State revises area plan for the Susitna Valley

The deadline is near for public comment on two state plans dealing with land, timber and forestry issues in the Upper Valley.

The Susitna Matanuska Area Plan – at one time called the Susitna Area Plan— is under revision and public comments are due June 1^st.  The  Susitna Area Plan from 1985, guided land use for years, but according to officials at DNR, it is out of date.  The portion of the plan that is being considered for revision includes Petersville, Trapper Creek and the highway and rail corridor from Talkeetna to the Borough boundary just south of Cantwell. It also includes areas to the east, over to the Glenn Highway. There are 11 million acres of land within the area plan boundary, 9 million of which are state-owned acres. 

At the same time, the state is revising its State Forestry guidelines within the Susitna area.  The guidelines apply to state lands with forestry designation and residents are encouraged to comment on requirements for managing timber and mitigating impacts to other resources when there is timber harvest on those lands.  In recent years, firewood and biomass energy interest have increased.  As a result, the state is revising the guidelines. 

The state revised part of the Susitna Area Plan last year, dividing the land area and calling that plan the ‘Southeast Susitna Area Plan’ and the one currently under review the ‘Susitna Matanuska’.

Both plans will guide how all state lands are managed.  Designations include everything from agriculture to industrial use to greenbelt to settlement lands.

All public comments on the two plans are due Monday.