News Release

Lake Clark National Park Invites Public Comment on Johnson Tract Potential Easements

NPS Photo

News Release Date: June 10, 2024 Anchorage, AK – Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is seeking public comment as it prepares to conduct a resource analysis to evaluate two proposed easements needed to provide access to the Johnson Tract within Lake Clark National Park (Park).

The attached newsletter describing the project is on the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment page at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/LACLJohnsonTractEasements. This is also where the public can submit their comments. Public comments will be accepted from June 10 to June 24, 2024.

The Johnson Tract, a known mineral prospect, is situated in the headwaters of the Johnson River on the west side of Cook Inlet, 125 miles southwest of Anchorage. As part of the 1976 Cook Inlet Land Exchange Act, Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI) relinquished Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act land selections around Lake Clark and in exchange received the 20,942-acre Johnson Tract. The Johnson Tract consists of two smaller tracts: the South Tract, an 11,342-acre tract where CIRI received both surface and subsurface rights, and the North Tract, a 9,600-acre tract where CIRI received only the subsurface rights.

Additional information on the proposed easements and the next steps to evaluate them are included in the newsletter.