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February 24, 2023
Re: Public Notice of Proposed Statewide Carbon Credit Program Disposal Plan
Thank you very much for taking time to comment on the proposed Statewide Carbon Credit Program Disposal Plan (“CC Program”). The University of Alaska (“University”) values community input and has carefully considered each of your comments. The University of Alaska Land Management Office (“UALM”) received 131 comments in response to the public notice, and we will continue to take your comments into account as we move forward in the process.
In considering all of the comments submitted by commenters:
- 92% of commenters supported the University implementing the CC Program, as a whole or in part;
- 4% of commenters opposed the University implementing the CC Program, as a whole or in part;
- 4% of commenters were curious about the implementation process and how it might impact future use and other technical details of the CC Program.
Additionally, a fair number of commenters linked the CC Program with the recently enacted law which authorizes the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to convey 360,000 acres of land to the University. However, these lands are not included in this public notice because UALM can only include lands currently owned by the University in this CC Program. The timeline for receiving lands through the new legislation is over 4 years, but the University is reviewing available land selections for possible inclusion in a future CC Program.
The University intends to proceed with the CC Program and will solicit proposals from third parties to develop the program. In establishing a program, the developer may determine that parcels identified in the public notice are not suited for the carbon offset credits. In that case, the parcel may not be brought within the CC Program at this point, but may remain eligible for inclusion in future iterations of the program. The developer may recommend additional lands for inclusion into the program. In that case, any additional lands will be public noticed in a similar process as this one.
Thank you very much for your interest in the proposed Statewide Carbon Credit Disposal Plan.
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