Talking Points - Consequences Of Material Site Designation

Historical and Culturally Sensitive Site Impacts

Likely continued loss of unknown archeological and culturally significant, non-renewable resources The final disconnect in the old trails that historically connected Talkeetna’s Ahtna Mountain People with this area. The lake area history is largely unexplored and the site is highly likely to contain significant finds, similar to the adjacent land. The State Historic Preservation Office has said the site needs to be surveyed. The Chickaloon Tribe has said the same for these very reasons.

That is a blow to the community’s effort to respect the indigenous heritage here, with the recently approved renaming of the Talkeetna Lakes Park trails to Alaskan Native names derived from historically important features in or near the park.

Environmental/Destruction of Planned Community Area Resources

Loss of the qualities that were designed into the Talkeetna Lakes Park to make it unique. It is non-motorized, and carefully developed to minimize impacts to the natural environment and promote a quiet experience immersed in nature.

It is a pristine lake environment that prohibits planes except as to the limits of the state’s traditional use access. In which case, they can technically land, but not park on shore.

Loss of Local Business, Suppression of Growing Economic Market Compatible with Talkeetna’s Values

The park is 1100 acres (Kincaid is 1400) of softly developed walking, skiing, biking, canoeing, kayaking, and snowshoeing trails for quiet recreation. X, Y, and Christiansen Lake are all stocked lakes to increase sport fishing opportunities.

The cacophony of quarry noise prevents the quiet and pleasurable nature of lake fishing, trail use, water use, and silent skiing in the vicinity during quarry winter operations.

It is a MSB park asset, its location supports:

Two nature tour guide businesses with commercial concessions from the MSB. One has declared they will lose their highly regarded business that supports full time employees as well as their family. They are fully invested in sharing that all-immersive experience in nature.
The MSB employs one full-time Talkeetna park employee and a part-time trail groomer. Management is a collaborative and cooperative effort with volunteer groups that come together. Many people and local organizations invest time in the park.

The Talkeetna Lakes Park cannot expand. The park has problems with inadequate parking and people cross Comsat Road in the blind curves at a common point of access.

Road Safety Hazards

There were substantial conflicts with heavy trucks hauling loads out of the site. The hazards were captured on video, as they pulled out into a blind curve, and drivers staged trucks on the road outside the entrance (coming out of a blind curve) surprising drivers and inconveniencing traffic, while blocking emergency vehicle access.

The heavy haul trucks were repeatedly far over the centerline at the intersection of Christiansen Lake Road, a school bus stop and one point where people cross the road. Comsat road leads to both recreational and critical up-river subdivision access trails, and bicycles share the road with residents going to multiple subdivisions off Comsat or the “Freedom Hills".

Bikes, bus-stops, an already dangerous crossing area, blind curves and the lack of side rails or bike and pedestrian lanes creates a scenario that is dangerous when mixed with haul trucks. Expanding the road or adding pedestrian trails alongside the road further infringes on the sound and screening buffers which once helped protect residents from road noise and protect XY Lakes from aircraft operation noise. It would also increases cyclist and pedestrian exposures to quarry noise, fugitive dust, and particulates as they transit the area.

Invasive Species

Orange Hawkweed is being studied in Talkeetna because we are considered to have one of the worst outbreaks in the state. Orange Hawkweed grows in the Comsat site where equipment has churned it up in the wheels. There have been no wheel washing measures, and debris is tracked offsite and onto the roads, where orange hawkweed has been recently rapidly invading the roadsides. Continual tracking of noxious invasive species is likely to occur.

Orange hawkweed is presently threatening the agricultural farms near Talkeetna, such as organic Birch Creek Farm, and the seeds have a dormant life of 7 years. It spreads by rhizomes, stolons, prolific seed production and anywhere the root is broken. It forms dense mats that choke out understory plants. It grows everywhere, including gravel pits, and puts out a chemical that prevents other plant seeds from germinating. It requires chemical applications to control it, with fertilization to increase the robustness of surrounding plants. Both would be detrimental to the lakes.

