Accessible and wild — many claim these two qualities as cornerstones to quality of life in Anchorage. Soon, residents and visitors will have another park to enjoy, based on a vision that suits both descriptors.
A deal arranged by local nonprofit Great Land Trust will transfer 300 acres adjacent to the popular Potter Marsh to the Municipality of Anchorage’s Parks and Recreation Department. The deal is set to close in January 2025.
“It’s no secret that people come to Anchorage and they stay in Anchorage because of the amount of parks, open spaces, and recreational opportunities we can provide,” said Taylor Keegan, Parks Superintendent for Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department. “So to continue to grow that feels really special, and exciting. We’re happy to do it.”
The future Potter Marsh Watershed Park will offer new access into the region’s distinctively wild backyard as it benefits local plants and animals.
“Part of the motivation in conserving the Potter Marsh Watershed Park property is that it provides all that fresh water inflow to the marsh … and it’s got this really unique terrain with all these hills and benches,” said Ellen Kazary, executive director of Great Land Trust, which has organized purchasing the land for the park.
“It’s just rich. And it’s right there,” Kazary said.
The project will open now-private land east of Potter Marsh to public, recreational use, including about 3.5 miles of existing trails adjacent to Chugach State Park and Moen Park.
“It’s something that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy,” Kazary said. “The future park will have a lot of footpaths, but also some scenic overlooks, parking, and picnic areas.”
Once its ownership is finalized, the Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department will conduct a master planning process to determine what infrastructure and trail improvements will be developed on the property.
“We will typically form a community advisory group to help guide the entire process of the master plan,” Keegan said. “That process will likely kick off in the next year or two … and we’ll let folks know far and wide when the process starts and how they can get involved.”
Officially designating the land as a park enables both humans and animals to utilize the area in a manner that allows them to safely coexist.
“Long term, it’s about habitat conservation … and then all of us people getting to enjoy being a part of that,” Kazary said. “We want to design the infrastructure to allow all of us to use it with as little impact to the wildlife habitat and the wildlife that lives there as possible.”
Working with local landowners, the Heritage Land Bank, and GCI, as well as the Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department, Great Land Trust has secured $6.4 million for the project. The organization is currently working to secure a final $500,000 to match federal grants allowing it to complete the final purchase of the new park land.
Kazary said she hopes people will take away a sense of joy and wonder imparted by nature when visiting the new park.
“I was just out at Potter Marsh,” she said. “It was a sunny day in late July and there were so many people, speaking lots of different languages, out there. There was this sense of awe about the wildlife that’s right here in the urban and wild world we live in. I really hope the visitors get to take away that joy and wonder of seeing it up close.”
Jenny Weis writes for a variety of Alaska nonprofits and causes in between keeping up on Alaska's doughnut scene, sliding on snow, and gawking at cool plants and rocks along local trails.
