10/27/2020

I use the Matanuska Susitna Greenbelt almost every day, including the Matanuska Recreation trails, Crevasse Morrain trails, Long Lake trail, & the [Kin-Win] entrance at UAF. The entrance by UAF is the smoothest when my leg isn’t working correctly, due to a military injury.

08/19/2020

The greenbelt Trail system is integral to the Mat-Su Valley. It exists as a welcome refuge within the ever-changing landscape of new roads and new construction. It provides public access to a slice of wilderness that is easily accessible and free from loud motorized use, or other intrusive purposes. This system is a place that connects locals to the essence of our state; wilderness. Destroying this out of short-sighteded financial desperation by a public authority would be a tremendous example of corruption. —Lucas Wright, CEO, Manna Foods Co

08/19/2020

In times where outdoor recreation is one of the only means of entertainment I find it appalling that one would consider removing local trails that are so highly used by the community. Seeking fast money is not an answer to budget shortfalls. What happens when the gravel runs out or a water table is breached? Haste makes waste, let’s make decisions for the people that depend on the trails for hiking, biking, dog walking and horse riding. Even if that means a parking fee. —Beau Gibb, Owner, Ravens Ridge Rentals, LLC

08/24/2020

I moved to Palmer in 1995. Discovering Crevasse Moraine & Matanuska Lake trail system was so exciting to be so close. I hiked the trails with friends for our social time. These were the first trails I rode when I was learning how to mountain bike. These trails are equally as good & challenging as those in Anchorage. I ride with the Dirt Divas & they will come out here to ride. Taking these trails away for a gravel pit, which the valley is known for, would be devastating to so many people of all ages.

—Karen McMaster-Skogstad, Dirt Diva

12/14/20

The Arctic Orienteering Club holds events at the Mat-Su Greenbelt every year. It's a great location with lots of nice trails and great terrain that makes for fun orienteering courses. Turning the experimental farm into a gravel pit would cut through and ruin many of these trails and turn one of the most beautiful (and accessible) places in the valley into an eyesore. It would be a terrible waste of a precious natural resource our community has come to enjoy, a resource we would like our children and our grandchildren to enjoy as well. The gravel beneath these lands is of limited value, especially compared to the benefit this trail system will have on our community in perpetuity.

-Mike Robinson, President, Arctic Orienteering Club

08/13/2020

The mission of Alaska Farmland Trust is to permanently protect Alaska’s limited and valuable agricultural soils. The Matanuska Experiment Farm & Extension Center is part of the original Land Grant University whose mission was agricultural research and expansion. The Farm & Greenbelt trail system serve the entire community of South Central through research, advocacy, and open space. Alaska Farmland Trust is against any extraction activities on the farm that compromise the integrity and deeded purpose of the property.

-Amy Pettit, Executive Director

08/11/21

From Crevasse Moraine to Kin-Win, Keplar Park and the Matanuska Lake State Park, 33 miles of multi-use trails provide unfettered access to one of the most beautiful areas in the Mat-Su Valley. Every year, these trails provide solace, fresh air and rejuvenation to our active community. Our organization has put tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds (if not thousands) of volunteer hours into developing these trails, and we are not ready to see them disappear.

—Alida van Almelo, Executive Director

08/18/2020

Our association is dedicated to maintaining and preserving trails both locally and in the backcountry. We spend countless hours cleaning, clearing, building, and improving trails. To lose these multi-use trails to gravel mining would have a huge impact on this gem in the heart of the Valley. Stop the gravel pit and its destruction of the beautiful trails and its noise and light pollution. Save the trails for all.

—Dawn Vogt, President Mat-Su BCHA, National Representative

08/20/2022

I retired last year and use the Mat-Su Valley trails daily. You can find me either on the Greenbelt or Hatcher Pass all year long. My wife and I considered moving to the lower 48, a hard decision because we have been here so long. I was born in Alaska and graduated from UAF.

One of the deciding factors to keep us here is the trail system. What a wonderful, year-round resource we have here in the valley. Multiple user groups use the trails and I see bikers, hikers, walkers, runners, horseback riders all using the trail system. What a shame it would be to put another Valley gravel pit in the middle of the trail system. This system is important for many reasons but think of the people that choose to live in areas with good trail systems. You will not attract people with a gravel pit, but trails are a high priority for many.

