The Matanuska-Susitna Borough (Borough) Land & Resource Management Division is proposing an oral outcry bid salvage timber sale on Borough owned parcels tax ID 16N05W04A002, 16N05W09A001, 16N05W10B002, 17N05W28A001, 17N05W33B001, and 5695000T00A-1. These parcels are located west of Big Lake and west of the Little Susitna River. Forest management activities would focus on approximately 1,000 acres targeting the removal of over-mature white birch and beetle-killed spruce. Access to the designated harvest area will be off W. Susitna Parkway.  A 100-foot buffer between the harvest area and wetlands and waterbodies will be required to reduce any negative visual effects and protect water quality.

Tree species composition is highly comprised of over-mature white birch with minor components of white spruce and quaking aspen. The recommended treatment is a seed-tree cut (leaving 5-10 trees/acre) harvesting the over-mature white birch and dead spruce. This treatment aims to facilitate natural regeneration of hardwoods and enhance growing conditions for residual trees. This treatment aims to facilitate natural regeneration of hardwoods and promote the release of residual live spruce trees in both the understory and midstory. An estimated volume of 7,000 cords of timber is expected to be extracted from the 1,000-acre harvest area.

Supporting material is available for public inspection during normal business hours on the 2nd floor of the Borough Building in the Land & Resource Management office or visit the Public Notice Section on the Borough’s web page, www.matsugov.us.  Public comment is invited on this request.  If you have any comments please mail or deliver them to the Borough offices at the address indicated above, no later than October 16, 2023.  If you have questions about this request call Emerson Krueger at 907-861-7867 between 8 am - 5 pm or you can send an e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (please refer to MSB008132 Moraine Ridge Salvage Timber Sale when submitting comments). 

Notice of Full Road Closure – N Tait Drive will be closed between E Bogard Road and E Seldon Road for resurfacing starting at 8 a.m. on Monday September 16, 2024 and continuing through 5 p.m. Tuesday September 24, 2024. Access for local traffic will be coordinated by crews on-site. See the attached map for location and other information

The Church Road Personal Use Firewood Area (PUFA) opens October 4, 2024. The Church Road Personal Use Firewood Area access is located off Church Road just North of Seldon Road on the west. Only dead down and dead standing spruce may be harvested.

The harvest area of the Church Road PUFA permit area includes about forty-three (43) acres. Harvesting of dead timber in this area will remove fuel wood and promote forest health while providing a Personal Use Firewood Area within the Core Area.    

A $25 permit is required and may be obtained online or in-person by appointment from the Land & Resource Management Division between the hours of 8am-5pm, Mon-Fri. beginning October 4, 2024 at the Borough Administration Building, located at 350 E. Dahlia Avenue, Palmer. The permit must be in your possession during the removal of wood from the site. The cost for each cord of wood is $0. The area will be open indefinitely until staff determine there is no harvestable trees remaining. The 2024 permit expires December 31, 2024.

 This permit is non-transferable to other MSB permitted Personal Use Firewood Areas.  Please call Emerson Krueger at 907-861-7867 if you have any questions, or to schedule an in-person appointment to receive a permit.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing concerning the application on Monday, October 21, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in the Borough Assembly Chambers at 350 E. Dahlia Avenue in Palmer. This may be the only presentation of this item before the Planning Commission, and you are invited to attend. Planning Commission members may not receive or engage in ex-parte contact with the applicant, other interested parties in the application, or members of the public concerning the application or issues presented in the application.

Application materials may be viewed online at www.matsugov.us by clicking “All Public Notices & Announcements.”  For additional information, you may contact Rick Benedict, Current Planner, by phone: 907-861-8527. Provide written comments by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by mail to MSB Development Services Division, 350 E. Dahlia Avenue, Palmer, AK 99645.

The public may provide verbal testimony at the meeting or telephonically by calling 1-855-290-3803. To be eligible to file an appeal from a decision of the Planning Commission, a person must be designated an interested party. See MSB 15.39.010 for the definition of an interested party. The procedures governing appeals to the Board of Adjustment and Appeals are contained in MSB 15.39.010-250, which is available on the Borough home page at www.matsugov.us, in the Borough Clerk’s office, and at various libraries within the borough.

Comments are due on or before October 4, 2024, and will be included in the Planning Commission packet. Please be advised that comments received from the public after that date will not be included in the staff report, but will be provided to the Commission at the meeting.