Alaska Administrative Code › Title 5 - Fish and Game › Part 5 - Protection of Fish and Game Habitat › Chapter 95 - Fish and Game Habitat › Article 5 - State Game Refuges › 5 AAC 95.542 - McNeil River State Game Refuge and McNeil River State Game Sanctuary

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) The
				  following conditions apply to activities in the McNeil River State Game Refuge
				  (refuge) and the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary (sanctuary):
(1)
Helicopter access:
a person
				  must obtain a special area permit before landing a helicopter within the refuge
				  or sanctuary;
(2)
Off-road
				  use of wheeled, tracked, or other ground-effect motorized vehicles:
the
				  off-road use of wheeled, tracked, or other ground-effect motorized vehicles is
				  prohibited within the refuge and sanctuary, except that
(A) the off-road use of a snowmachine in
				  support of lawful trapping activities within the refuge may be conducted only
				  under the terms of a special area permit;
(B) the commissioner may issue an individual
				  special area permit, on a case-by-case basis, for the off-road use of a
				  wheeled, tracked, or other ground-effect motorized vehicle within the refuge or
				  sanctuary if the applicant shows that the use of the applicable vehicle is
(i) a demonstrable need for which there is no
				  feasible alternative;
(ii)
				  consistent with the goals and policies of the management plan under this
				  section; and
(iii) consistent with
				  the purpose for which the refuge or sanctuary was established;
(3)
Camping:
the following restrictions apply to camping activities
				  within the refuge and sanctuary:
(A) a person
				  may not engage in noncommercial camping within the refuge or sanctuary for more
				  than 14 days per calendar year unless authorized by a special area permit
				  issued before the camping activity begins;
(B) a person may not provide commercial
				  camping services within the refuge or sanctuary unless authorized by a special
				  area permit issued before providing the services;
(C) the following requirements apply to all
				  camping activity within the refuge or sanctuary:
(i) a person may not place, deposit, or leave
				  any solid waste, including garbage and litter, within the refuge or sanctuary;
				  all waste must be removed at the time the camping activity ends;
(ii) a person may not store food and garbage
				  at the campsite within the refuge or sanctuary unless the food and garbage is
				  isolated from bears by using a bear-proof container, an electric fence, an
				  enclosed food cache located at least 15 feet above ground, or stored within a
				  hard-sided building or a lockable and hard-sided section of a vehicle, vessel,
				  or aircraft;
(4)
Structures:
a person may not
				  construct a structure, including a tent platform, elevated food cache, latrine,
				  or other hardened structure, within the refuge or sanctuary unless authorized
				  by a special area permit issued before construction begins;
(5)
Boat storage:
the following
				  restrictions apply to boat storage within the refuge or sanctuary:
(A) a person may not store a boat more than
				  20 feet in overall length within the refuge or sanctuary;
(B) a person may not store a boat 20 feet or
				  less in overall length within the refuge or sanctuary unless authorized by a
				  special area permit issued before the boat is stored;
(6)
Mining:
a person may not
				  engage in mining activities within the refuge unless authorized by a special
				  area permit issued before the mining activity begins;
(7)
Fuel storage and hazardous
				  substances:
the following restrictions apply to fuel storage and the
				  handling of hazardous substances within the refuge or sanctuary:
(A) a person may not release or dispose of a
				  hazardous substance, as defined in
				  AS
				  46.09.900, or petroleum-based fuel in the
				  refuge or sanctuary;
(B) a person
				  may not store fuel in the refuge or sanctuary unless authorized by a special
				  area permit issued before the activity begins; this prohibition does not apply
				  to
(i) fuel contained in fuel tanks on board
				  vessels, vehicles, or aircraft;
(iii) fuel actively used in a camp; and (iii)
				  fuel contained within permitted structures;
(8)
Timber harvest:
a person may
				  not harvest live or standing timber within the refuge or sanctuary; the harvest
				  of dead and down wood for personal use within the refuge or sanctuary is
				  allowed.