Interior Alaska

• Forty Mile River List (PDF 26KB)
• Steese Highway List (PDF 32KB)
• General Permit Application (PDF 26KB)
• Additional Locations for General Permit (PDF 27KB)

Southcentral Alaska

• Resurrection and Sixmile Creek Drainage (PDF 1MB)
• Map for Resurrection and Sixmile Drainage Area (PDF 950KB)

Anchorage

• Anadromous Stream Application(PDF 767KB)
• Resident Fish Stream Application(PDF 33KB)

Mat-Su

• Anadromous Stream Application(PDF 98KB)
• Resident Fish Stream Application(PDF 40KB)

Kenai

• Anadromous Stream Application(PDF 42KB)
• Resident Fish Stream Application(PDF 40KB)

Other Agency General Permits

• Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land and Water - Annual Placer Mining Application
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Alaska General Placer Mine Permits

Miscellaneous Fact Sheets

• Alaska State Parks Recreational Gold Panning
• Federal Permits Required for Your Mining Activities
• Mining Permits through the Annual Placer Mining Application
• Mining on State Selected Land in Alaska
• MTRSC Prospecting Site Locations
• MTRSC Locations (New Mining Locations)
• MTRSC (Converting Traditional Mining Claims to MTRSC Locations)
• Suction Dredging
• Complete DNR MLW Mining Fact Sheet Listing
• Dalton Highway Recreational Mineral Collection(BLM publication)

• Fish Habitat Permit Information
• Fish Habitat Permit Application (PDF 56KB)
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• U.S. Forest Service Land
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
• Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining Land and Water
• Kenai Peninsula Multi Agency Permitting

Do I need a Suction Dredge Permit or a Fish Habitat Permit for my suction dredging activities?

General: A recreational suction dredge permit is required to dredge in a waterbody designated as important for the spawning, rearing, or migration of anadromous fish or that is used by resident fish as a migratory corridor. This permit may be obtained from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Habitat located closest to your proposed dredging location. You may determine whether a waterbody is designated as important for anadromous fish by calling or visiting any Habitat office and looking at the map catalog and atlas that legally identify designated anadromous fish streams or by searching the Anadromous Waters catalog online.

Definition of Recreational Suction Dredging: Habitat considers a suction dredge operation recreational if the dredge has an intake diameter of six (6) inches or less, powered by an 18 horsepower or less engine.

NOTE: On state land, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land and Water (ADNR/MLW) also classifies suction dredges with an intake 6 inches or less recreational. Dredge operators with an intake larger than 6 inches should contact the ADNR/MLW to obtain commercial mining application instructions.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consider dredges with an intake of 6 inches or smaller recreational. The EPA has agreed to accept a copy of Habitat's Recreational Suction Dredge Permit as a Notice of Intent under General Permit AKG-37-5000. Larger dredges are considered commercial operations and require prior notice of intent to the EPA and approval from the COE. Applicants should contact the Bureau of Land Management, COE, and EPA to obtain agency-specific land ownership and mining requirement information.

Application Fee: There is NO CHARGE for a Recreational Suction Dredge Permit from Habitat.

Land Status: Habitat ’s Fish Habitat permitting requirements apply to all streams in Alaska, including those on state, federal and private land. Issuance of an Habitat Fish Habitat Permit does not eliminate the need to obtain other state, federal or local permits or approvals from private property or mine claim owners. The ADNR/MLW and the Bureau of Land Management can provide information on land status, the presence of valid mining claims, and whether an area is open for recreational suction dredge mining. You must have the permission of the legal owner to suction dredge on a valid mining claim.

Environmental Considerations: Even with simple tools or a small suction dredge, cumulative impacts can occur over time. The conditions carried on recreational mining permits are designed to alleviate these cumulative impacts. Special care shall be taken in follow these conditions to minimize scarring the terrain or destroying natural resources.

Salmon bury their eggs in gravel nests called “redds”. Other fish like Arctic grayling and whitefish spawn in the stream and the eggs settle to the streambed where they remain on the gravel surface throughout the incubation period. The dredge pump forces water and gravel through the nozzle and hose at 9 to 10 feet per second. Fish eggs taken up with the gravel cannot survive the shock, pressure, battering, and pounding that comes with moving through the hose and sluice. To prevent these impacts, your Recreational Suction Dredge Permit may include timing restrictions to protect developing eggs. Suction dredging is not allowed in salmon spawning areas after the adult salmon have returned to spawn or before juvenile salmon emerge from the gravel.

The silt, sand, or gravel that runs through a suction dredge flows downstream and settles among the gravel and rocks in the streambed. Too much silt and sand make it difficult for the salmon to dig suitable redds. The silt and sand can also smother fish eggs already deposited or restrict inter-gravel water flow around the eggs. Fish and aquatic insects, which fish eat, have difficulty living in heavily silted streams. To prevent these impacts, your Recreational Suction Dredge Permit includes several stipulations prohibiting the washing of material from above the waterline or dredging of streambanks. Dredging may occur only within the active stream channel or on unvegetated gravel bars.

If you plan to take an ATV (all terrain vehicle) into a roadless area, you may need a permit from the land manager. You will need a Fish Habitat Permit for Stream Crossing from Habitat if you will ford a waterbody designated as important for the spawning, rearing, or migration of anadromous fish.

As with all outdoor activities, refuse and garbage should be packed out and placed in an approved solid waste disposal site, litter barrel, or thoroughly burned and buried. Please help to keep Alaska beautiful and safe for the next recreational suction dredger, fisherman or outdoor enthusiast.