Lake Louise State Recreation Area closed due to vandalism; Fourth of July was last straw

The state Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Mat Su Region has closed the Lake Louise State Recreation Area in the Copper Valley near Glennallen, effective immediately, in the face of continuing vandalism and lack of care by campers and people engaged in recreation.

The division had placed the facility into “passive management” earlier this summer, meaning that it was open to campers but unsupervised, after the campground hosts intending to work there could not be present, said Stuart Leidner, state parks director for the Matanuska-Susitna valleys and Copper River Basin. The COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to secure alternative hosts.

“We had truly hoped that Alaskans who traveled to the Lake Louise campground would work together to keep their camping sites cleaned up while respecting the local community,” Leidner said. “Regrettably, this was not the case, and so we have decided we must close this area to all use, effective immediately.”

Lake Louise-area residents had pitched in last week to clean up trash left by earlier campers, but the Fourth of July weekend saw the problems only get worse, and even extend to local, non-park properties, he said.

“The community can no longer tolerate the lack of respect for their area displayed by visitors to their home community and surrounding areas,” Leidner said. “It’s an unfortunate circumstance and a difficult decision, but the health of Alaskans, respect for local residents, and our responsibility for this public resource made it necessary.”

The division has taken steps to prevent vehicle traffic from entering the campground, which will remain closed until further notice, he said. State park officials are encouraging campers other state campgrounds that do have campground hosts or staff, and to do their part to keep campgrounds clean while respecting nearby communities. For current state campground status, visit: http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/asp/open.htm

Wendy Sailors, a development specialist with the parks division, said she hopes Lake Louise can be reopened later this summer, but there are no guarantees. “We are working on a concessionaire contract for the Lake Louise and that will go out for RFP (Request for Proposal) soon. Once we get a concessionaire or an on-site campground host, we would be able to re-open,” she said.

The concessionaire contract is at least a month out, if not six weeks, Sailord said. But if a camp host applicant came forward (soon), “we could make that happen quicker, she said. Camp hosts are volunteer positions, must provide their own RV or trailer, and they get a small stipend in the neighborhood of $500 per month.

The parks division has faced difficulty this summer securing campground hosts and keeping some state campgrounds open because people performing the duties, mostly retired out-of-state residents, were unable to travel to Alaska because of COVID-19 restrictions. Fortunately, Alaska residents were available to be hosts at some campgrounds, and the division has been able to hire some seasonal support staff to provide oversight and light maintenance with federal COVID-19 money.

There were inadequate resources, however, to support the Lake Louise site, and the damage by campers resulted. Another closed state campground is on the Nabesna Road, which was shut because it is remote and lacks the traffic and fee revenues to support a campground host. It is these remote campgrounds that have no oversight that are vulnerable to damage from vandalism if they are open, said Sailors. Alaska has 27 state campgrounds with 23 in rural areas outside larger communities.