Note: Alaska Nature Guides is a business member of KTNA.
Howard Carbone, owner of Alaska Nature Guides, is familiar with the controversy regarding materials extraction near his home in Talkeetna. But he’s not only a homeowner, he’s also a business owner. And he stands to lose if a recent proposal by the Department of Natural Resources, regarding what is locally known as “Comsat Quarry” is adopted.
Howard Carbone has guided nature hikes in Talkeetna since 2008. According to Carbone, tourists seek him out looking for that authentic Alaskan experience.
“So many people come to Alaska and are just shuttled from one place to the next and really don’t have a chance to get deep out in nature, immersed in it, and that is what we do. Talkeetna is beautiful lake country where you see swans and loons. It’s very natural and lots of wildflowers, lots of berries and lots of peace and quiet.”
But industrial activity in 2017 and 2019 disrupted the experience, interrupting a moment where natural stillness was supposed to be the product.
“I went on a hike in Talkeetna Lakes Park in 2019 and I could not believe how loud the noise is. When they’re blasting and they’re sorting rock, and they’re loading rock trucks, it’s all you hear. It is absolutely not what people come to Talkeetna Lakes Park for.”
The Department of Natural Resources has recently proposed that the land be re-designated and handed over to the Department of Transportation for routine materials extraction. According to Marty Parsons, Director of the Division of Mining, Land and Water, the site is important to the state because of the type of material found there. He says the nearest state-owned source of similar rock is 143 miles away.
“It’s my understanding that the closest site of state-owned land that would contain an adequate source of the same quality material is out by Kings River on the Glenn Highway. So that’s 84 miles back to the interchange and another 59 miles to the cutoff going to Talkeetna.”
But the Mat-Su Borough says that there are other, non-state owned sources of material that are closer. And the Department of Public Works chose those sources for a revetment project in Talkeetna last summer because of a lower materials cost.
Carbone finds the lack of public process in this issue troubling. He wishes DNR would have fully engaged the local community.
“When they want to designate a materials site like that, they’re supposed to make sure that that use is compatible and consistent with the other land uses around it. Well, what’s around that site? neighborhoods and a park.”
DNR maintains that because the site was used in the past for one or two small projects in the 1980s and 90s, that the site is already designated by default, and that the full public process is unnecessary.
DNR has given the public until Monday, October 25th to comment on this specific proposal. Written comments regarding the quarry can be submitted to Carol Hasburgh at DNR through email at carol.hasburgh@alaska.gov.
