DNR Preliminary Decision ADL 234762 · Houston, Alaska

19,950 acres of public land. Given away for free.

The Department of Natural Resources proposes to hand nearly 20,000 acres of state land near Houston, with its trails, salmon streams, timber, and gravel, to AIDEA at no cost for a speculative industrial district. Your written comment is the only way to keep a say in what happens next.

Comments due
5:00 PM Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Time remaining
 

Why your comment matters

Only people who submit a timely written comment can appeal. If you do not comment by the deadline, you lose the right to request reconsideration of the final decision. Commenting keeps your voice in the process.

Personalized comments carry more weight than form letters. This tool drafts a starting point from the concerns you pick, but the strongest thing you can add is a few sentences in your own words about what this land means to you.

STEP 1

About you

DNR gives more weight to comments from people with a real connection to the area.

STEP 2

In your own words

The most important part. How do you use this land? What would losing it mean for you and your family? Comments in your own words cannot be lumped together and dismissed as form letters.

STEP 3

Pick your top two concerns

Choose the two points that matter most to you. A short, focused comment reads better than a long checklist. 0 of 2 selected.

Your comment

Copied
Sending it yourself? Email your comment to dmlwprogramsupport@alaska.gov with the subject line “Public Comment: ADL 234762”. If the email button does not open your mail app, use Copy and paste the text into a new message. Comments can also be faxed to 907-269-8916 or mailed to DNR DMLW, 550 W. 7th Ave. Ste. 1050, Anchorage, AK 99501. Comments must arrive by 5:00 PM on August 19, 2026.

Read the primary documents

Everything DNR has published on this proposal is posted at the Alaska Online Public Notices site. Search for ADL 234762 to find:

  • The Preliminary Decision (July 10, 2026)
  • Draft Amendment SC-08-001A04 to the Southeast Susitna Area Plan
  • Draft Land Classification Order
  • Draft Mineral Order 1330

What are the related actions?

The land giveaway does not travel alone. To make it legal, DNR must also amend the Southeast Susitna Area Plan to redesignate about 15,100 acres now managed for forestry, wildlife habitat, and water resources as Settlement land, issue a classification order making that change official, and close the parcel to new mining claims under Mineral Order 1330.

None of the four actions can proceed unless all of them are approved. That is why this tool includes a paragraph objecting to each one, and why DNR asks for comment on each. Opposing the related actions is another way to stop the conveyance itself.

Questions about commenting

Contact Daniel Jenkins, DNR DMLW, at dmlwprogramsupport@alaska.gov or 907-269-8609.

To request auxiliary aids or accommodations, contact DNR’s Public Information Center in Anchorage at 907-269-8400 no later than 4:00 PM, August 19, 2026.