State proposes five snowmachine trails near Wiseman after Dalton corridor transfer

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources proposed five winter-only snowmachine easements near Wiseman on Oct. 7, covering about 31.4 miles of state land leading toward federal land. The public notice says the easements are meant to provide motorized access to adjacent federal lands. Written comments are due Nov. 8.

Why it matters

The proposal traces to the federal transfer of about 1.38 million acres along the Dalton Highway to the state. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum revoked 1970s federal land withdrawals there effective March 27, and tentative approval of the conveyance followed May 5.

With that transfer, the federal rural subsistence priority no longer applies in the corridor, according to DNR. Federally qualified subsistence users who could once hunt there with rifles and snowmachines no longer can. The state's corridor management area allows hunting only with a bow, and state law bans off-road vehicles within five miles of the highway, though a snowmachine may cross that corridor without starting, ending or traveling along it.

In an October 2025 agreement with the state, the Bureau of Land Management found the loss of the subsistence priority "is an adverse impact of this action that must be minimized." The state committed to open existing trails and to run a public process to identify new easements. Commissioner-designee John Crowther opened 10 historic trails to winter snowmachines April 3, and DNR held open houses in Wiseman in June and Anaktuvuk Pass in July.

DNR says every route it opens will be open to the public, not only subsistence users. Its FAQ says no environmental studies will precede state management of the new trails.

The routes

The longest route, the Twelvemile Mountain Trail, would run about 18 miles from near Coldfoot on the west side of the Middle Fork Koyukuk River. The Wiseman Creek, Hammond Canyon, Jennie Creek Lake and Vi Creek trails range from 1 to 7.8 miles. DNR's maps show each route heading toward the Gates of the Arctic National Park boundary.

Each easement would be 60 feet wide, about 228 acres in all, with no end date. The notice says the final easements may differ and carry conditions.