Jim Creek area boasts diverse delights

Spectrum/Cecily Fritz

Periodically, readers learn about acts of vandalism in the Jim Creek area of the Mat-Su.

In spite of the problems, pleasant surprises abound. Sandwiched between the north side of the Knik River and the Chugach Mountains is a stretch of DNR land known as the Jim-Swan area.

Imagine miles of interconnecting canoe trails through anadromous streams and more than 20 lakes and ponds. Imagine prime big-game and waterfowl hunting, salmon fishing and birding opportunities.

Hike to a view of the wetlands, Pioneer Peak and Knik Glacier, do an arduous trek to the alpine or a flight-seeing trip upriver to Knik Glacier.

Watch hundreds of swans take their rest during a late October day while eagles and bears gorge on decaying salmon, and sheep graze on the slope behind you. Imagine wolf tracks in fresh snow and the lonely sound of a saw-whet owl advertising for a mate on a quiet February morning.

The Jim-Swan area spans coastal, wetland and upland habitat with exceptional biologic and recreational value. Biologists, planners and citizens have long recognized this value as evidenced by the following:

€ Knik Arm Wetlands Study (USF&W, 1981): Proposed Jim-Swan be an area meriting special attention, noting high-density use by ducks, year-round moose concentrations and intensive black bear use. "Spring-fed water bodies fronting the mountains in the Jim-Swan area open before others and may be particularly valuable to [trumpeter swans]."

€ Southcentral Recreation Action Plan (DNR/ F&G, 1984): Identified the area as being of "critical importance for habitat" and includes a Senate bill establishing Jim/Swan Lakes State Recreation Area.

€ Susitna Area Plan (DNR/F&G, 1985): Due to its high value for recreation including hunting and fishing, its proximity to large population centers and its vulnerability to overuse and environmental degradation, the Jim-Swan area should be designated by the Legislature as a state recreation area.

€ Cook Inlet mapping effort (Coast Guard/NOAA, 2002). Jim-Swan is "sensitive as a waterfowl concentration area" receiving priority protection during oil-spill planning.

€ Recent aerial surveys note significant use by swans during migration as well as trumpeter swan nesting.

€ Mat-Su Borough planning documents. The Coastal Management Plan and the draft Butte Area Asset Management Plan note critical or valuable habitat and recommend special planning for the Jim-Swan area.

Population growth has resulted in significant increased use in Jim-Swan.

Unmanaged use is wearing on the watershed with erosion, an invasive network of airboat and ATV trails through wetlands, destruction of vegetative mat, diversion and deterioration of anadromous streams.

Upland springs that feed anadromous waters are churned into mud bogs. Nesting and migratory trumpeter swans have been repeatedly flushed by motorized activity.

The area near the Knik River bridge allows unlimited motorized crossings of anadromous Bodenberg and Jim creeks. On a busy weekend last summer that meant 2000 or more users making unlimited crossings each! This level of unmanaged activity results in diminished experiences for all user groups.

With proper planning and active management, public lands in the area can sustain most motorized and nonmotorized uses if these uses are guided by the special needs of the various habitats therein. Alaska DNR is spearheading an effort to develop an active management plan for the region.

Now is the time for our Legislature to provide DNR with funding for this process. The planning effort should include a balanced, collaborative planning group representative of motorized and nonmotorized user groups, the local community, adjoining landholders, Mat-Su Borough planners, ADF&G biologists, trail design expertise and other experts as needed.

Finally, the plan must undergo the rigors of a full public process. In the meantime, DNR personnel, as is their duty, must seek immediate solutions to mitigate ongoing damage to important resources, and establish desperately needed sanitary facilities at major access points.

A small army of users and concerned citizens is ready to volunteer time, resources and muscles to bring about positive change on public lands in the watershed. We invite all user groups to join us. Working together, with legislative support, we can sustain the integrity of the watershed to ensure use and enjoyment for current and future generations.

Cecily Fritz lives near Palmer and heads the Knik River Watershed Group, an all-volunteer organization. Contact her by e-mail: info@knikriver.org, or visit the group's Web site at knikriver.com.