A 149-acre chunk of property that would expand access into Chugach State Park near the North Fork Campbell Creek and Near Point is in limbo.
The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit, brought the property in the Stuckagain Heights area for $1.5 million nearly two years ago after getting assurances that the state wanted to add it to the park and area homeowners were largely in favor.
But the transfer has not happened, and some homeowners who live in the area near the top of Campbell Airstrip Road fear that park access in their neighborhood would unleash woes that sometimes afflict other park trail heads -- overflow parking with cars stacked up on narrow streets, trash, all-night parties and vandalism.
The fund aims to conserve land and water resources through public and private partnerships.
"We've kind of been left holding the bag," said Brad Meiklejohn, the Alaska representative of the fund, which aims to conserve land and water resources through public and private partnerships.
He said his organization was encouraged to buy the property as far back as 2003 by the Basher Community Council. "There's been a tussle about the use of the property. We don't have a dog in that fight. We were just the acquisition agent."
In September, the council, commenting on the Chugach State Park Trail Management Plan, said, "The Basher Trailhead at the beginning of the Stuckagain neighborhood is the primary point of public access from the neighborhood to the park. Any additional trailheads in the neighborhood should be secondary access points only. Directing most public trail users to the Basher Trailhead would reduce both the traffic on neighborhood roads and the dangers of congestion."
Much neighborhood concern centers around how the property will be managed, said resident Bruce Talbot.
"If there is to be a parking area, most folks would like to see a smaller parking area. Everybody points to Glen Alps," he said. "They don't want to see another Glen Alps."
By the end of the month, the state park is due to release its draft access plan.
"People will come to the table then," predicted Phil Shepherd, executive director of Great Land Trust, which is partnering with The Conservation Fund on the project. "That will provide a nice concrete proposal on the table."
In 2007, the two groups joined with the Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation to spend $1.2 million on 320 acres that opened access to Rabbit Creek Valley, ending decades of conflict between hikers and Rabbit Creek landowners and opening a direct route to Rabbit Lake.
Chugach State Park Superintendent Tom Harrison noted that the 149 acres lies within the boundary of the 495,000-acre park, although "when we created the park we knew that not everything within the boundary was necessarily state land.
"We want to be good neighbors," he said, "and make sure any access is good access for the park's neighbors."
Harrison estimated that the state park sees 1.3 million visitors per year, but nobody knows exactly how many visitors use the various access points. Everyone agrees Glen Alps is the most popular entrance, and Harrison thinks "probably a good 25 percent at least comes through the Hillside area."
Opening up the area near Stuckagain Heights would boost opportunities for hikers and skiers to explore the North Fork Campbell Creek and Near Point -- or head up to Long Lake -- while spreading out park access a bit.
Talbot said winter use would be "quite limited," though, because much of the area is a steep, north-facing slope.
"I don't think it offers the opportunities Glen Alps offers with Flattop and the Powerline Pass Trail," he said.
Julian Mason, vice chairman of the Chugach State Park Citizen's Advisory Board, said Stuckagain access would help Anchorage residents in that part of town get to the park quicker.
"The whole north fork of Campbell Creek is largely unused and inaccessible right now," he said. "As Anchorage grows, that's going to be a more desirable part of the park.
"A lot of people going to the park want it to have a wilderness feeling to it, and Glen Alps doesn't really do that anymore."
As a result, most prospects for access appeal to park officials.
"I think of (the park boundary) as a membrane," Harrison said. "There are pressure points. When there's lot of pressure, I think it makes sense to try and relieve it.
"Change is inevitable, but change isn't something people always want to happen -- and some of their reasons are understandable. There are fire threats, for instance, and those are very real."
More than a year after the purchase, some question whether the transfer will ever happen.
Pat Pourchot, a former official with the Alaska office of the National Audubon Society who in May was appointed as the Interior Department's special assistant for Alaska Affairs, said, "I think it is very challenging at this point to come up with the money to reimburse The Conservation Fund for the purchase price -- especially with the slim chance of state funding.
"This is very unfortunate given the timely and generous attempt at The Conservation Fund to step up and take action when this parcel became available."
And future acquisitions may be in jeopardy too.
"Will our experience with the Near Point property diminish our enthusiasm for working on other Chugach State Park access points?" Meiklejohn asked. "Absolutely. It already has.
"The Oro Stewart homestead in upper Potter Valley was offered to us in 2009 and we had to decline because our money is tied up in the Near Point property. We turned down another property in Peters Creek for the same reason.
"We are willing to put our money at risk provided that people stand with us when we need their support. This experience leaves us feeling that no good deed goes unpunished."
Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
By MIKE CAMPBELL
mcampbell@adn.com