Butte steps up

BUTTE — The Mat-Su Borough Department of Parks and Recreation flew supplies to the top of Bodenburg Butte on Monday for the construction of new steps, which will be installed near the top of the West Butte Trail, accessible from Mothershead Circle.

Borough representatives, trail crew members and Division of Forestry staff were all present as a helicopter lifted pallets of supplies from a field at the end of Sandvik Circle and carried them to the top of the Butte. Parks wrapped and prepared the pallets, loading them with gravel, concrete mix, wood, gas, cables and grass. The pallets were then placed into cargo nets, which the helicopter was able to lift by use of a towline.

Trail crews will now work alongside volunteers from the Student Conservation Association to construct and place around 80 new “crib steps,” which are designed to help prevent erosion, an issue for the top of the butte. In addition to the steps, Parks will also work to reroute the trail to a less windy area near the top, so that erosion is less likely to occur, according to outdoor recreation trail specialist and project organizer Kirsten Kumpula.

These two efforts will make the trail a lot more sustainable, she said.

Borough assembly member Jim Sykes welcomed the project.

“It makes the trail more accessible … and it’s a welcome improvement that I think is going to last a long time,” he said. “It’s good, basic trail maintenance.”

The project was made possible by Great Land Trust, which purchased the land at the top of the Butte and donated it to the Mat-Su Borough, excluding the area from private interest.

“(The land) continues on in trust in perpetuity, and so my grandkids and great-grandkids will be able to benefit from these improvements,” Sykes said.

The project will be complete within the week, according to borough officials.

Contact Kaden Weaver at 352-2270 or kaden.weaver@frontiersman.com