Chugach State Park Management Plan
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CHUGACH STATE PARK MANAGEMENT PLAN Adopted February 2016 CHUGACH STATE PARK MANAGEMENT PLAN Adopted February 2016 Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Cover photos courtesy of: Bull Moose Fight by: Donna Dewhurst Northern Lights Rainbow by: Larry Anderson Falls Creek- Turnagain by: Stephen Nickel Bird Ridge by: Wayne Todd Lupine At Chugach and Eklutna Lake by: Jeff Nelson Evening Beaver Ponds by: Jim Wood Credits and Acknowledgements Planning Team Monica Alvarez, Project Manager/Planner, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land & Water Amanda Hults, Planner, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land & Water Thomas Harrison, Chugach State Park Superintendent, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Matthew Wedeking, Chugach State Park Chief Ranger, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Ruth Booth, Publisher, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land & Water Plan Contributors Acknowledgements are gratefully due to the following Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation staff for their help in the planning process and contributions to the plan: Thomas Crockett, Kurt Hensel, Preston Kroes, Ian Thomas, and Keith Wilson- Former and Present Chugach State Park Rangers; Blaine Smith- Chugach State Park Specialist; Bill Evans- Former Landscape Architect; Lucille Baranko- Landscape Specialist; Claire Leclair- Chief of Field Operations; Ben Ellis- Director; Chris Degernes- Former Chief of Field Operations; Penny Bauder- Former Planner; Al Meiners- Former CSP Park Superintendent Current and Former Chugach State Park Citizen Advisory Board Members: Adrienne Lindholm, Anna Hilbruner, Brian Goodman, Deb Ajango, Frank Wesser, Gary Gustafson, Gary Otts, Jennifer Johnston, John Scudder, Judy Caminer, Julian Mason, Mark Miraglia, Mark Smith, Melissa Bartley, Niel Thomas, Pat Athey, Patrick Kuckertz, Pat Pourchot, Pete Panarese, Rebecca King, Ronald Lurk, Sarah Leonard, Terri Morganson, George Pollock Other Contributors and Technical Assistants Birds Thede Tobish- Municipality of Anchorage Melanie Smith and Eric Meyers- Audubon Alaska Climate Sam Albanese, Sam Shea, and Debbie Brown- NOAA Cultural History Jo Antonson- DNR, Office of History and Archaeology i Fish Dan Bosch- ADF&G Geology Chad Hults- U. S. Geological Survey Soils Mark Clark- USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service Sportfish Stocking Program Marla Carter and Diane Loopstra- ADF&G, Sport Fish Division Wildlife Jessi Coltrane and Rick Sinnott- ADF&G, Division of Wildlife Conservation Anchorage Finally, the participation of the public has been a tremendous asset to this planning process. ii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Park Goals and Objectives ......................................................................................9 Chapter 3: Natural and Cultural Resources ............................................................................11 Natural History...................................................................................................................11 Cultural History .................................................................................................................25 Chapter 4: Park Use and Issues ...............................................................................................29 Recreational Use and Trends .............................................................................................29 Nonrecreational Uses .........................................................................................................30 Land Management .............................................................................................................30 Resource Management .......................................................................................................33 Funding ..............................................................................................................................34 General ...............................................................................................................................35 Chapter 5: Areawide Management Direction and Guidelines ................................................37 Land Use Designations ......................................................................................................37 Guidelines for Activities & Facilities Within Land-Use Designations in Chugach State Park ......................................................................................................43 Watershed Management.....................................................................................................57 Vegetation Management ....................................................................................................58 Fish and Wildlife Management ..........................................................................................59 Trail Management ..............................................................................................................60 Infrastructure Development and Management...................................................................60 Proposed Park Additions, Land Acquisitions, and Boundary Adjustments ......................62 Management Agreements ..................................................................................................65 Management and Staffing Efficiencies ..............................................................................70 Chapter 6: Management for Each Unit ...................................................................................73 Eklutna-Peters Creek Planning Unit ..................................................................................73 Eagle River Planning Unit .................................................................................................85 Ship Creek Planning Unit ..................................................................................................95 Hillside Planning Unit......................................................................................................101 Turnagain Arm Planning Unit .........................................................................................109 Chapter 7: Implementation ...................................................................................................123 Appendix A: Glossary...........................................................................................................127 Appendix B: Statutes & Regulations for Chugach State Park ..............................................133 Appendix C: Boundary Adjustment Package for Chugach State Park .................................141 Appendix D: Plants, Mammals, Fish and Birds of Chugach State Park ...............................143 Appendix E: Planning Units & ADF&G Special Management Areas .................................149 Appendix F: Bibliography ....................................................................................................151 iii Tables Table 5.1: Resource Management...........................................................................................44 Table 5.2: Public Uses ............................................................................................................47 Table 5.3: Other Uses .............................................................................................................52 Table 5.4: Facilities .................................................................................................................53 Table 5.5: Commercial Uses/Other.........................................................................................55 Figures and Maps Figure 1: Generalized Land Ownership ....................................................................................5 Figure 2: Planning Units ...........................................................................................................7 Figure 3: Geology ...................................................................................................................19 Figure 4: Vegetation ...............................................................................................................21 Figure 5: Anadromous Fish & Large Game Distribution .......................................................23 Figure 6: Land Use Designations ............................................................................................41 Map 6.1: Eklutna-Peters Creek Unit .......................................................................................81 Map 6.2: Eklutna-Peters Creek Unit .......................................................................................83 Map 6.3: Eagle River & Ship Creek Units .............................................................................93 Map 6.3: Eagle River & Ship Creek Units .............................................................................99 Map 6.4: Hillside Unit ..........................................................................................................107 Map 6.5: Turnagain Arm Unit ..............................................................................................119 Map 6.6: Turnagain Arm Unit ..............................................................................................121 iv Chapter