Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA -- New rules for the Knik River such as a shooting ban around Jim Creek got plenty of attention at public meetings earlier this month.

But many people aren't aware of a lawsuit that claims the Alaska Department of Natural Resources isn't doing enough to protect trails, water quality and wildlife in the 260,000-acre Knik River Public Use Area.

The area includes popular recreational destinations that draw hunters, hikers, four-wheelers and anglers but also a hooligan element that torches cars, shoots up appliances and goes mud-bogging in salmon streams.

The new rules ban most shooting along the Knik, limit burning and restrict wetland damage to ruts less than six inches deep.

Those rules -- and the plan behind them -- don't go far enough because state officials gave motorized users too much leeway, according to an appeal by the Butte Area Residents Civic Organization, a Butte-based organization with a core group of 65 local members and another 100 supporters.

No hearings have been scheduled on the appeal, filed late last year in state Superior Court in Palmer.

A civic organization representative declined to comment, as did state officials. State officials and some locals have praised the new rules as a major improvement for the previously lawless area.

The appeal came as news to Brian Mitchell, president of Alaska Extreme Four-Wheelers and a science teacher at Bartlett High School.

Mitchell said he was surprised to hear of an appeal, given the state's lengthy public-comment process.

"I'm looking forward to how this plays out and being a part of it," he said.

The appeal calls the public-use area "the first motor park" in the state. It claims Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin "misinterpreted the purpose and intent" of the legislation that created the area when he approved the plan.

Among other things, the appeal criticizes the state for:

• Allowing continued trail and habitat destruction, and failing to address damage to the Knik River flats, Jim Creek dunes and fish streams.

• Disregarding a proposal to charge user fees that would control access and raise money to build restrooms.

• Neglecting non-motorized recreation opportunities.

The group also challenges the state's plan to develop two, small-scale shooting ranges in the area as "demonstrating extreme disregard" for locals, fans of "quiet recreation" and migratory wildlife.

After Irwin approved the Knik River plan last fall, the state received 38 separate requests he reconsider his decision to adopt the plan, according to Linda Mueller, appeals officer for the state Division of Mining, Land and Water. Another 40 signatures came in on a petition.

Irwin denied the requests because he thought the issues raised in comments had already been addressed in a plan revision, Mueller said.

Find Zaz Hollander online at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call 352-6711.

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