By Jessica Edwards
The recent donation of a Chilkoot Valley homestead to the Alaska
Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve won’t happen fast, and may not happen at all.
The state Division of Parks is inventorying agency and public concerns
in the process of deciding whether or not to add the 160-acre Cox homestead to the
preserve. The property lies within the Haines State Forest and abuts the preserve.
The Conservation Fund offered the property to the state in December,
saying it was responding to local requests to safeguard the land, which is bisected by the
headwaters of Chilkoot Lake and provides habitat for spawning salmon and bears.
Mike Eberhardt, area superintendent for Southeast parks, said in an
interview he was uncertain if Parks would accept the donation. "Basically what the
state has said is, ‘Thank you for offering.’"
The first step was conferring recently with the Alaska Chilkat Bald
Eagle Preserve advisory council, he said."We’ll move on from there on whether we
will accept that very generous gift."
Preliminary agency concerns included added financial burden to Parks
and determining if the land was consistent with the preserve’s purposes. Public
concerns also would be taken into account, Eberhardt said.
Brad Meiklejohn of the Conservation Fund said his organization had made
the offer to Parks and not to other state agencies. "We think Parks is the best
option and we’d like to see it added to the bald eagle preserve."
Meiklejohn said the Conservation Fund’s first priority was to
protect the land and see it managed in a manner that was consistent with their investment.
That meant no development, including logging, he said. "We think we have done a good
deed for this area. We hope people will be respectful of our investment."
Meiklejohn said his organization had made no decisions about what would
be done if Parks were unwilling to accept the land. "We’re in no hurry to unload
the property," he said. "We’re willing to hold onto it as long as it takes
to get it in the right place."
At the eagle preserve council meeting Feb. 14, forester Roy Josephson
said the property lines of the former homestead lay almost completely within the state
forest, which by statute, put the property in forestry’s jurisdiction. He said
Forestry or Parks would manage the remote parcel similarly.
James King, Director of Parks, said his division was wrestling with the
question of adding the land because the bequest had been made to the preserve.
"It’s a long process to change the boundaries."
This week, Eberhardt said adding the Cox Homestead to the preserve
would take a "statutory fix" because the land lay within a statutorily
designated area. "Technically, if it comes to the state, it goes to state
forests," he said. Legislation might be necessary to redesignate the land if Parks
were to accept the donation and if donors stipulated that it must be added to the
Preserve.
At the meeting, council member Les Katzeek asked what benefit the land
would bring to the preserve. He said adding to Parks, which is understaffed, raised
management concerns. "We need to think about the size of the team," he said.
Councilor Norman Blank said he didn’t think the remote piece would
add costs or require additional management from rangers.
King said the Conservation Fund had intended to preserve the land.
"What do we want the land to be in 10, 50, or 100 years? Does this land fit better
within the purposes of a forest or preserve?"
Eberhardt said hearing council’s input was a first step in the
decision-making process, and said Parks would investigate the legal process of adding the
land if that were the determination after concerns had been evaluated.
