Hawkins Island Subdivision Christmas Tale

Proving that grassroots community activism really can make a difference, the Alaska DNR is tentatively calling off its planned 30-parcel subdivision in Shipyard Bay, on Hawkins Island in Prince William Sound. 

It all started in late November, when the State put out a public notice on a preliminary decision to auction off some 300 acres in Shipyard and Deep Bays, just across the water from Cordova in one of the town's favorite deer hunting spots. Not just conservationists, but real-estate brokers and the village ANCSA corporation raised alarms. The state said the subdivision was necessary for "community expansion," but that just made no sense. What about all the empty subdivisions already right in town? Only three people live on Hawkins Island now, and they were all dead set against it. What was really going on here?

Hearing that town was united to opposition, Cascadia called a community meeting to strategize how to kill the proposal. Locals, hunters, landowners, real estate brokers, the local wildlife biologist, the mayor, media and others gathered in the Union Hall building on Main Street to put the pieces together and figure out what to do.

We got a pleasant surprise when the DNR official in charge, Jason Walsh, came down from Anchorage to attend our meeting. He opened with a background of where the project came from. The project is based on a "settlement" designation in the Prince William Sound Area Plan, a document written in 1988. Nobody in the community could remember where the idea had come from. Walsh said he had looked, but couldn't find anything about it in the project file. 

So there's your conspiracy. Bureaucratic inertia.

Knowing that his proposal was based on an outdated plan, Walsh said he'd been carefully considering the wave of comments he was getting from locals. "You can sit at my computer and just watch the emails coming in," he said. Almost all urged him to drop the proposal. These weren't shallow comments either, he said. Most were based on long-term, intimate knowledge of the place. Deer hunting. Duck hunting. Clam digging. Mushroom gathering. Kayaking. Just exploring.

Then he dropped his bombshell. Walsh surprised almost everyone present when he then said that, based on these factors, so far he was leaning towards dropping the subdivision plan for Shipyard Bay. "A settlement designation is not appropriate for Shipyard Bay," he said, adding that "Public Recreation, and Habitat" would fit what he's heard so far. He urged people to tell him more about what the 3,000 acres of State land should be used for. 

To resolve the issue the Prince William Sound Area Plan needs to be amended. It's long overdue anyway. There are supposed to be annual performance checks, and full reviews of the plan every five years, but none have been done since 1988 when the plan was signed. 

Then came the catch. "I only can write decisions to sell land," he said. "I can't write decisions not to sell land." The planning people are in a different DNR division, it turns out, and they're beyond swamped. The State has five staff doing planning for the entire state, with massive issues in places like Mat-Su, Bristol Bay, and the Arctic. It will be at least five years before Prince William Sound gets any attention.

So, what can we do? The public comment period is open through February 2, 2009. Walsh urged everyone to use those comments to express what they want for the entire 3,000 acres of State land on Hawkins Island, especially Deep Bay, where he is still considering selling some lots. He can pass those comments on to the planning people. 

I'll go a step further and urge folks to use their comments to urge the State to update the Prince William Sound Area Plan, as they're required to do. What made sense in the heyday flush of 1988 Prince William Sound, doesn't make sense after the realities of the Exxon Valdez, collapsed fisheries, advent of cruise ships, and opening the Whittier Tunnel. 

Outdated Area Plans are a problem all over Alaska, so folks should also contact their elected representatives and tell them to stop starving the planning arm of DNR. 

The Constitutional Natural Resources policy depends on balance. Article VIII of the Alaska Constitution sets state policy that resources must be made available for "maximum use consistent with the public interest." Section 2 then demands the legislature "shall provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural resources belonging to the State, including land and waters, for the maximum benefit of its people."  

State bureaucrats and politicians have been seeing only the "maximum use," part of that, not the equally important, "maximum benefit of the people." 

Well, there is at least one DNR bureaucrat who was listening to the people. I heard several quip that Mr. Walsh's reversal on the subdivision was the first time they'd ever known of their comment to a government agency actually being listened to.

Now, Governor, Legislators, lets catch some Holiday magic and get these planning guys some support, eh? 

Comment to: Jason Walsh, DNR/DMLW Land Sales Unit

 Jason.Walsh@alaska.gov 

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