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.