A tidal ecosystem in Tuxedni Bay on the Lake Clark coast / NPS

Mining operations may be coming soon to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. Specifically, to the Johnson Tract, a privately-owned inholding within the boundaries of the park. The National Park Service recently gave two easements to Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI), to facilitate transporting minerals out of the Johnson Tract. The easements are authorized under the 1976 Cook Inlet Land Exchange Act. According to the Alaska Department of Natural Resouces, the Johnson Tract contains gold, zinc, copper, silver, and lead deposits. 

The Act was created to settle land entitlements owed to CIRI under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). As part of the agreement, CIRI exchanged areas of land it owned near Lake Clark for the 20,942-acre Johnson Tract. The Act also required the Department of the Interior to grant easements for transporting minerals from the Johnson Tract. This will mean roads and helicopter pads, all of which will need to be built in ecologically rich and environmentally sensitive areas. 

The easements have been structured into three phases: planning, design and construction, and operations and maintenance. This phased approach allows NPS and CIRI to collaborate on minimizing the easements' size and addressing resource concerns at each stage of the process.

Screenshot / NPS

The recent announcement by the NPS only covers activities in the Planning Phase. These include tasks like geotechnical drilling, setting up helicopter landing zones, and conducting environmental surveys. It does not authorize construction or operations yet. Any future phases will require additional public engagement, permitting, and environmental analysis.

Still, Alaskan advocates are concerned.

The [National Parks Conservation Association] and our partners are committed to protecting Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, America’s Bear Coast and the wildlife that call it home from this gold mine,“ said Jennifer Woolworth, Alaska Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, in a release. "Today’s action strengthens our resolve to fight back against this harmful proposal and bring more daylight to its tremendous associated environmental and economic threats.”

“The Johnson River drainage is monumental with its abundance of salmon that supports a robust brown bear population and the prospect of a mine at its headwaters would spell only disaster for the sensitive ecosystem of coastal Lake Clark National Park,” David and Joanne Coray, owners of a lodge bear the Johnson Tract, told the NPCA.

The easement documents are available for review here.