Knik future unclear

April 25, 2006

By Dawn De Busk

Frontiersman

BUTTE - A bright yellow Go Cart with a red roll-bar frame putts up to a small campfire encircled by chairs. Two mud-splattered pre-teen girls hop off the all-terrain vehicle and scamper toward their dinner of fried chicken and bottled water as Sleeping Lady snoozes in a pale rose light Sunday evening.

Dakota Davidson, 12, and her childhood friend Suzanne Havarety, 13, both of Anchorage, have spent almost every weekend for the past nine years camping and playing at Knik River public use area with their families.

Davidson didn't know about House Bill 307, which passed the House unanimously on Friday, and is designed to maintain as a multi-use area the popular recreational spot along the riverbanks of the Knik River in the Butte.

The proposal would turn the land over to the Division of Natural Resources, which most likely would contract unarmed officers to enforce laws such as those prohibiting shooting in heavily populated areas along the river.

Davidson thinks prohibiting gunfire where people are present is a good idea, and she thinks putting up more signs might solve the problem.

Two weeks ago, Butte resident Brit Lively and other members of a Butte community-awareness group placed signs at access areas about where to shoot safely.

&#8220I haven't had the heart to go look at them,” she said during a phone interview Saturday. On Sunday, the informational signs posted west of the bridge remained intact.

Lively said she experienced pangs of anger after the house passed HB307 on Friday.

The measure doesn't protect the environment by limiting use, she said - all areas are open to all activities except for shooting in populated areas - and enforcement is not addressed.

&#8220We don't know why they don't understand how bad it is,” she said.

&#8220We were really, really surprised it passed. Some of the legislators we talked to said they understood, but it was unanimous. Didn't they hear us?”

While lawmakers in Juneau review the Knik River public use area legislation, the shooting has increased, Lively said.

&#8220It's gotten worse. There's this fear mongering. People are thinking, ‘I might not be able to do what I do anymore, so I better do it now,' ” said Lively, who lives along Bodenburg Creek about a mile from the river. &#8220Last week, it was really weird. Both nights and day, there were explosions.”

Lively said if she could talk to Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Mat-Su, who sponsored the Senate version SB 197, she would ask for $350,000 for a quick fix, in addition to funding for studies, enforcement and sanitary bathroom facilities.

&#8220We also believe for the use of this area to get enhanced, users should pay a fee,” Lively said.

Sen. Huggins did not return recent Frontiersman phone calls, but in early April he said a fiscal note would emerge as the bills went through the House and Senate.

The House bill has been setting the pace for the Senate version, he said.

Huggins also said that his constituents back the bills.

&#8220It appears that everyone is rallying around it,” Huggins said in April. &#8220Some people who objected to certain provisions are now supportive. My assumption is that … all parties are making the conscious effort to do the right thing.

&#8220It has language to protect the environment. Although it might not be exactly what you want and exactly what someone else wants, it brings ideas together until it's acceptable,” Huggins said.

Lively said she and others experienced some frustration when people who took time off work and traveled to the Legislative Information Offices didn't get to testify because hearings were postponed.

&#8220Even if no bill passes, we need to make sure the legislators tell DNR and Fish and Game to fulfill its statutory role of taking care of the lands because they haven't done that,” Lively said, adding the popularity of the area makes protecting the environment, providing sanitary bathroom facilities and enforcing existing laws even more important.

&#8220On a sunny weekend, between 1,000 and 3,000 people go to Knik River, particularly if it's a race day. They camp. They have no bathroom facilities. It smells everywhere, and you gotta watch where you walk,” Lively said.

The trash that emerges with the receding snow also dismays Davidson.

As the evening wanes and the ATVs are loaded onto a trailer, Davidson's adult-aged brother - who resides in Wasilla - tossed a football with another family member, and Davidson warmed up by the campfire.

She spends her time here &#8220riding, hanging out and eating” and engaging in the occasional mud fight, she said.

Davidson's mom Tonya talked about spearheading a clean-up day among friends. Already, the family keeps trash bags handy for removing garbage.

The litter and abandoned vehicles detract from the beauty of the area, Tonya said.

&#8220Have you walked into the woods over there? It's really disgusting. I thought about putting up flyers and setting a date for a community clean-up day,” she said.

&#8220Next time, we're going to get friends to use their trucks and do a clean-up.”

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252 or dawn.debusk@ frontiersman.com.