October 2011
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ANNUAL NEWSLETTER Working with Interior Alaska landowners to safeguard the character and natural resources of our community 2011 last remaining undeveloped areas into small conservation values are preserved. The pockets, and cutting up trails and greenways partnership between the land trust and the What We Do that people thought were protected. property owner benefits the whole community. Private land that people acquired 30 or more Land trusts can be found in every state. There years ago has increased tremendously in are more than 1,700 of them, some over 100 value. Often these are large parcels, and their years old. Land trusts have protected over 47 owners find their heirs could be required to sell some of the land just to pay inheritance million acres - an area over twice the size of taxes. In these cases, the Interior Alaska Land all the national parks in the contiguous Trust can hold an easement on the land, United States. This is an increase of about 10 reducing its estate tax value, protecting open million acres since 2005, and 23 million acres space, or connecting greenways and trails since 2000. Land trusts are mostly local and allowing the property to stay intact. organizations, although there is a national Our Work in Interior Alaska parent organization, the Land Trust Alliance, The Interior Alaska Land Trust works with which provides professional support. In every private landowners, allowing land to stay in case, land trusts work only with willing land private ownership and management, while owners, and support land issues that are protecting conservation values for the public. IALT members pose near a new sign on the important to their own communities. Six local Our most common approach is to use a Blueberry Preserves property along Ballaine Road conservation easement, a voluntary contract land trusts serve Alaska, including the during a fall Outreach Hike. Creating and placing between the landowner and the land trust the sign (and two others at the Peat Ponds) was a Interior Alaska Land Trust, based in that runs in perpetuity along with the deed. cooperative project with Arctic Audubon, the Fairbanks. Each conservation easement is tailored to Borough Parks and Recreation, and IALT meet the needs of the landowner and the members Frank Keim (stewardship coordinator), A Changing Community character of the land. The landowner gives up Tom Paragi, and Sam Dashevsky. Continuing development throughout the certain rights to the land, to preserve its community brings attention to land use issues. conservation values. IALT takes on the The pace of building, though not as frantic as responsibility of monitoring the conservation during pipeline days, is beginning to turn the easement, ensuring that the property’s Inside this Newsletter Message from the Chena Flats Greenbelt Partnership with the Fairbanks History Financial Report Meet Your New Board President Project Update FNSB Beneath the Surface Report on income and Members Board of Directors As land acquisition is The IALT has Investigations of the expenses of the IALT Elections held at our President Roselynn nearly complete, the successfully partnered historic Chena during the past fiscal Annual Membership Ressa sends annual Greenbelt focuses with the FNSB to set townsite using year – leveraging your Meeting on October greetings and makes more on management. aside local wetlands ground-sensing donations. yielded two new board and appeal for Sally Andersen, for conservation. RADAR could teach Page 9 members. Help us increased membership Project Coordinator, Page 3 us about our past. welcome them to the activity. gives an overview. Page 5 IALT. Page 2 Page 2 Back Page www.interioraklandtrust.org 1 INTERIOR ALASKA LAND TRUST M ESSAGE FROM THE P RESIDENT Chena Flats Greenbelt Project Update As winter cycles we have mixed feelings about disturbing around again, I New Phase of Project the land, we feel that having a designated often find myself The Chena Flats Greenbelt concept is now a parking place will keep everyone safe and looking for ways to minimize conflicts by avoiding trespass survive the frigid reality. The Greenbelt is now 500 acres of cold and dark days. public land, mostly owned by the Fairbanks issues. We will also clarify property Though the pace of North Star Borough, and IALT has moved ownership by increasing IALT signage near life in Interior beyond its land acquisition phase. We are property boundaries so everyone can feel Alaska may not be not currently seeking any new lands, as comfortable knowing they are recreating on any slower than in public property and not accidentally other places, we are most of the larger parcels have been afforded unique acquired and there are connections (though tramping through someone else’s backyard. outdoor sometimes thin) nearly all the way from the experiences and Tanana Wayside on Chena Pump Road to