MANAGEMENT UNIT 12: SOUTH ALASKA RANGE

BackgroundLocation and Land Ownership. The SouthAlaska Range comprises the upper water-sheds of the rivers draining south and westfrom the Alaska Range and the Lyman Hills -- the Cheeneetnuk, Gagaryah, Babel, Swift,and Stony rivers. Most of the unit is stateowned; the western extension of the unit be-tween the Cheeneetnuk and Swift rivers is infederal ownership. A Native allotment on theNorth Fork Swift River is the only knownprivate parcel in the unit.

Resources and Land Use. Most of the unitis mountainous. The Revelation Mountains,in the eastern half are some of the mostrugged terrain in the Alaska Range. This partof the planning area is virtually all alpinetundra. The western half is open white spruceand hardwood forests in the valleys of theCheeneetnuk and Gagaryah rivers, and shrubtundra on the upper slopes of the Lyman Hills.Suitability for settlement and forest manage-ment is low in most of the area, but the openforests of the upper Gagaryah valley havemoderate suitability for settlement. A fewhikers and climbers visit the Revelation.Mountains, and the alpine scenery and thedramatic peaks of this area are likely to attractmore in the future. There is one existing guidefacility in this area and four more sites havebeen applied for. Mineral potential ismoderate in upland areas, although there arepresently no producing mines. A mercurymine was operated at White Mountain in thepast and the White Mountain claims are ac-tively maintained. The northern edge of theunit falls within the coal belt that follows thenorth edge of the Alaska Range. Coal isknown to be present, but inaccessibility makesdevelopment unlikely in the near future.

There are no communities in this unit, and itreceives relatively little local use. Residentsof Sleetmute, Stony River, and Lime Villagemake some use of these lands for trapping andhunting for caribou, moose, bear, and sheep.The game resources have brought in many

commercial guides: portions often registeredguiding areas are within this unit. It is alsoused for unguided sport hunting.

Access. Access to this area is limited. Anumber of lakes on the western and centralportions of the unit provide fly-in access.There are some natural landing areas in theGagaryah valley, an airstrip in the upper StonyRiver valley, and a trail along the Stony River.

Management Intent_______State lands in this unit will be retained in stateownership and managed to support continuedcommercial, sport, and subsistence use of thegame, and public recreation. One area in theupper Gagaryah Valley that has moderate set-tlement suitability will be reconsidered forpossible sale when this plan is updated. Op-portunities for private recreation use of statelands in this unit will be allowed under remotecabin permits.

State lands in this subunit will remain open tomineral entry. To protect important salmonpopulations, salmon spawning and rearingbeds in known mineralized areas in the head-waters of the Babel, Stony, Cheeneetnuk, andSwift rivers will be closed.

Subunit 12a - RevelationMountains-Swift Valleys

This subunit contains three blocks of stateland in the rugged Revelation Mountains andthe high valleys of the Swift River tributaries-- the Cheeneetnuk, Babel, and North ForkSwift rivers. These lands will be retained instate ownership and managed for multiple usewith emphasis on wildlife habitat and harvest,guiding, and public recreation. A portion ofthe unit will be open for remote cabin permits.One permit for a guide site has been issued,and four others have been applied for in thisunit. One trapping cabin permit has been is-sued in the southeastern portion of this sub-

Management Unit 12: South Alaska Range 3-101

unit. Nearly all the state land in this subunitis open to mineral entry. However, becauseof their importance for salmon spawning andrearing, the beds of several tributaries to theBabel River, Cheeneetnuk River, and StonyRiver will be closed. Uplands along the closedstreams in the Stony and Cheeneetnukdrainages will be subject to leasehold locationrequirements to ensure compatibility of min-ing with salmon spawning and king salmonrearing areas. Part of this subunit will be op ento remote cabin permits. The southernboundary of this subunit borders Lake ClarkNational Park. The present boundary be-tween the park and the state land is crossedtwice by the Stony River. The generalmanagement plan for the national park iden-tifies some park lands in this area as suitablefor exchange. Exchange of lands in the upperStony River area to clarify the park boundarywould be compatible with the management in-tent for this subunit.

