Volunteers remove 20 tons of trash from Goose Bay State Game Refuge

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Army National Guard teamed up to reclaim a former military installation at Goose Bay State Game Refuge Oct. 17. About 60 volunteers spent part of Sunday cleaning up about 20 tons of trash at the southern terminus of Knik-Goose Bay Road.

Debris included eight burned and shot up vehicles, old appliances, abandoned and bullet-ridden buildings, and other hazards.

The effort was part of the National Guard’s “Guard the Environment” program, which encourages members to participate in environmentally friendly activities to impact the environment, give back to their local communities and train its members to be positive stewards of the environment.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Program Coordinator Joe Meehan said the goal of the project was to increase public stewardship for the area and halt illegal dumping and unsafe target shooting.

Constructed in the 1950s, Goose Bay was home to one of three Nike Hercules anti-aircraft missile sites that surrounded Anchorage. The site closed for military use in the late 1970s, it was used briefly as a state prison before being abandoned in the 1980s.