WASILLA -- The Southeast Susitna Area Plan has a snoozer of a title. But the nearly 200-page draft state plan should hold lots of interest for residents of Willow, Big Lake, Houston and other parts of the upper Susitna Valley like Talkeetna and Houston.
It may also catch the eye of Anchorage residents and others who trek to the area to snowmachine, ski or run sled dogs across trails on state land.
The plan, which is being revised for the first time in more than 20 years, directs how the state develops and manages public land primarily in the Upper Susitna Valley.
In this case, it covers about 212,000 acres from Point MacKenzie north to Talkeetna. The plan designates areas for mining and timber harvesting and also sets aside properties for public recreation, water resource protection and plots to be offered for sale.
The plan is still in draft form and the state is currently taking public comment on it. Five public hearings are scheduled for February in Anchorage, Wasilla, Willow, the Y and Big Lake/Houston.
The plan has arisen as a point of contention in battles over timber sales in areas like Petersville and Willow. Opponents criticized the state for approving timber sales based on the plan, which they said was out of date.
State officials who revised the plan said it would have little effect on possible timber harvesting.
The total amount of land owned by the state in the area has shrunk in the past 20-plus years, as has the total amount of land designated for timber harvesting.
But the same general areas set aside for timber harvesting in the previous plan are set aside in the current plan, said Bruce Phelps, a state Division of Mining, Land and Water manager who was one of three state officials charged with putting the plan together.
About 73,000 acres are designated primarily for timber harvesting, he said.
Still, some residents say they're watching the plan closely and have some concerns.
Linda Oxley, chair of the Willow Area Community Organization, said the revised plan appears to have designated for "settlement" an area west of the Parks Highway in Willow that includes the prized Haessler-Norris trail system.
Residents do not want that area developed, she said.
"If they have made it settlement, that doesn't support what we asked for as a community," she said.
Meanwhile, Sandy McDonald, acting mayor of Houston, said another designation for settlement just north of Houston concerned her because the only access is a substandard logging road.
In the past the state has offered property for sale, then the city has had to foot the responsibility of building or improving the roads, she said.
She also noticed a mistake on state maps that indicate the Matanuska-Susitna Borough owns land in Houston that actually has been sold or transferred, she said.
Both McDonald and Oxley said they would watch closely to make sure the state plans preserve what is a key selling point for both areas -- the communities' recreation feel.
Phelps wasn't overly surprised to hear about the concerns or even possible mistakes in the map.
He said the state is circulating the draft proposal specifically to hear about needed changes before the plan is finalized.
Find S.J. Komarnitsky can be reached at www.adn.com/contacts/skomarnitsky or 352-6714.
FOR MORE DETAILS on the Southeast Susitna Area Plan and upcoming public hearings on it, go to:
www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/planning/areaplans/ssap_prd/index.htm
By S.J. KOMARNITSKY
skomarnitsky@adn.com