A bill that would add nearly 3,000 acres to the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge passed the state House on Thursday and now goes to the Senate for approval.
The refuge created in 1975 consists of 28,800 acres and runs from the Glenn Highway near the Knik River to Cottonwood Creek and Wasilla. A mix of lowland marsh and birch uplands, the refuge is popular for recreation like hiking, bird watching and ATV riding, and is also used by hunters, boaters, dog trainers, trappers and anglers.
Rep. Jim Colver, R-Palmer, sponsored the bill proposing the addition of 2,900 acres to the refuge.The bill is Colver's first to pass since his election to the House in November.
The parcels involved came from eight landowners and were acquired by the state at various times starting in 1989, Colver said Thursday. Several larger ones came in recently, including one owned by developer Rex Turner and acquired through the Great Land Trust.
Some parcels, in the Wasilla and Goose creek areas, languished for years without action, according to Herman Griese, who serves on the board of Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats, a grass roots nonprofit involved in education and access issues at the refuge.
Griese called the House passage of the bill "excellent" but said he hopes additional acreage in the Cottonwood Creek area -- old Matanuska River channels that are now dry -- can be added during the Senate process. Different agencies involved means it can be tricky to enforce laws in the area, he said