—Mike Criss, Retired Community Member

09/03/2020

The Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation (MSTPF) is a nonprofit organization, founded nearly ten years ago with a vision to create a world-class trail and park system in the Mat-Su Borough. We have worked with land managers, local organizations, the community, and trail and park advocates on many projects throughout Mat-Su Valley, including the Matanuska Greenbelt Trails System (MGT). The MGT is the largest uninterrupted public greenspace in the fastest growing residential area in the State of Alaska. The MGT is an incredibly popular destination for all southcentral residents and provides recreation opportunities for walkers, bikers, skiers, equestrians, birders, and anglers, to name some of the use types. While MSTPF understands the University of Alaska’s current financial constraints, resource extraction in the middle of this invaluable public space will bifurcate the area and forever impact MGT users’ experience. Public greenspaces like MGT create value for local homeowners and business, stimulate our economy, improve users’ physical and mental health, and provide wildlife habitat. MSTPF is asking for the complete restoration of damage to trails and farm roads in the MGT that occurred during the assessment process, and for the UA System to engage in a transparent process that considers public input regarding long-term resource development plans in the UAF Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center.

08/17/2020

The Matanuska Greenbelt is a tremendous asset to our community and the UAF land is at the heart of the trail system. Placing a 70-acre gravel pit and road to remove the gravel in the center of the greenbelt would bisect this last contiguous green space in the core area of the Matanuska Valley and destroy this spectacular place forever. — Bill Mohrwinkel, Board of Directors Member

10/27/2020

I discovered the Mat-Su Greenbelt trail system shortly after moving to the Valley in 1990, and over the years I've come to realize what a treasure they are. They cover a wide variety of habitats, from open meadows to forests of both spruce and mixed hardwoods, to lakes, marshes and ponds, full of a variety of animals and birds and fish, from muskrats to moose, and migrating snow buntings and curlews to resident woodpeckers of four varieties, to nesting Bald Eagles. The trail system welcomes hikers, bikers, birders, mushroom hunters, photographers, and horse riders. The fact that it is centrally located within minutes of our homes makes it a great location for parents to take their children for nature study hikes, or their dogs for quality outdoor adventures.

I have spent many hours hiking, birding, studying mushrooms and lichens, and learning the trees and plants, even berry-picking in the greenbelt, as well as getting the health-giving and psychological benefits of spiritual rejuvenation among the trees and meadowsI've seen changes to the trails since 1990. The large gravel pit near the farm buildings was the first. Before the pit was made, a road ran through that formerly forested area. The banks were covered in moss and lichens, and the whole area had an enchanted atmosphere. In the years since the pit has had a few weedy plants and trees grow in, but the enchantment is gone. I still miss the old forest.I don't think a new gravel pit is a good idea. I know that several areas of the greenbelt are not protected for future generations, but I think they should be. The Greenbelt is one of the shining jewels of the Matanuska Valley, better and more interesting in my opinion than the Kincaid Park/Coastal Trail is in Anchorage. And as the Valley continues to grow, we will need this centrally located recreational space more than ever. Over the years more and more people have discovered its magic. People from Anchorage and other S. Central Alaska towns travel here just to enjoy the trail system as it is. Why turn Paradise into a Parking Lot? We Valley residents don't want that. Please don't turn this living treasure into a dead zone. Surely you can put your heads together and come up with a more creative solution to budget shortfalls. How about creating something like the Campbell Creek Science Center on farm property, and giving classes and nature study tours of the area? That is just one idea. I'm sure you can think of more.

10/27/2020

We own a small, sustainable market farm in Homer, Alaska, growing using organic methods, and are one of the suppliers of Alaska Certified Seed Potatoes. We are writing in support of your protecting the Matanuska Experimental Farm and Extension Center and not turning it into a gravel pit! Please do not look to make short term money and diminish this valuable and unique asset by mining gravel there! Abundant, nutritious food is needed by Alaskans, and the pandemic should have highlighted this need and concerns over food security for everyone. Alaska only currently grows something like 5% of its own food! Alaska needs crop knowledge and to invest in youth development that can help inspire young people grow up to be Alaskan farmers.

Alaskan farmers, like ourselves, need the MEFEC resource and its hard-working, knowledgable staff to support that growth. Don’t destroy our unique agricultural asset. Keep the investments made strong. They are not something you can simply get back later. As you know, the Matanuska Experiment Farm has been a hub for research in Alaska for over 100 years. The MEFEC is a working farm, able to support UAF researchers and other partners by providing land, facilities, and technical expertise for agricultural and herbivore studies. The crop and livestock work needs land! The MEFEC has a long history of serving the agricultural and natural resource fields, is also the home for Alaska’s Cooperative Extension Services that are ever so valuable to us and other farmers and citizens across the state. The staff and site of the MEFEC are valuable Alaskan Farmer “Go To” resources! Currently they are offering - and farmers like us are benefiting from - online classes and walk-about tours with Q&A by Jodie Anderson and the terrific staff at the MEF and Cooperative Extension Agents. We appreciate their approachable outreach with practical information that we can apply to our farm!

The Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center is a working research farm serving Southcentral Alaska. It has 260 acres of cultivated land and 800 acres of forestland for research or demonstration purposes, including barns, feed storage facilities and pastureland. The experiment farm is a UNIQUE asset for Alaska and has a complete complement of farm equipment to produce and harvest grain, forage (hay and silage) and other crops. There are also field and laboratory facilities for research on soils, plants and livestock. As farmers in a changing world, Alaskan farmers need this support more than ever to help guide for our crop choices and farm plans and in turn to feed Alaskans.

Jodie Anderson has been a wealth of planting knowledge for us and other farmers across the state. Work that they have done at the MEFEC and consultations with Jodie Anderson and her staff have helped us to learn and be better farmers. Oceanside Farms is getting more successful in our growing Alaska Certified Seed Potatoes, our asparagus crops, addressing invasive plants, and with education and advice for farm composting success over the years. Their work, trials, collaborations, and sharing of their practical wisdom for growing crops in Alaska have supported agriculture throughout the state. Honestly, Jodie Anderson’s leadership and unparalleled love of agriculture, educational/experiential background, practical focus, sense of humor, and professional strengths in networking have supported farmers’ work and youth development in Agriculture across the state.

MEFEC is also home to the Mat-Su/Copper River Cooperative Extension Service district office, which provides community outreach and education in a variety of areas, including agriculture and horticulture; health, home and family development; natural resources and community development; and 4-H and youth development. MEFEC’s have been serving even more people with the innovative approaches that the Cooperative Extension Service and MEFEC’s leadership has taken during these days of social distancing and the pandemic.

As aging farmers in particular, appreciate their support in Alaska’s future with its work with young people and youth development through both 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA). We encourage you to acknowledge that an array of community outreach programs are offered at the MEFEC including best agricultural practices, sustainable energy concepts, home economics, human nutrition, and healthy lifestyles. Alaska NEEDS to grow new, young farmers and continue this work that UAF has been supporting as a land-grant university. The MEFEC also collaborates with the Alaska Pacific University on the Alaska Tilth project to help feed and educate the local community on food security best practices and nutrition. Why would you want to cripple that?

Please excuse us if we could have edited this letter more - It is a particularly busy time on the farm. The site and work and staff at MEFEC are worth taking time to support.

Please do feel free to call or e-mail us if we can be any further assistance or help clarify any questions you may have that we might help you to clarify. We wholly support you not doing gravel pit extraction on this valuable resource! Thank you for supporting the MEFEC and farmers/ranchers/youth and EVERYONE across the state!

Sincerely,

Donna Rae Faulkner and Don McNamara

Our family have been residents of the MatSu valley since 1993. We raised our boys in and around the Greenbelt area. We live off Old Trunk road so it’s been our grand playground for years. Our boys participated in Sprockidz and MatSu Ski club/Jr. Nordics and this area is precious to our family.

We are listening and watching all parties in this land use situation. Please know it’s a priceless Greenbelt to future residents. This natural space attracts folks who respect natural landscapes and increases the value of surrounding areas.

I have had the good fortune of recreating, volunteering, and working professionally on the lands of the Matanuska Experiment Farm & Extension Center over the last 40 years. Now retired; I hike, bike, or ski on the Farm and adjoining lands at least once each week. This is where I took my then-young sons to hike and explore the outdoors. Over the years I have worked there with numerous other volunteers to maintain trails; hike and camp with scouting groups; coach youth mountain bikers; teach University, K-12, community, and private-industry outdoor science classes; and conduct joint research projects with University researchers. The Farm lands, on any given day, are a focus for agricultural operations and research, extension activities and a myriad of formal and informal community recreational activities. 

As a soil scientist and geomorphologist, I know the Farm lands are one of the most accessible areas in Alaska to view and teach the core concepts of glacial geomorphology, as well as the glacial history of the lower Matanuska Valley. It is one of the few accessible areas with intact outwash terraces, kettle holes and lakes, eskers and crevasse moraines. It offers outstanding views of broad glacial landscapes including cirque basins, moraines, U-shaped valleys, and roche moutonnées. It is so easy and exciting to teach an outdoor class on these lands.

I fully understand the need for the University to seek needed revenue from its’ lands. I urge you to consider viable alternatives that involve minimal disturbance to the Farm lands. The lands are too unique and have so much potential as a needed holistic center for agricultural and natural science research and extension, outdoor education, and recreation. Gravel extraction does not fit that need. Hopefully, revenue alternatives might be found that involve minimal land disturbance and that could support an educational component (e.g., leasing for alternative energy sites). I am very willing to assist at the community level to seek viable revenue alternatives.

Thank you,

Joe Moore

Palmer, AK