Jenny Willoughby

Though Benka Lake was stocked last year with char and trout, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game did not stock in 2023 or 2024 because public access was blocked.

The Mat-Su Borough’s new Ridge Trail system in Talkeetna will likely see some commercial traffic in the coming seasons. Up to three commercial use permits will be granted to use the new trails. The Talkeetna Gear Shop and Talkeetna-based Alaska Nature Guides have each applied for permits to use the new space.

The Mat-Su Borough has restricted traffic on certain Borough roads during the freeze-thaw season for many years. And the Borough received many reports every year about overweight trucks disregarding the restrictions. Earlier this year, the Assembly approved a new permit system that allows heavy trucks in certain cases to be driven on those restricted roads for a $100 fee.

Sandhill cranes migrate in spring from the San Joaquin Valley up to Homer, where they rest for several days or weeks, depending on weather. Trapper Creek birder Kathy Ernst tracks the birds once they reach Alaska.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, or DOT, is requesting public input for the West Susitna Access Draft Programmatic Agreement.

After several years of searching for an adequate water facility site, the Mat-Su Borough has requested conveyance of two State-owned parcels on Front Street. The Department of Natural Resources has released a preliminary decision to transfer the land to the Borough for the purposes of a new well and water storage facility.

For the past few years, the Talkeetna riverbanks have been eroding at the end of Main Street and downriver. According to Mat-Su Borough Public Works Director Tom Adams, there have been repairs to stop the erosion three of the last four years.

Current Mat-Su Borough land classifications along the Deshka River are based on the State’s Deshka River Recreation Management Plan from the 1990s. Borough Natural Resources Manager Emerson Krueger says the lower portion of the Deshka is classified for public recreation. But some of the Borough land in the middle river is classified as land bank, which is a holding class.

Since the Alaska State Trooper outpost was removed from the Talkeetna area in 2015, residents in the Upper Valley have tried to get it back. Captain Kid Chan attended the Trapper Creek Community Council meeting this week to discuss possibilities. He says there are a number of issues preventing them from reestablishing an outpost here.

The Mat-Su Borough is working to update the Talkeetna Transfer Station with a new entrance and to build a compost bay. Borough Solid Waste Division Manager Jeff Smith says a Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grant is funding a new entrance and the compost program. Most of the 3.5 million grant is for building out the compost facility at the landfill in Palmer and the Big Lake transfer site, with the remainder for the Willow and Talkeetna sites.