SB 230: "An Act providing that state land, water, and land and water may not be classified so as to preclude or restrict traditional means of access for traditional recreational uses."
00SENATE BILL NO. 230 01 "An Act providing that state land, water, and land and water may not be 02 classified so as to preclude or restrict traditional means of access for traditional 03 recreational uses." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 38.05.300(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) Subject to the limitations of this section, the [THE] commissioner shall 07 classify for surface use land in areas considered necessary and proper. This section 08 does not prevent reclassification of land where the public interest warrants 09 reclassification, nor does it preclude multiple purpose use of land whenever different 10 uses are compatible. If the area involved contains more than 640 contiguous acres, 11 state land, water, or land and water area may not, except by act of the state legislature, 12 (1) be closed to multiple purpose use, or (2) be otherwise classified by the 13 commissioner so that mining, mineral entry or location, mineral prospecting, or mineral 14 leasing is precluded or is designated an incompatible use, except when the
01 classification is necessary for a land disposal or exchange or is for the development 02 of utility or transportation corridors or projects or similar projects or infrastructure, or 03 except as allowed under (c) of this section. 04 * Sec. 2. AS 38.05.300 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 05 (d) The commissioner may not classify state land, water, or land and water so 06 that a traditional means of access for traditional recreational activities is restricted for 07 the purpose of protecting intrinsic values of the land or water or prohibited unless the 08 restriction or prohibition is 09 (1) temporary in nature and effective cumulatively less than eight 10 months in a three-year period; or 11 (2) authorized by act of the legislature. 12 (e) In (d) of this section, 13 (1) "intrinsic values" means those values that inherently exist in nature 14 or in an object, without manipulation by humans; 15 (2) "traditional means of access" means those types of transportation 16 on, to, or in the state land, water, or land and water, for which a popular pattern of use 17 has developed; the term includes flying, ballooning, boating, snowmachining, operation 18 of all-terrain vehicles, mushing, skiing, snowshoeing, and walking; 19 (3) "traditional recreational activities" means those types of activities 20 that people may utilize for sport, exercise, subsistence, or personal enjoyment, 21 including hunting, fishing, trapping, or gathering, and that have historically been 22 conducted as part of an individual, family, or community life pattern on or in the state 23 land, water, or land and water.