Great fun had at Reflections Lake

To the editor:

On July 18, Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats held its second annual Summer Family Fun Day at Reflections Lake. Thanks to the support and participation of many partners and volunteers, it was a rousing success and made quite a splash, literally.

Free canoeing and kayaking was made possible by the generosity of the Mat-Su Borough Parks and Recreation Department and APH Board Member Lisa Jaeger. The day’s entertainment was exciting retriever dog training demonstrations provided by Daryl Jones of Amber Wind Retrievers, and once again, APH provided cookies and lemonade. Filled with folks from Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley, Reflections Lake was the sunny scene of much enjoyment as canoes and kayaks explored the lake and nearby slough. Even tourists stopped in to see what all the excitement was about. Sen. Charlie Huggins and lovely wife Becky attended to enjoy the day, and to present APH with a Legislative Citation Award for outstanding public service dedicated to community stewardship of Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge.

Many folks brought picnic lunches, kids played in the water, and many also explored the lovely, newly improved trail around most of the lake and the scenic overlook recently installed. The overlook and trail work were accomplished this summer with the professional trail crew, SAGA, as well as a crew of volunteers from Student Conservation Association, along with many hours of labor provided by APH Vice President and Project Manager Marian Elliott, APH board members, and others. Later this season, as part of a grant received by APH for this purpose, a boardwalk trail segment and trail bridge will be installed across the slough, completing the trail around the lake.

A sincere thank you to Mat-Su Borough Parks and Recreation, Sen. Huggins and to all the volunteers who helped make the day such a success. We couldn’t have done it without the participation of all involved, and look forward to working with our partners again at our Winter Family Fun Day at Reflections Lake in January.

Randi Perlman,

board member,

Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats