Hatcher Pass management area discussion heats up Borough meeting

A motorized versus non-motorized issue heated up at the Mat Su Borough Assembly Tuesday night.  Over three dozen people showed up to comment on a proposal for a snowmachining corridor along the Carle Wagon Trail in the Hatcher Pass Management Area.

Athough snowmachining is allowed in the Hatcher Pass area, previous Department of Natural Resource management plans have said the area in question is off limits to motorized use.   Motorized users are now asking for access on the southern side of the pass.  A Borough resolution was introduced last night that would ask DNR to provide a corridor for ATVs and snowmachines.

The Assembly will take more public comment at their next meeting and decide whether or not to pass the resolution on to DNR.  Testimony went on for over an hour with people from both sides of the issue speaking to motorized and non-motorized use of the area.  Darin Markwardt, ski coach of the Palmer High School ski team, asked that the resolution not be introduced.  He said the safety danger with snowmachines in the area where his students practice is too great and he can no longer take them there.

Residents speaking on the other side of the issue asked that the resolution be introduced so there could be public testimony on the possibility of creating the motorized corridor.  Lynn Turner, a resident near Palmer, said that he and others have been using the area for years and he wants to that use preserved for the future.

The Assembly will be taking public testimony on the proposed resolution on March 2^nd at what promises to be another packed Assembly chambers.