MANAGEMENT UNIT 10: GEORGE RIVER

BackgroundLocation and Land Use. The George Rivermanagement unit comprises lands north andwest of the Kuskokwim River from Aniak tothe confluence of the Tatlawiksuk River. It in-cludes the watersheds of the Owhat, Kol-makof, and George rivers, and Crooked,Inowa, and Moose Creeks. The southernboundary of the unit is the north bank of theKuskokwim River. Most of the uplands in theGeorge River unit are federally owned; mostof the riparian lands along the Kuskokwim areowned or selected by the Native corporations.State lands are limited to three small selec-tions just north of the Kuskokwim River be-tween Chuathbaluk and Crooked Creek.There are over eighty parcels of private landwithin this unit, mostly Native allotmentsalong the Kuskokwim River and the lowerreaches of its major tributaries.

Resources and Land Use. The landscape isdominated by the Kuskokwim Mountains,which rise to elevations of 2000 to 3000 feet.Black spruce woodlands cover most of the val-ley floors and lower hillslopes, with shrubs andalpine tundra at upper elevations. There arefew white spruce and hardwood forests; theyare limited to scattered pockets on south-facing slopes and along portions of the Kus-kokwim River and its major tributaries.

The villages of Chuathbaluk and CrookedCreek, and the seasonal communities atNapaimiut and Flat are within this unit.While the subsistence harvest in this unit isless intensive than in drainages south of theKuskokwim River, residents of CrookedCreek and Chuathbaluk, and to a lesser extentAniak, Red Devil, and Tuluksak, conductmany harvest activities here. Moose arehunted along the Kuskokwim River, CrookedCreek, and the George River. Trapping iswidespread in the Crooked Creek and GeorgeRiver drainages. Bear are hunted along theKuskokwim River and its tributaries, andcaribou are hunted in the Horn and RussianMountains. There is active placer mining in

the Flat-Iditarod, Crooked Creek, GraniteCreek, and Moore Creek areas.

Access. Access to most of these lands islimited to tundra landing areas for smallplanes, and strips established adjacent to min-ing areas. Public airstrips are located atChuathbaluk, Flat, and Crooked Creek, andthere is a private airstrip at Granite Creek.Numerous trails cross the area, especially thenortheastern portion of the unit, along riversand between mining areas. Most of thesetrails, including portions of the Iditarod Na-tional Historic Trail System, were establishedto provide access to mines. The KuskokwimRiver is used for both transportation andrecreational boating.

Management Intent_______The state-owned and state-selected lands inthis management unit will generally beretained in state ownership and managed formultiple use, with emphasis on mining,habitat, and recreation. Nearly all of thismanagement unit will remain open to mineralentry. However, to protect important salmonpopulations, spawning beds in known mineral-ized areas along the upper George River willbe closed. Rearing areas in known mineral-ized areas along the George River and itstributaries will be subject to leasehold locationrequirements. Lands along the river aremostly in Native ownership. However, thebed of the Kuskokwim and other navigablewaters such as the George River, CrookedCreek, Owhat River, Kolmakof River, andMoose Creek are state owned and subject tothe guidelines of this plan.

Subunit 10a - Napaimiut Selections

The central and eastern blocks of land in sub-unit lOa will be retained in public ownershipand managed for multiple use with emphasison fish and wildlife habitat and harvest and

Management Unit 10: George River 3-87

public recreation along the Kuskokwim River.

Subunit I0b - Horn Mountains - UpperGeorge River

These lands are recommended for state selec-tion because of their mineral potential. Theyare within a recently reactivated mining dis-trict, and have high potential for placer golddeposits and lode deposits of gold, silver, tin,bismuth, copper, zinc, and antimony. Thereare also high habitat values, particularly formoose, on the riparian lands along the Owhat,Kolmakof, and George rivers, and Crookedand Big Waldren creeks. The proposed selec-tions in the George River and Flat areas areadjacent to other state-owned lands. If con-veyed to the state they should be retained inpublic ownership and managed for multipleuse including mining and wildlife habitat andharvest.

Nearly all the state land in this subunit is opento new mineral entry. However, because oftheir importance for salmon spawning andking salmon rearing, the beds of portions ofthe upper George River and the East Fork ofthe George River in the northeastern block ofsubunit l0b will be closed. Additional stream-beds and uplands along the George River,Willow Creek, Granite Creek, Julian Creek,an unnamed tributary of Granite Creek, andtwo unnamed tributaries of the George Riverwill be closed to mineral entry or subject toleasehold location requirements if land nowmanaged by BLM is selected and conveyedinto state ownership.

Management Guidelines____The complete set of areawide managementguidelines is presented in Chapter 2. Any ofthe guidelines could apply to uses within thismanagement unit; however, guidelines thatare most likely to apply are as listed below:

Fish and wildlife habitatPublic accessSubsurface resources

Guidelines specific to this management unitare listed by subunit in the following section.

