A conservation proposal could save a part of the Mat-Su Greenbelt from gravel digging

An 86-acre land parcel in the middle of a series of core area trails known as the Matanuska Greenbelt could receive permanent protection from development thanks to a proposed conservation plan.

The land, owned by the University of Alaska and managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Matanuska Farm and Extension Center (MEFEC) in Palmer, sits near the center of a broad trail system that includes the Matanuska Lakes State Recreation Area and the Borough’s Crevasse Moraine trail system. Combined, the network spans 33 miles and is used by runners, hikers, bikers and even horses year-round. Land parcels in it are owned by the state, the Borough and the University system.

But a 2020 UAF proposal looked at leasing for gravel extraction a portion of the university’s land within the area, a move local recreation experts and some public officials worried would dramatically harm trail use. Facing shrinking funding, UAF officials said the decision was a necessary step for good financial management of its resources.

Now local conservationists and UAF officials may have found common ground through a land designation known as a conservation easement that would both help fund the university and protect the recreation area.

“The University has been exploring several options for monetizing portions of its MEFEC property. To that end, the University and local stakeholders formed a working group to review development options that will generate revenue for the University, while also serving the University’s mission and the local community,” UAF officials said in a public announcement published in late 2022. “As a result of these discussions, community stakeholders identified potential funding to purchase a conservation easement to protect the recreational value of a portion of the MEFEC and compensate the University for the loss in revenue from not developing that portion of the property for material extraction or subdivisions sales.”

The proposal, which was open for public comment until Jan. 19, strikes a deal between Alaska land conservation organization the Great Land Trust, the Mat-Su Health Foundation and the University that would pay UAF and then block the land from any development. Under the proposal the easement would be managed by Great Land Trust and funded by the Foundation.

The final price tag for the easement was not immediately clear. UAF officials were not available for comment by deadline.

While details of the agreement and timing for completion are still in flux, officials with the Mat-Su Health Foundation said they will have a few stipulations for the land in addition to its protection under the conservation easement.

“We have advised the university that the agreement must include preservation of trail access to the public as well as no displacement of funds,” Elizabeth Ripley, president and CEO of the Mat-Su Health Foundation said in an email to the Frontiersman. “In other words, what we pay for the easement cannot replace existing funding from the University system for the experiment farm.”

That trail access preservation includes “negotiating a trail easement to allow public access to the trails at the farm,” Ripley said in a letter sent to the University of Alaska Land Management Office as part of the comment period. Such an easement could protect portions of the trail system that are currently accessed via UAF-owned farm roads via the trailhead off East Cottrell-Campus Drive known as Kin-Win.

Wes Hoskins, executive director of the Mat-Su Parks and Trails Foundation and part of a stakeholder group working with UAF on the project, said keeping the funds local as a reinvestment back into the Farm is important.

“We do hope that when they realize the gains from this, that the funds, hopefully most of them, stay within the Matanuska Experiment Farm program and don't get shuffled out to other parts of the university,” he said.

While the conservation easement and agreement are not yet a done deal, Stephanie Nowers, a MatSu Borough Assemblymember for District 2 who has long been involved in the discussions around the Greenbelt’s preservation, said she sees the proposal is a major step in the right direction.

“This is just to begin that negotiating process, but that's a big step because conservation easements are long and involved processes,” she said. “But there's a lot of great opportunity there, I think the community would very much be in support of it.”

Health Foundation officials said in their letter to the University that they know getting to a final agreement will take some haggling.

“The Mat-Su Health Foundation has been a proud partner and supporter of the University of Alaska for decades. We have invested significant grant dollars into university programs and awarded hundreds of scholarships worth thousands of dollars to students completing degrees in health and wellness,” the letter said. “We understand this will require negotiation and concessions and are committed to finding a path forward to create this win-win for UA, for the Mat-Su community, for the MEFEC and for Alaskans.”