The watershed from the surrounding high points runs in a closed system and enters Christiansen Lake through springs. Increases in runoff, sediment loading, dust particles, chemicals and especially phosphorous in fertilizer treatments create unbalanced lake chemistry leading to cyanotoxins that can have neurotoxin effects on fish, wildlife, dogs, and people, while increasing the rate of eutrophication of the lake, and depleting oxygen. This can lead to die-off of fish, waterfowl and waterbirds. The proximity to sensitive wetlands and lakes make managing orange hawkweed more difficult, if not impossible.

Health and Property Values

The continued Spruce die-off has diminished the tree buffers. There is no sound buffer to the quarry, nor adequate visual screening. Disruptive quarry sound causes known detrimental health impacts and discourages people from being outdoors in the vicinity. Several reports we’ve reviewed place home value reductions in a 3 mile ring at 30% in the inner ring out to 10% in the outer ring when a quarry begins operating, while later in the life of the quarry the decreased value is “baked in”. The MSB ran a property value report for us for the 3 mile ring in 2020 and the value was $88 Million USD in taxable property values. It has gone up by another $1 Million USD with the selling of 5 new Twister Creek ridge lots.

Visual Impacts and Viewshed

The quarry, being exhausted in the northwest corner, and having had operators cross into adjacent SPUD property (leaving the state vulnerable to a legal remedy), has nowhere to go for further development except higher, southward and eastward, closer to XY Lakes and the Talkeetna Lakes Park.

In the winter, the huge scar of the two quarry faces have severely marred the viewshed from the lake, diminishing the experience of being in a natural environment, particularly when seen from residences on the western shore. This viewshed destruction can only get worse. The higher the operation moves, the more it looms over the southern end of Christiansen Lake, and the northern end of XY Lakes.

The material is known to be difficult to get to with excessive overburden the farther east the extraction moves. This results in many times the amount of usable material being removed which accelerates their encroachment into the hill. Gravel was unused in the 2016 airport expansion from this site because apparently it was below grade, and they would have to remove too much material to make it cost efficient to get the required grade.

Environmental Degradation

The quarry floor sits almost 150' feet above the lake’s wetland shore, and multiple types of dirt have been brought in as fill. Sediment runoff is very high in the spring melt, and is captured by two culverts that run under Comsat road, porting runoff, dust, sediment, tracked dirt, weeds and byproducts to Christiansen Lake, with negative impacts to the lake and water quality.

Home Values, Safety

Blasting vibrations can cause radon leaks in home structures, and our area is a red zone for high radon levels.

Environmental Hazards

The site has had hydrocarbon contamination that needs to be cleaned up.

Water Table Breach - Environmental

The operations at the quarry have opened a seam in the water table, and water has been seeping out of the mid-point of the quarry wall for two years now. The former operator's blasting supplier said he hit water in his drill sites. Nothing has been done to deal with the newly opened water system. It forms a very large icefall mid-wall in the winter.

Road Costs, Repairs/Safety of Emergency Egress

The state is responsible for maintenance of both Comsat R.d and the Spur Road. Increased trucking causes rapid breakdown of the paved surfaces, so we can expect road repairs with the inherent dust, noise, inconveniences and safety issues as well as road repairs inhibiting emergency services to the Madison/Freedom Hills and northern Comsat Rd. homes.

Opportunity Cost

There is presently no dedicated snowmachine access to the north beyond the lake, necessitating snow machines run on the road if they want to access the trailhead for remote subdivisions and recreational properties. An alternative trail system through the parcel could keep snowmachines safely off the road.

There is a substantial need for traditional use access that is no longer available as private owners have bought up much of the open land as the state offered it for settlement.

Diminished Use of resources - Economic Impacts

The noise will drive AWAY outdoor users in the vicinity - including shunting them off three recreational lakes, and multiple, otherwise readily accessible park trails. It will dissuade park users, paddle-boarders, kayakers, and canoeists from both XY Lakes and Christiansen Lake Park. Tourism hosts will be less likely to recommend the area for local outdoor excursions, driving down attractive activities for independent travelers.

