Weekend could be the start of something good

Today marks the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend and the traditional beginning of summer in Alaska. My wife is excited about finally being able to begin her outdoor gardening and planting. I’m excited about the upcoming boating, fishing and camping season in the Valley.

While my wife can pursue her passion right in our yard, we both have to travel a ways to take advantage of the public boat launch/campground facilities located in the Valley. There are three main public river access facilities: the Little Susitna Public Use Facility (LSPUF), located at about River Mile 28 on the Little Susitna River. The Susitna Landing, located a mile west of the Parks Highway at Mile 82.5, very near the junction of the Susitna and Kashwitna Rivers, and the Talkeetna Public Boat Launch, operated by Talkeetna River Adventures, located maybe a quarter-mile east of the Alaska Railroad bridge crossing the Talkeetna River. All three of these facilities are owned by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and operated under contract by either public or private concessionaires.

The LSPUF is managed for ADF&G by the Alaska State Parks Division of the Department of Natural Resources. The facility has something like 245 parking spots spread through three parking lots around 40 camp sites, a double-lane developed boat launch into the Little Susitna River, an RV dump station, a fish cleaning table and some bank fishing platforms located along an elevated, grated walkway.

This location was originally pioneered by some hardcore locals bent on gaining access to the Little Su closer to the mouth of the river. Fish and Game eventually developed access to the site and built the facility to provide public fishing access to the river. A contract was signed for the state parks folks to operate and manage the facility because Fish and Game is not structured to do that kind of work. Early on, poaching and other illegal activities were commonplace and Fish and Game wanted the armed presence of trained park rangers on site to deal with situations. Over time, the facility has become more family and fishing oriented, but having the park rangers available to patrol the river enforcing fishing and boating regulations has remained a key reason why Fish and Game prefers letting this contract to another government agency for operation.

Something that has always confused the public is why state parks stickers, like boat launch or camping stickers, are not honored at the LSPUF. Here’s the reason. All fees generated at the LSPUF have to be used only in the operation and maintenance of that facility – a federal string that was attached to the federal money used to construct the facility. Funds from the sale of state parks stickers can be used by them at any of their many state parks facilities. Having separate stickers good only at the LSPUF assures those monies are used only at the LSPUF, keeping both state parks and fish and game in compliance with federal requirements.

The Susitna Landing facility has finally gotten a new private concessionaire after spending the last two seasons being operated at a minimal level by Fish and Game. The previous private operators had to give up the facility because of an unexpected major medical situation. The new concessionaire has only been on site for a little over a month, as I understand things.

Su Landing, as it’s commonly called, in the past decade or so has undergone a major rebuild/replacement of the concession building, living quarters, boat ramp and campground facilities. The previous private operator offered fuel, snacks, convenience items, some fishing gear, boat parts/mechanical work, a latte machine other niceties in addition to the boat launch/campground capabilities. The state basically only collected fees for boat launching and camping, with nothing else offered. I look forward to the new concessionaire eventually being able to provide services and goodies similar to the previous private operator.

The landing has been our favorite place to camp and fish just about since we moved to the Valley back in 1990. The state staff did a fine job of filling in until a contract could be signed for a new operator, but the lack of services like fuel and a latte definitely made the site less appealing to frequent. But that’s all different now. Check this site out to find out what’s planned.

The Talkeetna Boat Launch is operated under contract by Talkeetna River Adventures, which operates a private campground on land immediately adjacent to the launch facility. All the amenities mentioned for Su Landing, and more, are currently available at this private campground. I’ve known the owner, Aaron Benjamin, for the better part of 20 years now and worked with him when I was with Fish and Game and was the project manager for this site. Aaron has always been a great guy to work with and does an excellent job of managing the state facility as a side to his own operations.

I have personally fished at all three of these locations and was involved in their day-to-day operations back in my Fish and Game years. I can recommend the operators at both the LSPUF and the Talkeetna Boat Launch facility as folks really concerned with your enjoyment of the facility and your time spent there. I’ve never met the new folks at Su Landing, but I suspect they will fall into that same category of doing their best to make sure you have an enjoyable stay.

Now that summer is officially here, take a weekend or two and check out the different facilities mentioned, either to leisurely bank fish for an afternoon, launch your personal boat to access that secret hotspot, or meet a professional sportsfishing charter. Once you find what these sites have to offer, I expect you’ll be back.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.