Subunit 12b - Gagaryah

This state-owned subunit is in the rolling ter-rain of the upper Gagaryah valley. Openforests, game, the clearwater river, alpinescenery, and a fly-in lake make this area veryattractive for private recreational use. Thescenery and access also give this area poten-tial for increased public or commercial recrea-tional use in the long term. There is also somecurrent use of this area for hunting. There-fore, this subunit will be retained in stateownership in the near term and managed forgeneral use. When the plan is updated, thisparcel will be reevaluated to determinewhether it should be kept in public ownershipfor the long term or offered for sale. This sub-unit contains approximately 3,700 acres thatare suitable for settlement.

Subunit 12c - Hinterlands

The hinterlands comprise three blocks of landin the Lyman Hills and the upper Gagaryahand Babel valleys. They are lands with littleaccess and low surface values. One trappingcabin permit has been applied for in theRevelation Mountains in this subunit. Theselands will be retained in state ownership andmanaged for general multiple use. Part of this

subunit will be open to remote cabin permits.Nearly all state lands in this subunit are opento mineral entry. However, because of theirimportance for salmon spawning and rearing,the beds of some of the tributaries of theCheeneetnuk River will be closed. Uplandsalong these streams will be subject toleasehold location requirements to ensurecompatibility of mining with salmon spawningand king salmon rearing areas.

Management Guidelines____The complete set of areawide guidelines ispresented in Chapter 2. Any of the guidelinescould apply to uses within this managementunit. Those most likely to apply are listedbelow:

Fish and wildlife habitatPublic and commercial recreationRemote cabinsSettlementLakeshore managementStream corridors

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

Subunit 12a and 12b- RevelationMountains-Swift Valleys and Gagaryah

Grazing. Grazing leases or permits generallywill not be allowed in the following areas be-cause of their importance as moose winterrange and Dall sheep habitat (Map 2.1). Tem-porary passage is not prohibited through theseareas for travel between areas to reach areaswhere grazing is permitted. Grazing may beallowed in portions of these areas if consistentwith the guideline in Chapter 2 ("Grazing onImportant Habitat Lands"). All townships arein the Seward Meridian.

T22N R33W sec. 22-23, 26-28, and 31-34T20N R28W and R29WT19N R26W through R29W; R30W sec. 36T18N R24W through R29W; R30W sec. 1,

12-13,24-25, and 36T17N R24W through R28W

3-102 Management Unit 12: South Alaska Range

T16N R24W through R28WT15N R24W through R27W; R28W sec. 1-

12T14N R25W and R26W; R27W sec. 1-3, ID-

15, 22-27, and 34-36; R28Wsec. 19-20 and29-32

T13N R28W sec. 6-7, 17-23, and 27-31T12N R28W sec. 6-9, 13-20, and 20-32.

Subunits 12a and 12c - RevelationMountains-Swift River & Hinterlands

Mineral Closures and Leasehold LocationAreas. Beds of the portions of the tributariesto the Babel, Cheeneetnuk, and Stony riversshown on Map 2.4 will be closed to newmineral entry to protect important salmonspawning and rearing areas. Lands within 200feet of the ordinary high water mark of thesegments of these streams used for salmonspawning or king salmon rearing will be sub-ject to leasehold location requirements.Streams closed or subject to leasehold loca-tion are listed in Appendix H. Lease stipula-tions for leasehold location areas are listed inthe Mining section of Chapter 2.

Remote Cabin Permit Areas. Parts of thesesubunits are within the Little Underhill andUpper Cheeneetnuk blocks of the AlaskaRange remote cabin permit area. Boundariesof the area open for remote cabin permits are

shown on Map 2.2. Parts of subunits 11a, 11b,14c, and 14d are also within this block. A totalof nineteen remote cabin permits will be al-lowed in the Little Underhill block and four inthe Upper Cheeneetnuk block, with a maxi-mum of one remote cabin permit allowed inany one township. Fifty-foot building set-backs will be required from the ordinary highwater mark of Kristin Creek, Little UnderhillCreek, the Cheeneetnuk River, and the un-named tributary to the Cheeneetnuk River inT23N R31W S.M. identified as ananadromous stream in the ADF&G catalog ofanadromous waters.

