Reviving the Upper Susitna Soil and Water Conservation District

Trail work, stream crossings, and connecting landowners with resources are all among the work the Upper Susitna Soil and Water Conservation District once did. Until the State removed the funding for the districts.

Now, the Alaska Association of Conservation Districts operates as a non-profit umbrella group for all the districts across the state, providing modest funding to help support their efforts. The Upper Susitna district includes Cantwell, Trapper Creek and Talkeetna, all the way south to Little Willow Creek. Mark Gutman is stepping into an organizer’s role part-time with funding from the Association. 

He says landowners, also called cooperators, are needed to revive the organization. Though he says he has more than the 25 required, he also will need board members and a public meeting to get the district approved by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

And that’s needed to apply for bigger grants than what the Association can provide. Gutman says he’s interested in working on the decline of Susitna River salmon, but there are other projects the group could pursue.

He is working with the Upper Susitna Community and Senior Center to find a date that would work for a public meeting, he hopes sometime in late March.