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Date: January 16, 2025
Contact: newsmedia@nps.gov
WASHINGTON - The National Park Service announced today the conveyance of two easements to Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI) as directed by the 1976 Cook Inlet Land Exchange Act. These easements authorize initial activities to plan for transportation of minerals from the Johnson Tract, a mineral inholding within Lake Clark National Park. This is the first step in a phased process -- additional engagement, permitting, and analysis will take place before any construction begins.
In 1976, Congress passed the Cook Inlet Land Exchange Act to fulfill entitlements to CIRI under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). As a part of the 1976 Act, CIRI relinquished land selections around Lake Clark in exchange for the 20,942-acre Johnson Tract. The 1976 Act also required the Department of the Interior to convey easements to provide for the transportation of minerals from the Johnson Tract.
Because CIRI is still in the very preliminary stage of assessing the most appropriate specific location for a road or rail line and a port site, all parties agreed to structure the easement deeds with three distinct phases for planning, design and construction, and operations and maintenance. Under this structure, we will work with CIRI to reduce the size of the easements and amend the easement stipulations to address resource concerns for activities that take place during each phase on lands managed by the National Park Service.
Today’s conveyance decision only authorizes activities related to the Planning Phase (e.g. geotechnical drilling, creation of helicopter landing zones, environmental surveys) for transportation and port easements. It does not authorize construction or operation and maintenance. There will be additional engagement, permitting, and analysis before authorizing additional phases. Terms and conditions agreed to with CIRI minimize the impacts of Planning Phase activities. NPS consulted with Tribes as part of the resource analysis. In addition, NPS is consulting with the National Marine Fisheries Service and completed consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure resources managed by those agencies are minimally impacted by the Planning Phase activities.
See the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve Johnson Tract Transportation and Port Easements decision record here.
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Last updated: January 16, 2025