management unit 13: north alaska...

MANAGEMENT UNIT 13: NORTH ALASKA RANGE

BackgroundLocation and Land Ownership. This unitcomprises the upper watersheds of the riversthat drain north from the Alaska Range -- theBig River, Middle Fork, Windy Fork, andSouth Fork rivers. It is state-owned land ex-cept for some selected land along the SouthFork river, and Cook Inlet Region, Inc. landwest of the South Fork and south of Farewell.There are numerous parcels of private landswithin this subregion. Approximately 250parcels were staked within three past stateremote parcel offerings, and there are a dozenNative allotments and two federal trade andmanufacturing sites.

Resources and Land Use. Most of this areais mountainous, with rugged peaks rising toover 9,000 feet. Splitting the mountain rangesare broad, high valleys along the Big, WindyFork, Middle Fork, South Fork, Post, andHartman rivers. These valleys are covered byshort, open, white spruce and hardwoodforests. The lower mountain slopes are inshrub tundra; the upper elevations in alpinetundra, snow, and ice. The footslopes of therange on the northern perimeter of the unitgrade from shrub tundra into black sprucewoodlands.

The wooded valleys have moderate potentialfor settlement, and are very scenic. The alpinescenery also brings in a small number of riverrunners, climbers, and hikers, and will probab-ly attract more use in the future. Mineralpotential is moderate to high throughout themountains. This unit encompasses theFarewell mineral belt where concentrations oflead, silver, gold, zinc, rare earth elements,and other commodities exist. The mineral in-dustry continued to be interested in mineralexploration in this area. A number of miningclaims exist in this area, but none are activelymined at present. The Tonzona coal depositstretches along the northern boundary of theunit but lack of access makes coal extractionunlikely in the near future.

There are no communities within this unit,and these state lands receive relatively littlelocal use. Some residents of Stony River, Mc-Grath, and Nikolai hunt bear, caribou, andmoose in the upper valleys, and there is sometrapping in portions of the area. More com-mercial guiding for big game takes place inthis area than in any other unit in the planningarea. Fifteen registered guiding areas arewholly or partially within this unit and thereare pending applications for five guide sites.

Access. Access to this area is limited. Theprimary access is by small plane to gravel barsalong the major rivers, tundra landings, orlakes. There are private airstrips at FarewellLake, Rohn River, and White Mountain, andan unmaintained public strip at Farewell. Thenorthern edge of the unit can be reached byboat along the Big River and South Fork inhigh water. The Iditarod Race Trail crossesthe unit, and there are trails from Farewell toWhite Mountain, and along the Dillinger andPost rivers.

Management Intent_______The intent for this unit is to support continuedpublic use of game and recreation resources,and to provide opportunities for private andcommercial recreation. The alpine scenery,game, and fly-in access make lands in this unitvery attractive for private cabins, and forguided and individual hunting, floating, andclimbing trips. Four areas are designated forsettlement and may be offered for privateownership during the next twenty years. Thesettlement areas contain a total of about 7,000acres that could be offered for private owner-ship. Two areas will be open for widely dis-persed remote cabin permits. These offeringsare designed to concentrate private lands andcabins in and adjacent to past sale areas, or onthe periphery of the main public use areas tominimize impacts on guiding and publicrecreation. The great majority of the landarea will be retained in public ownership and

Management Unit 13: North Alaska Range 3-109

managed for multiple use with the emphasison wildlife habitat and harvest and publicrecreation. Retained lands will remain openfor mineral entry; disposal areas will be closedprior to sale. The unstaked portions of pastdisposal areas not available for further stak-ing will be reopened to mineral entry.

Subunit 13a - Post River

This subunit is nearly all state owned. Thelower part of the South Fork valley is stateselected. The Post River subunit includesmost of the high mountains in the North Alas-ka Range, and the valleys of the Middle Fork,Post River, and Hartman River, and most ofthe South Fork and Windy Fork valleys.There are permits for three trapping cabins inthis subunit and applications for five guidesites. Subunit 13a will be kept in public owner-ship for multiple use with emphasis onprotecting wildlife habitat; supporting con-tinued commercial, sport, and subsistence useof game resources; and public recreation.Lands in the Middle Fork drainage will beopen for remote cabin permits at a very lowdensity. These permits are intended to allowadditional individual private recreation siteswhile avoiding the core areas for commercialguiding operations. The southeastern bound-ary of this subunit borders Lake Clark Nation-al Park. The present boundary between thepark and state land is crossed twice by theStony River. The general management planfor the national park identifies some parklands in this area as suitable for land exchange.Exchange of land in the upper Stony Riverarea to clarify the park boundary would becompatible with the management intent forthis subunit.