Cripple Creek intimate opportunities to engage in our Geist Road. While we would welcome new community. This could not have been A small tributary of the Chena River flows acquisitions of key lands, our focus is now expressed in a better way than at the Art Expo through the Land Trust property on Chena on clarifying trails and reducing land held recently in the Museum of the North on Pump Road between Old Chena Ridge the university campus. Greeted by neighbors ownership conflicts. The most recent Road (near the transfer station) and new and friends who are artists in the community, acquisitions added three large parcels Chena Ridge Road. In the 1930s, a ditch was their expressions of the natural beauty of the totaling 134 acres in the southern part of the dug alongside Cripple Creek, creating a north reminded me of all that I love and Greenbelt at the very end of Pickering appreciate in this part of the world. straight run from Ester to the Chena River. Drive. You may have fun exploring these Cripple Creek was diverted into the ditch this winter. Living in a community with so many people so that mining sediments could be flushed that derive great peace and enjoyment from an out into the Chena without slowing down intimate connection to the natural world offers in the bends of the meandering creek. the Interior Alaska Land Trust an opportunity to expand its membership. In this newsletter, The Interior Alaska Land Trust, with you’ll read about some of the projects IALT is working on or has accomplished and ways funding from the US Fish and Wildlife you can join in our efforts to continue this Service, hired an environmental consulting work of conservation. Having gratitude company to explore the idea of re-routing towards the place and the people with whom I the creek back into its original channel. share Alaska, I challenge each of you to do Putting the creek back into its natural what you can to get out and experience our protected places and give back in a way that is channel would increase potential salmon meaningful to you. rearing habitat and overwintering habitat Parking Lot on for grayling. Fieldwork completed this summer showed that it would be relatively Pickering Drive, easy to put the creek back in its channel on Warmly, coming soon... the IALT parcel, though upstream portions of the old creek are too far above the For those of you who do not live near the existing ditch channel. A survey of the IALT Chena Flats Greenbelt, parking and access portion of the natural creek bed is being can be a bit confusing. There is currently no done to develop a detailed restoration plan. designated parking for We are still awaiting the final report from the Greenbelt, though the consulting company to decide the best Roselynn Ressa that is about to change. actions to restoring Cripple Creek to a more IALT, in cooperation IALT President natural flow and improving fish habitat. with US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Fairbanks North Star Borough, will be Sally Andersen, constructing a parking lot on Pickering !! Chena Flats Greenbelt Drive next summer to improve access to the main part of the Greenbelt. We will keep the Project Coordinator lot small; it should fit about 2-3 cars. While 2 www.interioraklandtrust.org INTERIOR ALASKA LAND TRUST Partnership With the Fairbanks North Star Borough Photo: Merritt Helfferich On August 25th, the Fairbanks property. It means that the $20 We should all congratulate In contrast to the first time the North Star Borough (FNSB) and $50 dollars you’ve been each other and especially the Land Trust donated Greenbelt Assembly voted to accept title donating for the last five or six FNSB Parks and Recreation parcels to the Borough (in to twelve of the Chena Flats 2009), this Resolution saw Greenbelt properties. The some opposition from the Interior Alaska Land Trust will community, in particular, from donate the properties to the members of the Interior Borough, and in turn be given Conservative Coalition (ICC). a conservation easement on The ICC rallied its the properties, meaning that it membership and brought will hold the development several people to testify rights to the properties. The These are some of the lands which were transferred to the FNSB. against the transfer of the FNSB will hold the remainder parcels to the Borough. of the property rights. years has gone towards Department for being forward What this really means is that purchasing your favorite place thinking, cooperative, and the private land you may have and turning it into a place supportive of open space in been walking your dogs on for everyone can walk, freely, Fairbanks. all these years is now public legally, and for always. See Partnership, Page 4. www.interioraklandtrust.org 3 INTERIOR ALASKA LAND TRUST Partnership, continued from Page 3 that are used year-round by neighbors, lands are required for a healthy other Borough residents, and Pearl Creek community.