(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and Trust Land Office announced plans to host community meetings to engage with the residents of Petersburg, Saxman and Ketchikan on the status of the proposed land exchanges and potential timber sales.

“When we announced the land sale deadline, our intention was to call attention to the urgency of the land exchange legislation, which is the best option for all,” said John Morrison, executive director of the Trust Land Office. “We appreciate the questions and concerns raised by some residents of Ketchikan and Petersburg following the announcement. We look forward to sharing information at our upcoming meetings to help clarify our past and future actions so that the public can be informed as they engage in the process.”

The trustees voted in August to concur with the sale of two parcels near Ketchikan and Petersburg for selective timber harvest by helicopter, should the land exchange legislation not pass. This concurrence is now up for reconsideration with the board of trustees. If the legislation fails, and the administrative decision process to conduct these sales moves forward, the public will be involved. The public process will be discussed at the upcoming meetings.

Alaska Mental Health Trust Parcels for Exchange - Ketchikan Area
United States Forest Service Tongass National Forest and Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Proposed Land Exchange September 4, 2012
Click here or on the map for a larger image. (PDF)

“We are committed to finalizing this exchange if it remains in the economic interest of the Trust. That is why we’ve been working for the last decade to do a land exchange,” said Russ Webb, chair of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. On September 22, 2016, testimony on the legislation was heard before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. “We remain optimistic the legislation will pass,” Webb said.

For nearly a decade, the Trust Land Office has been working to exchange lands with the United States Forest Service. Numerous meetings have been conducted with individuals, agencies, communities, environmental organizations and the USFS to identify and select the parcels that were included in the Agreement to Initiate that was signed June 30, 2015.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced legislation this session to direct the Department of Agriculture to move forward with the exchange. On September 22, 2016, testimony on the legislation was heard before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

In the land exchange:

• 17,341 acres of Trust lands adjacent to the communities of Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka and Juneau would be transferred to the USFS
• 20,580 acres of remote land on Prince of Wales Island and Shelter Cove would be transferred to the Trust for development and timber harvest

At the upcoming meetings, community members will have the opportunity to hear from and speak with representatives from both the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and Trust Land Office and ask questions. Plans are to share nformation on the:

• Status of the land exchange legislation
• Potential sale and selective harvest near communities
• Decision-making process and timeline of potential selective helicopter harvest
• Trust Land Office, its role, how it is funded
• Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, its purpose, how it is funded
• How to be involved

Meeting Details

October 27:
Petersburg Community Meeting Time: 7–9 p.m.
Venue: Sons of Norway
23 Sing Lee Alley

November 1:
Saxman Community Meeting Time: 3–5 p.m.
Venue: Saxman Community Hall 2706 S Tongass Hwy

November 1:
Ketchikan Community Meeting Time: 7–9 p.m.
Venue: Ted Ferry Civic Center 888 Venetia Avenue

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority has been funding programs that serve Alaska’s most vulnerable populations for the past two decades. This includes programs for mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, traumatic brain injuries and substance abuse disorders. In order to support vital mental health services for Alaskans, the Trust needs to continue to generate revenue from its land and resources. This effort is managed by the Trust Land Office.

Alaska Mental Health Trust Parcels for Exchange - Petersburg Area
United States Forest Service Tongass National Forest and Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Proposed Land Exchange September 4, 2012
Click here or on the map for a larger image. (PDF)

The Trust grants approximately $20 million annually to projects, activities, state agencies and nonprofits that improve the lives of their beneficiaries in the areas of: • Substance Abuse Prevention & Treatment

• Housing and Long-term Services & Supports
• Disability Justice
• Employment & Engagement

Why Support the Exchange?

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and Trust Land Office say the land exchange is the most responsible way to fulfill the mission of the Trust, while avoiding the potential adverse impacts on tourism, recreation, wildlife management and watershed protection. Protecting what remains of the timber industry in Southeast Alaska by providing more timber lands that could be managed on a sustainable yield basis is another benefit of the exchange.

Advantages of the Land Exchange:

• Protects popular trails, viewsheds and iconic recreational sites along the Inside Passage
• Ensures watersheds are protected so that Southeast residents receive clean water
• Preserves certain old growth timber stands in the forest
• Ensures jobs stay in the Southeast communities by protecting the timber and tourism industries
• Protects mental health services by providing revenue to support the Trust’s mission

How to Help

To help promote the land exchange, citizens can join in supporting the land exchange and the larger mission of the Trust. Email the Alaska congressional delegation to thank them and express your support of the legislation.

Senator Lisa Murkowski
https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/contact/email

Senator Dan Sullivan:
https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/contact/email

Representative Don Young:
http://donyoung.house.gov/contact/

Related News:

Mental Health Trust to Log Deer Mountain Timber if Land Exchange Legislation Does Not Pass
SitNews - August 29, 2016

Debate over Deer Mountain Logging began more than 20 years ago By DAVE KIFFER - Recent newspaper headlines trumpeting the possibility of the Alaska Mental Health Lands Trust logging land it owns on Deer Mountain behind Ketchikan have stirred up significant community ire. - More...
SitNews - August 29, 2016

Opinion: Communities that value nearby Trust land have had years to secure community interest in it By Russ Webb
SitNews - September 01, 2016

Reporting & Editing by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News:

Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and Trust Land Office
http://mhtrustland.org

 

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