Land” signage on Ahtna and NVC land.

He said it is “intended to inform travelers to respect and keep the area free of trash.” 

In collaboration with Chitina Electric, Alaska Energy Authority, and the USDA Denali Commission, CNC is working on plans for a hydro facility intended to replace two diesel generators currently relied upon.  

Herndon said conceptual designs of the five mile hydro project are in the works, and the project should take an estimated three years to complete. Construction is expected to begin later this year or early next year, and he said community outreach meetings will be held beforehand to answer any questions from residents.

Native Village of Tazlina (NVT)
Through a unique opportunity with the FCC intended to increase broadband access on tribal lands, the Native Village of Tazlina obtained a pre-license for an unassigned spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band.

Under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, federally recognized tribes were given a six-month priority window to bid on unassigned channels last year.  Marce Simeon, tribal administrator, said it is the first time the FCC has opened an opportunity like this to tribal entities.  

Simeon also said NVT continues its efforts to buy back more than 450 acres of its ancestral homeland from the Archdiocese of Alaska.  It recently launched a new website, www.tazlinahomelandrecovery.com, and needs to raise $150,000 in donations by this fall to secure grant funding that would make the purchase possible.

Division of Forestry (DOF)
The DOF, with help from the ADF&G and BLM, is planning a 53,000-acre prescribed burn in the Alphabet Hills area west of Lake Louise this summer.

Mike Trimmer, fire management officer, said the burn plan has been a work in progress since the ‘80s.  

He said summer conditions allowed them to complete a portion of the burn in 2004, and they’re hoping conditions will allow them to finish it this summer.

Marnie Graham with BLM said there will be an opportunity to comment on the proposed burn this spring.  

More information on the burn can be found by searching “Alphabet Hills” on www.adfg.alaska.gov. 

Ahtna Intertribal Resource Council (AITRC)
Earlier this year, the Federal Subsistence Board approved AITRC’s management of the community harvest system.  This allows AITRC to issue permits for federal hunts to members of the eight federally recognized tribes that make up its membership.  

Karen Linnell, executive director of AITRC, said while it simplifies the process, it doesn’t change anything in regard to eligibility.  

“You still must be federally qualified, show proof of residency, etc.  Seasons and bag limits are the same,” Linnell said.  “The only difference is instead of going to both BLM and NPS for a permit, you’ll be able to go to one location.”  

AITRC will hold its annual meeting April 23 and 24 in Gakona.

The Copper Valley Development Association is one of nine Alaska Regional Development Organizations established by the Department of Community and Regional Affairs under Alaska Administrative Code (3 AAC 57.090).  It is meant to connect people and organizations with state and federal agencies.  

By Amanda Swinehart

This article has been updated to correct an error in an earlier version.

Check out more related content!

Proposed Land Exchange in Thompson Pass

Opposition Mounts to Potential Thompson Pass Land Exchange

Kenny Lake Locals Donate Land for Conservation and Education

Native Village of Tazlina Works to Reclaim its Homeland