The past Windy Fork and Mount Rich remoteparcel areas are within this subunit (see Map2.3). Nineteen parcels were staked in WindyFork, along the river and around the largerlakes. Sixty-four people staked in MountRich, along the Hartman and South Forkrivers and a large lake. Suitable land for set-tlement in these areas is limited to narrowstrips near the rivers. Because there is littlesuitable land left unstaked, these areas will notbe offered for additional staking. There wereno entries on large, steep or inaccessible por-

tions of the past disposals. Unstaked areaswill be reopened to mineral entry. The por-tion of 13a in T24N R30W S.M. sections 1-4and 9-11 was included in the originalBig Riverdisposal, and closed to mineral entry. Theselands have high mineral potential and will bereopened to new mineral entry.

Subunit 13b - Big River Disposal

This subunit was opened to staking of remoteparcels in 1982. One hundred seventy parcelswere staked during that opening. The stak-ings comprise less than 5 percent of the landwithin the disposal area, and few parcels havebeen developed. The Big River valley has ex-tensive open white spruce cover, pretty moun-tain views, and relatively good fly-in access toriver bars and lakes. Following the close ofthe ten-year lease period on the initial stak-ings, a limited amount of land will be madeavailable for additional stakings. The totalnumber of stakings from the past plus the fu-ture offering will be limited to 200 parcels. Ifall previously staked parcels are surveyed andpatented, 30 additional stakings will be al-lowed, or a total of 1,200 acres if all entrantsstake the allowed maximum of 40 acres. Ifsome previous stakings are terminated orrelinquished, additional new stakings equal tothe number of those terminated or relin-quished will be allowed. The portion of theoriginal Big River disposal area in T24NR30W S.M. sections 1-4 and 9-11 is includedin subunit 13 a and will not be reoffered for set-tlement because of high mineral potential.

Subunit 13c - Big River South

This subunit is adjacent to the past Big Riverdisposal. It is high rolling country covered byopen white spruce forest. Lakes provide fly-in access. Approximately 1,400 acres will bemade available for private ownership. Landofferings in this area may be held jointly withthe Big River (13a) reoffering.

Subunit 13d - Mount Rich Addition

Subunit 13d is adjacent to the past MountRich remote parcel area. This is high, openforest country in the upper South Fork valley.Access is by plane to gravel bars in the Mount

3-110 Management Unit 13: Nouth Alaska Range

Rich area or downriver. Approximately 2,100acres will be made available for private owner-ship in this subunit. There is one existing trap-ping cabin permit in this subunit.

Subunit 13e - Dillinger River

This subunit is on the northern footslopes ofthe Alaska Range along the Dillinger, Jones,and South Fork rivers. There is fly-in accessto gravel bars along the South Fork and pos-sible tundra landing areas within the disposalboundaries. Open hardwood forests on somesouth-facing slopes and open white spruceforests along the South Fork River offer somegood cabin sites. One trapping cabin permiton the South Fork has been issued in this sub-unit. Approximately 4,600 acres will be of-fered for private ownership.

Subunit 13f- Hinterlands

Three blocks of state land with low surfaceresource values and little public access makeup the Hinterlands. Included are some of theupper elevations of the Big River drainageand glaciers in the southcentral part of theNorth Alaska Range. These lands will be keptin state ownership and available for generaluse.

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:

Cultural resourcesFish and wildlife habitatLakeshore managementPublic and commercial recreation resourcesRemote cabins and trapping cabinsSettlementStream corridorsTrail managementWetlands management

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

General

Grazing. Grazing leases or permits generallywill not be allowed in some areas because oftheir importance as moose winter range,caribou calving areas, and Dall sheep habitat(Map 2.1). Temporary passage of livestock isnot prohibited through these areas to reachareas where grazing is permitted. Grazingmay be allowed in portions of these areas ifconsistent with the guidelines in Chapter 2("Grazing on Important Habitat Lands").

