Meeting set about segment of proposed Palmer-to-Glennallen gas-line spur

DAWN De BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

An engineering firm contracted by the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority wants input Saturday morning from anyone who engages in outdoor activities on state-owned land along a tiny area of the proposed Palmer-to Glennallen segment of the proposed natural-gas pipeline.

Saturday's meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Palmer Train Depot.

The scope of the meeting will be limited to how outdoor enthusiasts use the area, whether they snowmachine or watch birds, according to Elizabeth Benson, spokesperson with Bristol Environmental Engineering Services Corporation, the company ANGDA retained to assist with this part of the proposed project.

BEESC sent flyers to almost 40 outdoor-recreation-based groups in Anchorage and the Mat-Su. Some of those listed included businesses like REI and Alaska Mountaineering & Hiking and Alaska Powersports in Wasilla and Anchorage.

Also invited to describe where they play in state-owned lands, how often and when are some groups from the Valley: Friends of State Parks, Mat-Su Trails Council and Mat-Su Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, among others.

The part of the spur-line corridor being spotlighted in BEESC's fact-gathering discussion runs basically parallel to, but will be separated from, the Glenn Highway - from near Squaw Creek along Caribou and Boulder creeks, to an area near Chickaloon.

Eventually, if project proposals go as planned, a natural-gas-pipeline spur will be constructed from Glennallen to Palmer's Enstar.

"We're ahead of schedule in the planning stages," Benson said.

"The purpose of the discussions is to gather input from the recreational user's viewpoint about how the gas line corridor can meet the increasing and sometimes competing demands from recreational access on state-owned land in the project area," according to the flyer from the BEESC offices.

The information provided from the discussion will assist ANGDA as it prepares its right-of-way applications.

A second meeting, also designed to elicit more information about how people use the state-owned land in the corridor area, will be held Tuesday in Anchorage at the Spenard Recreation Center, from 7 to 9 p.m.

There will be other opportunities in the future for the public to voice any concerns about the environmental impact and other issues individuals might have on their minds regarding the spur corridor, but Benson said that's not the purpose of these "discussions."