Subunit 10b - Upper George River - andNavigable Waters

Mineral Closure and Leasehold Location.The beds of the George River in T25N R43W,T25N R44W, and T24N R44W S.M. are stateowned and closed to mineral entry to protectimportant salmon spawning and king salmonrearing habitat. Adjacent uplands are cur-rently managed by BLM and are open tomineral entry. Uplands are proposed for stateselection. If conveyed to the state, uplandswithin 200 feet of the high water mark will besubject to leasehold location requirements.

The beds of the George River in T24N R45WS.M. and the East Fork of the George Riverin T24N R44W S.M. are state owned and areclosed to new mineral entry to protect salmonspawning and king salmon rearing habitat.Adjacent uplands are managed by BLM, arenot proposed for state selection, and willremain open to mineral entry.

The beds uplands along Willow Creek in T26NR42W S.M., and Granite Creek and its un-named tributary in T26N R41W S.M. sections11, 12, 14, and 15 are currently managed byBLM and are open to mineral entry. If con-veyed to the state, the streambeds will beclosed to new mineral entry to protect salmonrearing habitat.

The beds and adjacent uplands of JulianCreek and two unnamed tributaries in T24NR44WS.M. (one unnamed creek is in sections5, 6, and 8 and the other unnamed cree is insections 7, 17 and 21) are currently managedby BLM and open to mineral entry. Theselands are proposed for state selection. If theyare conveyed to state ownership the stream-beds will be closed to new mineral entry anduplands within 200 feet of the high water markwill be subject to leasehold location require-ments in order to protect salmon spawningand rearing habitat.

The boundaries of the closure and leaseholdlocation areas are described in Appendix H.

3-88 Management Unit 10: George River

Lease stipulations for leasehold location areasare listed in the Mining section of Chapter 2.

Access Needs. If selected lands in this subunitare conveyed to the state, legal access to theKuskokwim River may be needed. Until theland is surveyed, it is unclear whether statelands have river frontage. If there is no stateland on the river, access may need to be estab-lished through T19N R50W S.M. sections 19and 20.

Management Unit 10: George River 3-89

RESOURCE INFORMATION SUMMARYManagement Unit 10 - George River

Resource Subunit10a 10b

Agriculture

Energy

Forestry

Grazing

Historic/cultural

Unsuited

—

Kuskokwim River:salmon & residentfish

Unsuited

High potential

High potentialalong Kuskokwim R.

Unsuited

—

Iditarod R., George R.& tributaries, salmon &resident fish

Personal use near Flat

High potential; past grazingin Horn Mtns.

Known historic sitesat Flat

Materials

Minerals

Oil & gas

Public access

Recreation

Settlementsuitability

Wildlife

Important trails

Potential sitesalong Kuskokwim R.

Moderate to highsome claims

Unknown

Boat on Kuskokwim tolimited areas

Moderate on KuskokwimRiver, rest low orunknown

Low along river, restunsuited

Most A-2, some B-1;Bear, moose,waterfowl

None identifiedtrail, Owhat-lditarod R.trail, Michigan Cr.trail

Unsuited

High potential,some claims & activemining

Unknown

Boat on Kuskokwim toone point; tundra landingsand mining airstrips

Unknown

High along Iditarod, restlow to unsuited

Most C, some A-2 & B-1;Bear, moose,ducks

George R. trail, Sute Cr.,numerous trails near Rat

See glossary for definition of ratings.

Management Unit 10: George River 3-91

LAND-USE DESIGNATION SUMMARYMANAGEMENT UNIT 10 - GEORGE RIVER

LANDSUBUNIT OWNERSHIP

10a State & stateNapaimiut selectedSelections

10b Most federal,Horn Mts.- small partUpper Native select.George River

LAND USE DESIGNATIONSPrimary Secondary ProhibitedSurface Uses Surface Uses Surface Usesa

Public recreation Land disposalsWildlife habitat Remote cabins

Minerals Public recreation Land disposalsWildlife habitat Remote cabins

COMMENTS

Subsurfaceb

Open

Open except Proposed for statebed of part selectionof George R.;additionalareas closedto mineralentry and sub-ject to lease-hold locationrequirementscontingent onconveyance tostate owner-ship.

aOther uses such as material sales, land leases, or permits that are not specifically prohibited may beallowed. Such uses will be allowed if consistent with the management-intent statement, the managementguidelines of this unit, and the relevant management guidelines listed in Chapter 2. Grazing may be allowed inportions of closed units when consistent with the guideline in Chapter 2 (Grazing on Important Habitat Lands).

bAll areas are available for leasing for leasable minerals. Statements of whether or not the unit Is open tomineral entry refer only to locatable minerals.3-92 Management Unit 10: George River

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

NoPattern

Management Unit BoundarySubunit Boundary

State Owned

State Selected

Native Owned

Native Selected

Location Map10: George River

TTTI Federal

Proposed State Selections

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Management Unit 10: George River 3-93