FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Friday the Bureau of Land Management released its proposed plan to guide management of 13.3 million acres of public lands in central and northern Alaska, including portions of the central Yukon River watershed and the Dalton Highway corridor. The Central Yukon Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement reflects public input collected over more than a decade and balances development, recreational access, and resource protection, with an emphasis on landscape connectivity and protection of subsistence resources. 

“These lands are important for all Alaskans, supporting a major transit and commerce corridor and home to subsistence resources that are vital for rural communities, including Alaska Native people,” said Alaska State Director Steve Cohn. “This proposed plan is the result of over a decade of discussion and input from Tribes, cooperating agencies, and stakeholders, and positions us to manage these lands for the benefit of Alaskans, today and into the future.” 

The proposed plan recommends opening an additional 11.1 million acres to selection by eligible Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans under the Dingell Act through the partial revocation of ANCSA 17(d)(1) withdrawals on those lands. While the plan does not recommend additional revocations, BLM will continue to engage the public in response to the State of Alaska’s request to partially revoke withdrawals along the Dalton Highway corridor that the State has identified as critically important for completing their entitlements under the Alaska Statehood Act.

Given the importance of subsistence resources for Alaska communities, the proposed plan protects important habitat for fish and wildlife, designating approximately 3.6 million acres as areas of critical environmental concern, 746,000 acres as caribou core habitat areas for two non-migratory herds, and 4,600 acres as Dall sheep habitat areas. These protections will support important subsistence species Alaskans depend upon, including caribou, salmon, sheefish, and Dall sheep. The plan further supports healthy landscapes by committing to incorporating local and Indigenous Knowledge and exploring co-stewardship opportunities as the plan is implemented. 

The proposed plan advances collaborative efforts by the BLM and partners to foster landscape connectivity and resilience in the face of dramatic change to Alaska’s ecosystems. In coordination with interested adjacent land managers and stakeholders, the plan proactively identifies several areas as ecological benchmarks, including 4.6 million acres of BLM-managed lands that will be managed for multiple uses and monitored for effects on key benchmark characteristics as part of a landscape-scale adaptive management effort. The plan also identifies 371,000 acres of BLM-managed lands as connectivity corridors, which weave together conservation areas to support ecosystem resilience and adaptive capacity in the face of change. 

The proposed plan balances the many ways Alaskans use their public lands across this vast landscape, supporting recreation access and opportunities for development. The proposal meets the demand for increased recreation opportunities in the front-country and backcountry, protecting backcountry conservation areas and creating special recreation management areas along the Dalton Highway. The plan will also help guide appropriate development, identifying areas across more than 8.3 million acres that would remain open for the location of mining claims and 12 million acres where saleable materials, such as sand and gravel, would be available.  

The proposed plan overlaps with and supports the Department of the Interior’s Gravel-to-Gravel Keystone Initiative, a $34-million commitment to date, which brings together Tribes, Indigenous leaders, federal agencies, and community partners to enhance the resilience of the region’s ecosystems and communities through investments in healthy habitats and salmon populations.  

The BLM released the draft management plan for the Central Yukon area for comment in December 2020. Publication of this final proposed Central Yukon Resource Management Plan and Final EIS initiates a 30-day protest period that ends May 6 and a 60-day Governor’s consistency review that ends June 4. These periods will inform a Record of Decision to be issued later this year. 

Information on filing a protest can be found on the BLM “Filing a Plan Protest” webpage. Protests must be filed in writing through the BLM ePlanning project webpage or via mail to the BLM Director, Attention: Protest Coordinator (HQ210), Denver Federal Center, Building 40 (Door W-4), Lakewood, CO 80215. 

For more information on the proposed Central Yukon plan and Final EIS, visit the BLM National NEPA Register.