Kenai River Flood Map Update
Project Background
Since 2011, the Kenai Peninsula Borough has been working to update the regulatory floodplain maps for the Kenai River. This has involved the cooperation of numerous Federal, State, and Local stakeholders. On January 31, 2023, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided the Kenai Peninsula Borough with Preliminary copies of the revised Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report for the Kenai River below Skilak Lake. These proposed map changes, if finalized, will become the new regulatory maps that the Borough will regulate to.
Look at Your Property Using: Current vs New Comparison Map Viewer
Should I consider a LOMA instead of an Appeal?
Due to map scale limitations, making flood zone changes at the individual lot or structure level impossible to show on the FIRM. The appeals process typically cannot be used to remove a structure or property from the floodplain. Instead, FEMA’s Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) process is the avenue to follow for this purpose. Because LOMAs officially change the flood zone designation for a structure or property on an effective FIRM, not a Preliminary FIRM, it is recommended that applicants submit their LOMA application directly to FEMA through their online Letter of Map Change application portal 30 to 60 days prior to the effective date for the Preliminary FIRMs (likely in spring 2025). Once approved, an official amendment to an effective map is sent out by letter to the property owner. Please note that LOMAs apply to individual structures or properties and do not change the flood zone boundaries on the FIRM.
FEMA's Federal Register Notice regarding the Appeal and Comment Period
Preliminary FIRM and FIS Report
Adopt A Stream Program
The Kenai Watershed Forum Works in cooperation with the River Center to provide watershed-focused education and outreach to local youth. The Adopt A Stream Program partners with local elementary schools to help foster stewardship of local watersheds. The Adopt A Stream program combines monthly classroom presentations, field trips to local streams and data collection and review to help promote appreciation and increase understanding of local watersheds. The hands-on scientific experience provided by KWF Professional Staff offers new and exciting opportunities for students to learn about watersheds both inside and outside of the classroom.
Please visit the Kenai Watershed Forum Website for more information.
The Habitat Section is a unit of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Effective July 1, 2008, fish habitat permitting, Forest Resource and Practices Act review, and other project review functions were transferred from the Department of Natural Resources to the Department of Fish and Game
The Habitat Section's specific statutory responsibilities are:
1) protecting freshwater anadromous fish habitat under the Anadromous Fish Act (AS 16.05.871)
2) providing free passage of anadromous and resident fish in fresh water bodies (AS 16.05.841).
(These statutes were formerly known as Title 41.)
Alaska Statute AS 16.05.841 (Fishway Act) requires that an individual or governmental agency notify and obtain authorization from the ADF&G, Habitat Section for activities within or across a stream used by fish if the department determines that such uses or activities could represent an impediment to the efficient passage of fish. Culvert installation; stream realignment or diversions; dams; low-water crossings; and construction, placement, deposition, or removal of any material or structure below ordinary high water all require approval from the ADF&G.
Alaska Statute 16.05.871 (Anadromous Fish Act) requires that an individual or governmental agency provide prior notification and obtain approval from the ADF&G "to construct a hydraulic project or use, divert, obstruct, pollute, or change the natural flow or bed" of a specified anadromous waterbody or "to use wheeled, tracked, or excavating equipment or log-dragging equipment in the bed" of a specified anadromous waterbody. All activities within or across a specified anadromous waterbody and all instream activities affecting a specified anadromous waterbody require approval from the ADF&G, Habitat Section including construction; road crossings; gravel removal; placer mining; water withdrawals; the use of vehicles or equipment in the waterway; stream realignment or diversion; bank stabilization; blasting; and the placement, excavation, deposition, disposal, or removal of any material. Recreational boating and fishing activities generally do not require a permit.
The description and location of specified anadromous waterbodies is contained in the "Catalog of Waters Important for the Spawning, Rearing, or Migration of Anadromous Fishes." Copies of the catalog may be viewed at any office of the ADF&G, Division of Habitat.
The Division of Habitat also issues permits for recreational mining on the Kenai Peninsula.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Coastal Management Program was adopted by the Borough Assembly in 1990. The program provides an information base and policies to assist the borough in managing borough land and making resource use decisions. The Borough Coastal Management Plan is not intended to duplicate or assume management or permitting authority for resources and activities that are managed by State and Federal agencies.
The KPB Coastal Management Program was revised in August of 2007.
To see the revision, click on 2008 Coastal Management Plan.pdf * This document includes the KPB Enforceable Policies.
(Note: This PDF is a large file and may load slowly.)
