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FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued the Record of Decision for the Central Yukon Resource Management Plan (RMP), updating management for nearly 13.3 million acres of public lands in central and northern Alaska. This plan covers management of portions of the central Yukon River watershed and the Dalton Highway utility corridor. The new RMP is the product of more than a decade of discussion and input from the public, Tribes, cooperating agencies, and stakeholders. It emphasizes important habitats for several fish and wildlife species and other subsistence resources that are vital to rural Alaskans, including Alaska Native communities.

The RMP includes a recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior to open an additional 11.1 million acres to selection by eligible Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans under the Dingell Act through the partial revocation of ANCSA 17(d)(1) withdrawals on those lands. Secretary Haaland is expected to finalize that decision through a Public Land Order in the coming weeks, which would add to the significant acreage that the Department has made available during the Biden-Harris administration to the approximately 1,900 Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans eligible to select their 160-acre land entitlement under the Dingell Act.  

“This updated plan conserves public lands and resources that are most important to local communities and Tribes. It also supports Alaska Native veterans and their heirs, recreation access, a major transit and commerce corridor, and continued access to mineral resources, positioning us to manage these lands for the public benefit, today and into the future,” said BLM Alaska State Director Steve Cohn. “We are grateful to everyone who took the time to engage in this planning process and look forward to working with Tribes, partners, and stakeholders as we implement the plan.”

In response to declining populations of subsistence resources, such as Yukon River salmon and caribou, the new plan makes designations to help protect important habitat on BLM-managed public lands. These measures include designation of approximately 3.6 million acres of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern to protect important habitat areas and support important subsistence resources, 746,000 acres as caribou core habitat areas for two non-migratory herds, and 4,600 acres as Dall sheep habitat areas. 

This new plan complements the Department of the Interior’s Gravel to Gravel Keystone Initiative, a $44 million commitment to date, that is bringing together Tribes, Indigenous leaders, federal agencies, and community partners to support resilient ecosystems and salmon across the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Norton Sound region.  

The plan provides for the many ways Alaskans use their public lands across this vast landscape, supporting recreation access and opportunities for development. The plan meets the demand for increased recreation opportunities along the Dalton Highway by creating two Backcountry Conservation Areas (666,000 acres) and three Special Recreation Management Areas (1,453,000 acres). It will also help guide appropriate development, identifying areas across more than 8.3 million acres that remain open for the location of mining claims and 12 million acres where saleable materials, such as sand and gravel, will be available. 

The plan replaces several outdated management plans and provides guidance for areas west of Fairbanks that previously did not have management plans. The new plan covers all BLM-managed public lands within the jurisdiction of the Central Yukon Field Office.

The new plan is available on the BLM National NEPA Register. In addition, hard copies will be available for viewing at various Alaska BLM public rooms.

-BLM-

Bureau Of Land Management, Fairbanks District Office, 222 University Avenue, Fairbanks, AK  99709

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