Legislature(2017 - 2018)BUTROVICH 205
04/03/2018 01:30 PM Senate TRANSPORTATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB199 | |
| HB259 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 199 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 259 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 199-DALTON HWY: ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY
1:32:49 PM
CHAIR STEDMAN announced the consideration of SB 199, an act
related to the use of off-road vehicles within the James Dalton
Highway corridor.
1:33:08 PM
JOSEPH BYRNES, Staff, Senator Kelly, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, provided an overview of SB 199 as follows:
Senate Bill 199 would allow for the use of off-road
vehicles within the James Dalton Highway corridor to
access private property within an established history
of use as a homestead.
Under AS 19.40.210, off-road vehicles are not
permitted on land within five miles of the highway
right-of-way except under select circumstances. One,
if necessary, for oil and gas exploration and
development or transportation; two, to gain access to
a mining claim in the vicinity of the highway; three,
to travel across the corridor from a point outside the
corridor to another point outside the corridor with a
snow-machine. Unfortunately, this leaves no exception
for individuals and their families who own private
homesteaded land adjacent to the corridor who wish to
use an off-road vehicle to access their property.
This issue came to our office's attention from a
constituent who owns homesteaded property in the
Brooks Range that is virtually inaccessible in winter
months without an airplane, under current law. Article
8, Section 1 of the Alaska Constitution states, "It is
the policy of the state to encourage the settlement of
its land and the development of its resources by
making them available for the maximum use consistent
with the public interest;" this section was one of the
reasons the Legislature found there was an immediate
need for a public highway from the Yukon River to the
Arctic Ocean in the first place.
Homesteading has a rich history in Alaska, going back
to the extension of the original Homestead Act to
include Alaska by President William McKinley in 1898.
By the time the last homestead claims were made in the
1980s, around 3,500 people had received land in Alaska
according to BLM, [Bureau of Land Management].
Homesteaders represent the very embodiment of the
state's desire to settle Alaska; however, for a myriad
of reasons access has long plagued residents of our
state. The prohibition on off-road vehicles is a
holdover from a time when there was concern about the
lack of sufficient public facilities and services
available on the Dalton Highway. Today, the Dalton
Highway includes amenities familiar to any traveler on
Alaska's highways: restaurants, fuel stations,
lodging, campgrounds, water fill-up and dump stations,
and rest areas; it is long time that some of these
restrictions on the use of the Dalton Highway be
reevaluated.
At the very least this reevaluation should begin with
this bill, SB 199. This proposes a very limited
exception, only for persons wishing to access private
property that was historically used as a homestead.
The Department of Natural Resources has only located
16 federally patented homesteads within 10 miles of
the Dalton Highway. Furthermore, SB 199 would not
abandon Board of Game restrictions on the use of off-
road vehicles for hunting purposes in the area or
restrictions on the use of firearms within the
corridor for hunting.
SB 199 is a bill of very narrow scope that is about
giving homestead property holders the same access
rights as those with mining claims and those seeking
oil and gas development.
1:37:24 PM
CHAIR STEDMAN opened public testimony.
1:37:33 PM
REBEKAH VANDERLUGT, representing self, Fairbanks, Alaska,
testified in support of SB 199. She disclosed that she is a
private landowner who owns property through the Federal
Homestead Act. She said she supports the bill because her family
has a right for equal access to their property. She noted that
her property is virtually inaccessible in the winter and her
family would like to access via snow-machines.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked Ms. Vanderlugt for the number of her
property's homestead.
MS. VANDERLAUGT replied that she did not recall.
1:39:26 PM
ROD ARNO, Executive Director, Alaska Outdoor Council, Palmer,
Alaska, testified in support of SB 199. He said the bill will
provide more public access to public resources as well as
private lands.
MR. BYRNES noted that Ms. Vanderlaugt and her husband initially
brought the issue to the attention of Senator Kelly's office. He
detailed to committee members the history of the Vanderlaugt's
homestead site.
1:41:18 PM
CHAIR STEDMAN held SB 199 in committee.
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