As the material site active usage expands from 8-11 acres to all 113 acres, the character of the surrounding community would change substantially. Site expansion would also have greater impacts as settlement continues in the upper Madison Rd subdivisions, away from the flood plains (as directed by land use planning). This area boasts spectacular views of Denali and hosts numerous Bed&Breakfasts for independent travelers who are drawn to the beauty and recreation available here.

Workforce Retention, Lifestyle

There is a shortage of seasonal employees here in any year, with 300k visitors. However, to retain a desirable balance of an energetic workforce, and a retiree population, local access to quality outdoor trails and experiences needs to be available. There have to be reasons people move to un-commutable towns with limited year round employment, weather challenges, and hours of distance to conveniences and medical care. That reason is outdoor recreation and wildlife habitats and spectacular views.

Since 2017, the quarry has been operated by a roving contractor based in Sutton, and employed no locals. The rock has been sold for projects 70 miles distant, in the lower valley where several rock quarries exist. Without compliance with permitting, the delivery price must have been good, since we are frequently told haul costs are the reason the quarry must exist.

Retirees are slightly less likely to bushwhack or jump on an ATV to get out to a trail, yet are an important part of the Talkeetna economy now, as they spend their money locally, provide a disproportionate amount of the volunteer work upon which the town runs, but don’t compete for the limited year-round jobs. Accessible walking trails are good for health and an important part of Talkeetna's social fabric.

Young, hardy folks with lower, entry level income requirements are needed for any variety of outdoor adventure positions. Talkeetna attracts many people here to work seasonally because wild Alaska is accessible just out the back door. However, with the inherent limits on income from seasonal jobs, and nowhere to recreate locally, Talkeetna will be less attractive to workers, and less attractive to people who would otherwise gladly give up the conveniences and job opportunities of more commutable towns for the beauty at the end of their block.

Nuisance, Lawlessness, Degradation of Residential Area /Safety/Values

The quarry will continue to draw shooters, illegal fireworks, campfires and other nuisances to it, as we are too far away for enforcement. This problem has been documented for decades. Both while abandoned, and while operating, there have remained discarded washers, cars, equipment and other shooting targets on the site. These should be removed to prevent contamination.

Environmental

Sites that have been extracted have been left in disarray without proper reclamation. Loose dirt has been brought in recently to cover deep extraction into the hill at the north property line. It is unanchored and has not been seeded. The slope that was graded is sloughing off. Unsightly gashes, overburden piles and eroding walls in the old gravel pit have never been addressed. Bullet casings with their associated spent lead litter the site, posing threats to wildlife.

ILMA

The ILMA would close off the site and restrict access.
It will be managed for transportation priorities instead of for a multitude of uses and the maximum benefit of the people.
There would be no predictability and no planning and no way of knowing what level of activity each year would bring.
There would always be uncertainty about what might happen next causing planning issues and unreliable property values.
There would be no reclamation if history is any indicator.
It would cost DOT money to hire a third party contractor to blast, and produce rock.
People would try to steal rock without enforcement.

There are no limits on the scale of extraction, nor requirement to preserve an ILMA. DOT has the option to use the site for any project anywhere in the state.

Opportunity Cost

There will not be alternative sites explored and invested in that would be less costly to the community - the ongoing use of the site will suppress the state’s interest in alternatives, assuring it will always remain “the only rock in the area”.

The State has Not Managed This Resource in the Best Interest for 40 Years, and there is no return on this “investment” to date

The state has not meaningfully used the site for 40 years. There has arguably been no benefit to the state, so the land has not been managed for the maximum benefit of the people.

If the state provides only light use, there will be an opportunity cost of removing 150 acres from multi-use/recreational use.

If the state uses it heavily there will be a community cost to pay, and it will trigger road repairs, construction costs and third-party contracts that are costly.

Retail trucking rates are negotiable but are approximately $70.00/hour.
Recently the MSB paid $95.00/ton for delivered, stockpiled rock. This equated to about 3700 c.y for 1000 tons.
Federal Highway dollars fund most of the road system
10% for highway beautification could be used