Refuge manager Mike Spindler discusses management of Kanuti Refuge during a public meeting in Allakaket. May 15, 2007.

Kanuti Refuge is one step closer to completing a revised comprehensive conservation plan. The draft plan, released to the public on May 15, 2007, includes an updated vision statement, goals and objectives, and three management alternatives.  These alternatives differ in the amount and location of land categorized as either minimal or moderate management. 

Refuge staff actively sought public comments on plan until the close of the comment period on September 15, 2007, During this time refuge staff hosted several public meetings and talked to numerous individuals and organizations on a one-on-one basis. Meetings focused on Fairbanks and the four rural communities bordering the refuge, Allakaket, Alatna, Bettles, and Evansville. By the end of the comment period, refuge staff and the planning office in Anchorage received 55 comment letters and collected a number of oral comments through public meetings and conversations.

Some of the major concerns heard in the communities bordering the refuge were related to the use and availability of subsistence resources, such as moose, caribou, and house logs. Village residents want to see some moderate management near their villages, while stakeholders from other areas in Alaska and the Lower 48 often emphasized the importance of nature conservation and habitat preservation. Common to nearly all comments the refuge received, the overarching theme was to “keep the refuge wild”.