Subunit 12b - Gagaryah

Gagaryah River Instream Flow. The upperGagaryah River flows through this subunit.Downstream segments of the river are impor-tant for coho spawning. When the plan is up-dated, this subunit will be reevaluated todetermine whether it should be kept in publicownership in the long term or offered for sale.If the subunit is reclassified for settlement andthe disposal design results in significantprivate developments dependent on riverwater (e.g., small-scale hydropower), an in-stream flow study should be done to deter-mine the flow levels needed to protect thecoho spawning areas.

Management Unit 12: South Alaska Range 3-103

RESOURCE INFORMATION SUMMARYManagement Unit 12 - South Alaska Range

Resource12a

Subunit12b 12c

Agriculture

Energy

Rsh

Forestry

Grazing

Recreation

Unsuited

Moderate to high coalpotential in northernedge of subunit

Unsuited

Moderate to high coalpotential in northernedge of subunit

Cheeneetnuk & Gagaryah:Gagaryah R.: salmonsalmon & resident fish; & resident fish; BabelLittle Underhill: R.: salmonresident fish

Unsuited

Cheeneetnuk: salmon &resident fish; ShoeleatherCr.: resident fish

Most unsuited; some low Some high potential for Low potential topotential personal use within unsuited

disposal

Most unsuited; highpotential in northernblock

High potential

landing areas & lakes landing areas & lakes

Moderate use and Moderate use and

Settlement Most unsuited, some Moderate to lowsuitability low

Wildlife Mostly B-1, some A-2& B-1/B-2; bear, mooseB-2; moose winter range& Dall sheep in E half;

High potential

Historic/cultural

Materials

Minerals

Oil & gas

Public access

Low potential

Unsuited

East half moderatepotential, west halflow potential

Unknown

Plane to natural

Low potential

Unsuited

Low potential

Unknown

Plane to natural

Low potential

Unsuited

Low to moderatepotential

Unknown

None developed

Important trails Stony River trail None identified

Moderate potential

Low to unsuited

B-2; bear, caribou, moose

None identified

See glossary for definition of ratings.

Management Unit 12: South Alaska Range 3-105

LAND-USE DESIGNATION SUMMARYMANAGEMENT UNIT 12 - SOUTH ALASKA RANGE

SUBUNITLANDOWNERSHIP LAND USE DESIGNATIONS

PrimarySurface Uses

SecondarySurface Uses

ProhibitedSurface Usesa

COMMENTS

Subsurfaceb

12a StateRevelationMts. -SwiftRiver

12b StateGagaryah

12c StateHinterlands

Public recreationWildlife habitat

Resource mgmt.

General use:low resourcevalues

Remote cabins Inpart of subunit

Public recreationWildlife habitat

Remote cabins Inpart of subunit

Grazing In partof subunitLand disposalsRemote cabins inpart of subunit

Land disposalsRemote cabinsGrazing In partof subunit

Land disposalsRemote cabins Inpart of subunit

Open exceptalong somestreams

Open

Open exceptalong somestreams

Reconsider forsales when planis updated

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 beatable minerals.3-106 Management Unit 12: South Alaska Range

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Lime Villag__ -^ A - IT - • ^J

12: SouthAlaska Range

Management Unit BoundarySubunit Boundary

State Owned

State Selected

Native Owned

Native Selected

Federal

— Trails on public landsMap shows approximate location of easementsto state land and trai ls across state land.Portions of trails may cross private lands.

Location Map

CJ.S.G.S. QuadsMcGrathLime Hills

Map Scale:1:500,000

Management Unit 12: South Alaska Range 3-107