ANCHORAGE - In keeping with the Department of the Interior's goal to promote public lands stewardship, the BLM will release a draft recreation area management plan and associated environmental assessment for the Campbell Tract (CT) in Anchorage. BLM will seek public input during a 30-day comment period beginning March 21 through April 20 and will provide an online open house and two public meetings with more information.
Virtual public meetings presenting the draft plan are scheduled for March 22 at 6 p.m. and March 24 at 2 p.m. on Zoom. To sign up for the virtual public meetings, visit the Campbell Tract Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) NEPA Register Home Page.
On March 21 the virtual public meeting presentation, Draft RAMP and Environmental Assessment (EA) will be available in the online open house at the NEPA Register Documents Page. Comments on the Draft RAMP and EA can be submitted through the online open house beginning March 21 through April 20.
With nearly 500,000 visits annually and steady growth for 30 years, the bureau intends the plan to guide recreation management into the future by incorporating new technology, such as e-bikes and fat tire bikes, while adjusting for a dramatic increase in the number of visitors and changes in recreational use.
The plan affects 730 acres of public land that provides visitors with extensive recreational and wildlife viewing opportunities in the heart of Anchorage, Alaska.
The Anchorage Field Office Draft RAMP and EA is proposing 7 actions:
* A future year-round, single-track trail;
* The authorization of future routine trail and road maintenance of proposed and existing trails and roads;
* The authorization of (pedal assist) E-bikes on CT;
* To incorporate, authorize, and limit winter-only single-track trails;
* To remove hazard trees near parking areas, roads, trails, and buildings;
* A future Campbell Airstrip Trailhead (CAT) parking area improvement; and
* A process to manage the permitting of events and use at CT.
The Campbell Tract was originally reserved for use by the BLM as an administrative site in 1982 and designated a Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) in 1985. It is also home to the Campbell Creek Science Center, which provides statewide virtual and in-kind environmental and science education for all ages while promoting public lands stewardship. It also houses numerous facilities supporting management of 70 million acres of Federal surface estate and over 240 million acres of Federal subsurface estate in Alaska, including:
* BLM’s Anchorage District Office and Anchorage Field Office
* BLM AK State Office Warehouse
* U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Anchorage Field Office
* The Alaska Interagency Dispatch Center
* U.S. Geological Survey Warehouse Space
* U.S. Forest Service Radio Maintenance Shop
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
