Kenai Peninsula Borough
Coastal Management Plan Update

Project Title: Coastal Management Plan Update
Client: Kenai Peninsula Borough
Project Manager: Gabrielle LaRoche, LaRoche+Associates
Goal: Strive to retain a local voice in state and federal permitting decisions that affect coastal resources.
Objective: Amend the coastal management plan to conform to new state mandates.

Background. The United States Congress passed the Coastal Zone Management Act in 1972 and offered financial and jurisdictional incentives for states to participate. Five years later, the Alaska State Legislature passed the Alaska Coastal Management Act. Alaska won federal approval of the Alaska Coastal Management Program in 1979. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Coastal Management Plan was approved in 1990. The plan for the Port Graham/Nanwalek Area Meriting Special Attention (AMSA) was added to the tools for local control in 1992.

In 2003, the Alaska Legislature changed the rules. Now, the Alaska Coastal Management Program requires significant changes in plans like the Kenai Peninsula Borough Coastal Management and Port Graham/Nanwalek AMSA plans. The Borough must revise its plans by March 2006, or it will lose all effect in the management of coastal resources. LaRoche + Associates will assist the Borough in updating these plans to comply with State mandates.