Palmer Hay Flats perfect for playing

Every time you cross the flats on your way to or from Anchorage and drive through the beautiful vistas on either side of the road — often dotted with the birds of the season, foraging moose or other Alaska creatures — you are only seeing a tiny fraction of all that Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge has to offer. And no group can tell you more about the Hay Flats’ cultural and natural history than Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats, or APH.

APH is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving the natural and cultural resources of the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge by fostering responsible use and stewardship through public awareness, recreation, education and enhancement projects.

In spring 2004, a group of Palmer Hay Flats neighbors responded to a large hand-painted invitation posted in the neighborhood to help with spring cleanup at the Cottonwood Creek access to the refuge. The degree of degradation they found was appalling. All manner of refuse littered the entire area, the access corridor was dangerously eroded and overgrown and the overlook deck was falling apart.

At the end of the day, two industrial-sized Dumpsters were filled with debris and the tired group of neighbors had decided to work together to find a way to stop the neglect and abuse.

Following a series of “kitchen table” meetings, the group decided to promote responsible uses of the resource as a way to deter destructive uses.

Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge filed articles of incorporation with the state of Alaska in April 2005, and work began to define a mission and outline a long-term strategy.

Since then, APH has developed a brochure to build membership, gone online with an informative website, presented a refuge-promoting multi-media production to more than 100 community groups and schools, sponsored recreational events such as Winter Family Fun Days with free skis, snowshoes and ice skates for participants, Summer Family Fun Days with free kayaking and canoeing, as well as bird watching walkabouts, native plant hunts, photography walks, and educational events for Mat-Su schools.

Through partnerships forged with numerous state, borough, corporate and community agencies, APH has contributed more than $600,000 in grants and in-kind services and contributions to improved infrastructure and enhanced recreational experiences on the refuge. We’re making progress… last spring’s cleanup only netted one mattress, one dumped freezer and just a few bags of garbage.

There are three access points to the refuge. Reflections Lake can be reached via the Knik River Access exit off the Glenn Highway at Mile 31.5. This beautiful, peaceful lake, which can be glimpsed through the trees from the highway, is home to many migrating and nesting water, shore and woodland birds as well as muskrats, beaver, moose and other native animals. A scenic trail meanders along a handicapped-accessible 1-mile loop around the lake, completed in summer 2010 with a 95-foot bridge across the slough. A boardwalk over the wetlands, a kiosk and interpretive panels, strategically placed benches and overlooks, and permanent restrooms make this a popular and comfortable outing. A wildlife viewing tower and picnic pavilion will be installed in this area in the near future.

Rabbit Slough can be accessed through the frontage road along the Glenn Highway, reached via the Trunk Road exit. This area is often used to train hunting and retrieving dogs in the warmer months, and for ice skating and biking enthusiasts in the winter. Recent improvements here include access road upgrades, pullouts and speed signs.

Cottonwood Creek and the Scout Ridge Overlook can be found down Hayfield Road, off Fairview Loop Road. From the overlook, a magnificent panorama of the Hay Flats welcomes you and holds you spellbound, and a wonderful woodland trail loop takes you through native vegetation and past a small lake before returning to the upper parking lot.

From the lower parking lot at Cottonwood Creek, endless acres of wilderness await your arrival. Every spring, Anchorage Audubon leads their first bird walk of the season here to witness the incredible return of thousands of migrating geese, cranes, swans, raptors and countless other birds, many of which will remain on the flats to breed and raise their young.

You never know what you might find out here — sometimes a bear, one time a stranded Arctic ribbon seal. Improvements to the access road and parking lot have brought many more people out to enjoy the fishing, hunting and other recreational opportunities available here, and permanent restrooms will be installed at this location soon.

APH held its first Run for the Refuge here in July 2010, and more than 55 racers enjoyed this new venue and natural course.

From hunting to hiking, birding to photography, wildflowers to wildlife, there are endless possibilities to be found in your State Game Refuge. Don’t be a stranger — visit the refuge in any season and see for yourself, or visit palmerhayflats.org to learn more about this magnificent gem right in the midst of the Mat-Su Valley. You’ll be glad you did.

Randi Perlman is executive director for Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats.