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DNR extends comment period on Kachemak Bay State Park draft plan

Aaron Bolton, KBBI News

The state Department of Natural Resources extended the comment period on a draft management plan for Kachemak Bay State park and other recreation areas on the southern Kenai Peninsula. DNR announced the extension Tuesday.  

Alaskans will now have until Nov. 16 to comment on the plan. DNR also plans to hold a public meeting on the plan in Homer later this month. The department originally gave residents 30 days to comment on the plan when it released the draft last month.  

Department spokesperson Monica Alvarez said DNR received several requests to extend the comment period, and she said the department scheduled the meeting to help stakeholders better understand the draft plan before they comment. Alvarez adds that meeting is primarily informational, but she says the department will be able to take official comments at the meeting.

“We will be doing a presentation at the beginning, and then it will be an opportunity for folks to ask us questions, give us input,” Alvarez explained. “So, we can certainly take comments there.”

Mako Haggerty sits on the Kachemak Bay State Park Citizen Advisory Board and is the president of the Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park group. Haggerty also operates a water taxi business in Kachemak Bay State Park. He’s happy about the extension, though he wants the meeting to be more of a public hearing.

“I think everybody’s opinion needs to be recorded and entered in, and I hope it’s not just so some of us feel like maybe we contributed to it,” Haggerty said, “but more along the lines that they come down, sit down with us and work on this thing together.”

The meeting will be held at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center on Oct. 29.

Aaron Bolton has moved on to a new position in Montana; he is no longer KBBI News Director. KBBI is currently seeking a News Director, and Kathleen Gustafson is filling in for the time being.
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