Land buy expands refuge

PALMER — The Great Land Trust has big plans for the 917 acres it purchased next to the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge.

“The transfer means permanent protection for valuable salmon and wildlife habitat. Additionally, the project opens a substantial new area of public land for Alaskans to go hunting, recreational fishing, wildlife viewing and other activities,” according to a press release the trust put out Wednesday.

In fact, the trust has handed the acreage over to the state to manage, to essentially add it to the refuge.

But that doesn’t mean the land will be untouched. The trust is raising money to put in a 4-mile trail from Machetanz Elementary School to Wasilla Creek’s intersection with Nelson Road.

“We are going to put in some viewing platforms and some boardwalk and some other features,” said Kim Sollien, Mat-Su Program Director for Great Land Trust. “It’s hard to get into the refuge because it’s so wet, so we’re going to make sure this trail has some features kind of like Potter’s Marsh in Anchorage.”

The school also wants to help the trust put together interpretive materials for the trail. Some of the platforms would be large enough to hold classes. A former principal even mentioned the idea of buying cross-country skis.

“Now that there’s access to the refuge, I think the school might get skis so the kids can go down there in the winter, which makes my heart sing,” Sollien said.

The parcel contains 3 miles of Wasilla Creek. The trust bought it with $1.5 million it raised over three years. The trust has been working to preserve fish and bird habitat in the Valley since at least 2005, when it began its Upper Knik Arm Wetlands Conservation Initiative.

This isn’t the first land the organization has purchased in the Hay Flats area — the trust received a conservation easement on 10 acres bordering both the refuge and the subdivisions in the Fairview Loop area in 2008 — nor will it be the last.

“There is an additional, I think, 57 or 58 acres that we are hoping to purchase in the next few months that will hopefully become part of this acquisition,” Sollien said of plans to add those acres to the 917-acre tract next to Machetanz.

One of the largest projects the trust conducted in the Valley was also adjacent to the refuge. In 2011, the trust put 4,800 acres worth of islands into conservation easements. The islands are at the mouths of the Knik and Matanuska rivers.

“We definitely have had a focus in that area,” Sollien said.

She said the trust is planning a May 8 ribbon cutting celebration for the 915-acre parcel near Machetanz. And the trust is still soliciting donations to build that trail. It has raised $50,000 of a $150,000 goal for the project.

“We definitely would love some community support in doing that,” Sollien said, adding that donors can visit the trust’s website at greatlandtrust.org to participate.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.