CSHB 37(RES): "An Act relating to voluntary land trades and purchases to enhance public access to fishing streams."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 37(RES) 01 "An Act relating to voluntary land trades and purchases to enhance public access to 02 fishing streams." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The legislature finds that 07 (1) it is in the interest of private property owners to prevent the involuntary 08 taking of private property and to sell or trade property rights only when the sale or trade is 09 voluntary; 10 (2) the state has some of the most vibrant fishing streams in the world; 11 (3) the waters of the state are home to trophy salmon, trout, grayling, char, and 12 other fish, and Alaskans greatly value this resource for nutritional, cultural, recreational, and 13 other purposes; 14 (4) the state's streams are noted worldwide for the presence of wild trout, char,
01 and grayling that grow to sizes no longer achieved in many other areas of the world, and for 02 the return of wild salmon and other anadromous fish in their natural numbers; 03 (5) it is in the interest of Alaskans to protect access to important recreational 04 waters and to travel by water and land along these waters to fish, hike, boat, and camp; 05 (6) while the state has retained public access to and along important 06 recreational waters when land has been transferred under current law, land sales and disposals 07 under prior laws or by the federal government to private landowners resulted in hampered or 08 no legal public access to important fishing waters in the state; 09 (7) in many places in the world, important recreational and fishing waters 10 have been privatized; in those places, public access to fishing and recreational water is 11 prohibited, and persons are prohibited from traveling, stopping, or camping along stream 12 banks; in many other places, access is only permitted at high cost or by invitation; and 13 (8) it is in the interest of the state to try to negotiate land or easement 14 purchases or trades for property along important fishing and recreational waters before 15 (A) it becomes too expensive to accomplish the goal of preserving and 16 protecting public access to and along the state's important fishing waters; and 17 (B) the land has become developed and settled; if the state waits to 18 negotiate trades and purchases until after land has been developed, the state will have 19 to expend potentially excessive amounts of money to regain public access. 20 (b) It is the intent of the legislature 21 (1) that, in implementing this Act, the Department of Natural Resources and 22 the Department of Fish and Game may not be placed under strictures or be subject to appeal 23 rules that would add undue cost to this program; 24 (2) to protect the public's right to access the state's fishing streams; and 25 (3) to provide an efficient and effective way to regain public easements or 26 ownership of land along important fishing streams that might be lost due to future private 27 development. 28 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 29 Sec. 16.05.096. Identification of privately held land along fishing 30 waterways. (a) Before July 1 of each year, the commissioner shall submit to the 31 commissioner of natural resources a list of land along fishing waterways where access
01 to the waterways is impeded by private land ownership. 02 (b) When identifying land for the list in (a) of this section, the commissioner 03 shall solicit and review input from the public concerning land that may be included on 04 the list. 05 (c) Factors to be considered by the commissioner when identifying land to be 06 listed under (a) of this section include whether 07 (1) public access is needed to allow desirable access to and 08 recreational or subsistence use of the fishery resources present in the waterway; 09 (2) private land ownership prevents public access to a section of the 10 waterway that is highly desirable for its fishing or recreational attributes; 11 (3) public access to a section of the waterway would significantly 12 enhance the public's enjoyment of that waterway; 13 (4) the waterway contains wild sport fish or fish of a species, physical 14 size, and abundance that may support a commercial, personal use, sport, or subsistence 15 fishery; 16 (5) the fish population on the waterway may support a catch and 17 release sport fishing or other sport, commercial, personal use, or subsistence fishery. 18 (d) In reviewing land for identification under (a) of this section, the 19 commissioner shall give priority to land leading to and along fishing waterways that 20 (1) is reasonably accessible by foot, including by backcountry hiking, 21 from the state's road system; 22 (2) is undeveloped and may be acquired by the state through purchase 23 or trade; 24 (3) has the greatest potential for public recreational or subsistence use 25 and enjoyment based on the size and abundance of fish, even if the location may be in 26 a remote part of the state. 27 (e) The decision by the commissioner to include or exclude land on the list in 28 (a) of this section is within the discretion of the commissioner and is not subject to 29 appeal. The commissioner shall, however, make the list proposed to be submitted to 30 the commissioner of natural resources publicly available before submission of the list 31 and may consider public comment before submission of the list.
01 (f) In this section, "fishing waterway" means a waterway that contains wild 02 sport fish or fish of a species, physical size, and abundance that may support a 03 commercial, personal use, or subsistence fishery. 04 * Sec. 3. AS 38.50 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Sec. 38.50.015. Access to fishing waterways. (a) After receiving from the 06 commissioner of fish and game a list prepared under AS 16.05.096 that identifies land 07 along fishing waterways where access to the waterways is impeded by private land 08 ownership, the commissioner may proceed to acquire public access to waterways 09 across those lands. The right of eminent domain may not be exercised to acquire land 10 or interest in land under this section. 11 (b) Public access may be acquired by 12 (1) purchasing or leasing an easement for access across each parcel of 13 land; 14 (2) trading state land for private land; or 15 (3) purchasing or leasing private land. 16 (c) Before February 1 of each year, the commissioner and the commissioner of 17 fish and game shall submit a plan to acquire public access to fishing waterways 18 through trade or purchase for the following fiscal year. The plan must include a 19 minimum access to not less than a total of two meander miles along fishing 20 waterways. Within 60 days after receiving a written request from a landowner 21 requesting the removal of the landowner's land from the list to be acquired under the 22 plan, the commissioner shall remove the landowner's land from the list, even if the 23 removal leaves less than two meander miles along fishing waterways. 24 (d) In this section, 25 (1) "fishing waterway" has the meaning in AS 16.05.096; 26 (2) "meander mile" means a distance of one mile measured following 27 the course of a waterway. 28 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 29 read: 30 LAND TO BE CONSIDERED FOR FIRST LIST. Notwithstanding the discretion of 31 the commissioner of fish and game under AS 16.05.096 as enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, the
01 initial list to be submitted to the commissioner of natural resources before July 1 following the 02 effective date of this Act shall include land 03 (1) adjacent to or near Montana Creek and Willow Creek above the Parks 04 Highway on waterways that are open to trout and grayling fishing; 05 (2) along Anchor River and Deep Creek on the Kenai Peninsula where the 06 waterways are open to steelhead, salmon, Dolly Varden, or trout fishing; and 07 (3) along the Salcha River located off the Richardson Highway where the river 08 is open to grayling fishing.