Grazing is prohibited in the unit except in thefollowing areas. All townships are in theSeward Meridian:

T24N R30WT24N R29WT23N R30WT23N R29WT22N R30WT22N R29WT21N R30WT21N R29WT21N R28WT20N R30WT20N R29WT20N R28WT29N R23WT29N R22W sec. 1-11 and 15-20T30N.R21W sec. 1-3; 10,11, 19-21, 29, 30

&31

Subunit 13a - Post River

Remote Cabin Permit Areas. Parts of this sub-unit is within the Styx River, Middle Fork, andTonzona-South Fork blocks of the AlaskaRange remote cabin permit area. Boundariesof the area open for remote cabin permits areshown on Map 2.2. Parts of subunits 2c, 2d,3a, 3b, 4a, and 4b are also within this block. Atotal of nine remote cabin permits will be al-lowed in the Styx River block, three in theMiddle Fork block, and 19 in the Tonzona-South Fork block, with a maximum of oneremote cabin permit allowed in any onetownship.

Management Unit 13: Nouth Alaska Range 3-111

Subunit 13b - Big River Disposal

Net Sale Area in Reoffering. The lease periodfor past stakings in the Big River remote par-cel area will elapse in 1992. Following theclose of this period, the Big River area will beavailable for additional staking. The totalnumber of parcels allowed from the past plusthe future offering will be 200 parcels. Thereoffering will include thirty new parcels plusadditional stakings equal to the number ofpast stakings terminated or relinquished. Thetotal acreage available in the reoffering will be40 acres times the number of parcels available.If the minimum of thirty parcels are offered,the net acreage would be 1,200 acres.

Subunits 13b and 13c - Big RiverDisposal and Big River South

Disposal Design. Lake 1594' is on the bound-ary of the past Big River disposal and the fu-ture Big River South offering. Most of thelake is within the past disposal and itsshoreline completely surrounded by stakings.The portion of the lakeshore within subunit13c will be retained in public ownership toprotect public access to the lake, and publicrecreation opportunities. In addition, if anyof the past stakings on the lakeshore in sub-unit 13b are relinquished or terminated,public access sites and recreation sites on thelake will be identified and kept in publicownership prior to reoffering of the Big Riverdisposal. Prior to the reoffering, the Big Riverarea also will be reviewed to determinewhether portions of the area are so denselystaked that they should be closed to addition-al staking. A 100-foot corridor will beretained in public ownership on each side ofthe Big River to protect public access and op-portunities for recreational use of theshoreline. Lakes on which floatplanes canland will be subject to Chapter 2 guidelines re-

quiring public retention of at least 50 percentof the lakeshore. These lakes are importantfor public access and public recreation.

Subunit 13d - Mount Rich Addition

Disposal Design. In order to protect publicaccess, public recreation opportunities, andriparian habitat, a 200-foot corridor will beretained in public ownership on the east bankof the South Fork River; due to steeper ter-rain on the west side of the river, the publiclyretained corridor on the west bank will be 100feet.

Subunit 13e - Dillinger River

Instream Flow and Disposal Design. TheJones River flows through the southwesternportion of the proposed Dillinger River landdisposal. The river supports a small andpotentially sensitive run of king salmon. If thedisposal results in significant private develop-ments dependent on river water (e.g., small-scale hydropower), an instream flow studyshould be done to determine the flow levelsneeded to protect the king salmon population.A 200-foot staking setback will be required onthe Jones and Dillinger rivers to protect theshores of the anadromous stream and guaran-tee the shoreline will be available for publicuse. A 100-foot staking setback will be re-quired on the South Fork to protect public ac-cess and opportunities for public recreationalong the river bank. Lakes on whichfloatplanes can land are important for publicaccess and recreation. Lakes identified asfloatplane lakes at the time of disposal designwill be subject to Chapter 2 guidelines requir-ing public retention of at least 50 percent ofthe lakeshore.

