HB 153 Summary: Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge Expansion

• Amends AS 16.20.032(a) to expand the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge by adding nine new township descriptions and sections across Range 1 East, Range 1 West, and Range 2 West in the Seward Meridian area north of Palmer.

• Adds new lands including Township 17 North sections and parcels in Range 1 East (including specific lots and quarter-sections), Township 16 North sections in Range 1 East, Township 16 North Range 2 West Section 1, and Township 17 North Range 2 West Section 36 portions.

• Excludes from the refuge a transportation and utility corridor in Township 17 North, Range 1 East, Section 22 and Sections 27 and 34 (300 feet on either side of existing highway centerline) for future highway and utility development.

• Directs the Commissioner of Transportation and Public Facilities to provide access to the game refuge during future development of state highways in the area.

• Specifies that land within the transportation and utility corridor determined unnecessary for future use shall become part of the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge.