Ms. Debbie Broneske
Land Resource Management
Matanuska Susitna Borough
350 East Dahlia Avenue
Palmer, Alaska 99645

Dear Ms. Broneske:

This is a follow-up letter or Results to the Comments I submitted on March 21st, 2008. The Willow Area Community Organization met Monday, April 7th and the Borough Forest Plan was on the Agenda.

We request that two parcels within our Community boundaries-Deception Creek and Rogers Creek not be included in the proposed Multi-Use Forest Management Units which is our understanding could or would lead to operable or commercial logging. We incorporate the Comments of Planning Commissioner Halter and the Willow Trail Committee in regards to these two parcels and their importance to the Community of Willow and its future. We request a primary classification of Resource Management with a secondary designation of Public Recreation/Watershed Protection for both Deception Creek and Rogers Creek parcels.

As I also said in my original Comments, we had little or no time to really address these issues and they were not presented to this or other communities correctly or adequately. This area and our lands have been assaulted with demands that can harm existing uses from a number of sources: State DNR via the Draft Southeast Susitna Plan; State DNR and from the Borough via Fish Creek Management Draft Plan; The EIS process for the Rail Spur by both the Borough and now the STB; potential gas drilling on lands within southern Willow; ML&P proposing a second large utility corridor through Houston and Willow for a second set of electric lines, and this Mat-Su Borough Draft Forest Plan. These plans taken alone are worrisome but when taken together they offer major concerns for the future of the Valley.

Our economies, which are backed by recreation and tourism, may be lost when these plans are poorly presented to communities who know the areas well, and when they are so fragmented so that the “total impact” to the Susitna Valley, the Parks Highway Corridor and individual communities is difficult to ascertain. The development of the Parks Highway Corridor should not present a “strip” of development but we fear with these plans this may be occurring. And just as worrisome, an insidious industrialization of a pristine place of recovery for the urban and suburban dwellers at easy car distance.

We strongly recommend that you review your comment gathering processes. For plans that are revised in 20-30 year segments, it should be easy to take a little more time to let the people and communities who know the area best provide you advice. We remain available to you or your colleagues coming to Willow and talking with us directly.

Sincerely,
Linda Oxley
Chair