3-112 Management Unit 13: Nouth Alaska Range

RESOURCE INFORMATION SUMMARYManagement Unit 13 - North Alaska Range

Resource

Agriculture

Energy

13a

Unsuited

Moderate to high coal

13bSubunit

13c

Unsuited Unsuited

Moderate coal potential —

13d

Unsuited

Rsh

Forestry

Grazing

Historic/cultural

Materials

Minerals

Oil & gas

Public access

Recreation

Settlementsuitability

Wildlife

Important trails

along NW perimeter

Windy Fork, Sheep Cr.,South Fork, Post R.:resident fish

Most unsuited, some lowpotential in valleys;personal use in Mt. Richarea

High potential inperimeter of subunit& upper S. Fork valley

Unknown

in T24N R30W

Big R.: salmonand resident fish

Open forests indisposal importantfor personal use

High potential

Unknown

Low potential

Moderate to highpotential, some claims

Low potential

Variable potential,one claimmining

Northern perimeter in UnknownMinchumina sedimentarybasin

Plane to gravel bars,lakes, unmaintainedstrips, & naturallanding areas; boat onS. Fork in some seasons

Plane to gravel barsand lakes

None documented


High potential

Unknown

Low potential

Low potential

Unknown

Plane to lakes

None documented


High potential

Unknown

Low potential

Low potential

Unknown

Plane to gravel bars

Moderate use andpotential

Most unsuited, somelow to moderate invalleys


Moderate


Mostly moderate,some low


Mixed moderate andlow

B-1; bear, cariboucalving in parts, sheep;moose winter range atlower elevations

Iditarod Race Trail,Farewell-White Mt.trail, Dillinger R.trail, Post R. trail

Mostly B-1; some A-1 &B-2; bear, caribou,moose, ducks

Farewell-White Mt.trail

B-1/B-2; bear, B-1; bear, caribou,caribou, moose, ducks moose; sheep at upper

elevations

None identified Iditarod Race Trail

See glossary for definition of ratings.


RESOURCE INFORMATION SUMMARYManagement Unit 13 - North Alaska Range, cont.

Resource Subunit13e 13f

Agriculture

Energy

Rsh

Forestry

Grazing

Historic/cultural

Materials

Minerals

Oil & gas

Public access

Recreation

Settlementsuitability

Wildlife

Unsuited

Low coal potential

Jones Ft.: smallsalmon run

Some open hardwoodforest in disposalimportant for personaluse

High potential

Unknown

Low potential

Low potential

In Minchuminasedimentary basin

Plane to gravel barsnear subunit


Some moderate; mostunsuited

B-1/C; moose winterrange, bear

Unsuited

Moderate coal potential inT24n R30W, rest very low

None documented

Most unsuited; some open forestin W block important for personaluse in adjacent disposals

East block unsuited,rest high potential

Unknown

Low potential

Very high potential in T24NR30W; rest very low to moderate

Unknown

Plane to unmaintainedairstrips in western block

Moderate potential

Most unsuited; low in W block

B-2; bear, caribou

Important trails Dillinger R. trail

See glossary for definition of ratings.


LAND-USE DESIGNATION SUMMARYMANAGEMENT UNIT 13 - NORTH ALASKA RANGE

LANDSUBUNIT OWNERSHIP

PrimarySurface Uses

LAND USE DESIGNATIONSSecondarySurface Uses

ProhibitedSurface Usesa

COMMENTS

Subsurfaceb

I3a Most state, Public recreation Remote cabins In Grazing In part Open except Includes pastPost River some state Wildlife habitat part of subunit ofsubunrt along staked Windy Fork &

Land disposals areas of past Mt. Rich disposalsRemote cabins in disposalspart of subunit

13b State/private SettlementBig RiverDisposal

13c State SettlementBig RiverSouth

13d State SettlementMt. RichAddition

13e State SettlementDillingerRiver

13f State General use:Hinterlands low resource

values

ForestryPublic recreationWildlife habitat




Grazing In part Closedof subunitRemote cabinsTrapping cabins

Grazing in part Closed priorof subunit to saleRemote cabinsTrapping cabinsafter sale isscheduled

Grazing in part Closed priorof subunit to saleRemote cabinsTrapping cabinsafter sale isscheduled

Grazing in part Closed priorof subunit to saleRemote cabinsTrapping cabinsafter sale Isscheduled

Land disposals OpenRemote cabins

Past disposal; seeguidelines foradditional salearea.

Net sale area =1 ,400 acres

Net sale area =2, 100 acres

Net sale area =4,600 acres

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.3-116 Management Unit 13: Nouth Alaska Range

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13: NorthAlaska Range

NoPattern

\ \ \ \

Management Unit BoundarySubunit Boundary

State Owned

State Selected

Native Owned

Native Selected

Federal

—•— Trails on public lands

Map shows approximate location oft ra i ls across state land.Portions of trai ls may cross private lands

Location Map

G.S.G.S. Quads:McGrathLime Hills

Map Scale:1:500,000


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