Tree clearing in Matanuska River Park? A proposed study will examine how to save the borough’s longest runway

Whether as many as 300 old-growth trees in Matanuska River Park are removed or have the tops lobbed off is to be the subject of an upcoming study as the City of Palmer hunts for ways to protect its airport runway access while also luring the operators of larger aircraft onto its flightline.

Currently, the Palmer city-owned airport has an about 6,000-foot northern runway with about 5,500 usable feet. That’s because about 500-feet of the current area is blocked by the ever-increasing height of cottonwood trees in the Borough-owned park.

That runway currently provides just enough length to operate larger aircraft, such as the U.S. Forest Service’s Convair 580, used for aerial firefighting. But if the largest of the trees continue their upward growth, a past survey found, that aircraft and others requiring similar space will be forced out of the region, and with them any associated jobs, airport officials worry.

To solve the problem, city and airport officials want the Borough to allow them to remove the trees under what’s known as an avigation easement signed by the Borough in 1986. While most easement right-of-ways refer to space on the ground, an avigation easement allows airport officials to clear and protect airspace in conjunction with a runway.

“Matanuska River Park is a great asset and we’re so happy to have it in the City of Palmer, and so is the airport. To have that here is incredibly fortunate for us, for the whole Valley,” said Palmer City Manager John Moosey, who previously worked as the Borough manager. “All we’re asking for — and were going to get there — is let’s sit down and work through this situation for the benefit of both.

Palmer has applied for and expects to receive a $395,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant to fund a study that will examine expansion options, propose solutions and gather public input. It was not immediately clear how quickly the study would be completed.

Worries about the airspace over Matanuska River Park, which hosts miles of trails and the Borough’s top-revenue producing campground, isn’t a new discussion. An aeronautical survey and obstacle action plan completed in 2016 identified objects, including trees, that were causing or could cause problems for aircraft approach. The authors at that time found two options to solve the issue: remove trees in the park to create a clear north approach, or shift the runway on the ground 2,200 feet to the south by rerouting part of Outer Springer Loop and absorbing part of the golf course, some farmland and land used by several residents. The extra space for expansion on the southern end is required, in part, to provide a runway protection safety zone, said Frank Kelly, Palmer’s airport superintendent.

Both of the current expansion options seem very dramatic on the surface, and have plenty of pros and cons, said both Moosey and Matanuska Borough Manager Mike Brown. For example, removing trees from the park could lessen the windbreak between the Matanuska River and nearby schools and neighborhoods while also potentially damaging shorter surrounding trees. But dramatically shifting the runway would be hugely expensive while destroying a variety of land.

That’s why the Borough is supporting the city’s efforts to fund a study through an FAA grant. By hiring a variety of experts to examine all possible ramifications, the city and Borough can make an informed decision, officials said.

“You’ve got a Borough park and a city airport, and you’ve just got to work together and figure out what folks want,” Brown said. “We recognize the economic benefit of the airport in Palmer … we see that. And at the same time we’re looking at evaluating solutions that preserve the park and its appeal and ... allow us to potentially look at solutions that benefit the airport.”

But it’s exactly that economic impact Kelly believes those who are admantelly against the cutting don’t see. For example, the Forest Service brings XX jobs to the area, depending on the season, he said. And if a natural disaster took out any of the highway between Anchorage and the Valley, the airport would be the only way to transport food, supplies and people until repairs could be made. Preserving the runway’s length is the only way to ensure those aircraft can continue to use the Palmer airport.

There’s no other airport in the MatSu Borough that can handle large aircraft,” he said. “If nothing is resolved and the trees continue to grow we have to shorten the runway. And at that point the division of forestry can no longer operate out of Palmer. It’s important for us to retain the division of forestry there.”

Moosey said Palmer hopes to not only pay for the removal of the tallest trees, many of which likely have center rot, a common cottonwood problem, but replace them with smaller, healthier trees. And funding would also be available to help the Borough expand the park to include additional features and upgrades.

“The false narrative that we’re just going to go in there and remove a bunch of trees and leave the park a mess, that’s not our intention at all,” Moosey said. “It’s an asset to us.”

Still, some residents, like Joann Utt who was raised in Palmer and regularly uses the Matanuska River Park trails, said cutting the trees simply isn’t worth it to. Instead, Utt suggested the airport look to expand elsewhere, building an annex and runway in a different part of the Borough away from the park.

“They need to look ahead, not just do a quick fix,” she said. “I’m worried that they are going to leave this gaping hole over there and not think wisely.”