The Chugach National Forest intends to construct five new cabins in four locations on the Glacier and Seward Ranger Districts utilizing funding from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
The proposed cabins will promote easier access to public lands for communities and recreationists in Southcentral Alaska.
The Chugach National Forest has found changes to cabin user trends over recent years and has identified the need to increase capacity and accessibility.
The Chugach National Forest maintains 41 public use cabins in Southcentral Alaska across Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula, and the Copper River Delta. Cabin settings range from developed recreation sites to remote backcountry locations. The most popular cabins offer a variety of user experiences such as hunting and fishing, saltwater access, winter sports, and/or other unique or scenic recreation opportunities.
Recreation managers have found changes to cabin user trends overtime and have identified the need to increase capacity and increase accessibility public lands as priorities. In response, agency leadership intend to construct new cabins in locations that promote easier access to public lands for communities and recreationists in Southcentral Alaska.
The Forest requests the public’s input on those plans.
These locations include two sites on the Glacier Ranger District:
- Granite Creek Campground – Located in Turnagain Pass on the Kenai Peninsula and proposed to host two new public use cabins.
- Tincan Cabin – Located along the Turnagain Pass Trail segment of the Iditarod National Historic Trail (INHT). Most users will access this cabin via an approximately 2.5 miles hike from Center Ridge Trailhead.
Two more cabin sites are proposed on the Seward Ranger District:
- Porcupine Cabin – Located near the town of Hope, within the Porcupine Campground footprint, between campsites 14 and 15, and nearby Gull Rock Trail.
- Meridian Cabin – Located on the east side of Meridian Lake adjacent to the lake shore, accessible via the Grayling Lake Trail and the INHT.
Details on the proposed cabins can be found by visiting; https://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/chugach/landmanagement/projects
Please email comments to [email protected] by July 3, 2023. You may also mail or hand deliver to Darin Watschke, 161 E 1st Ave, Door 8, Anchorage AK 99501.
Any questions on the projects should be directed to:
Darin Watschke
907-401-4126
Public meetings for these cabin proposals will be scheduled later this summer, and notice will be given to the public once details of those meetings have been determined.
Your input and ideas are crucial in designing, analyzing, and implementing successful cabin projects. Comments are most helpful when they identify specific issues, places, or provide suggestions to improve the projects.
These investments are made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which devotes resources to rural infrastructure improvements.
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) has dedicated funds to constructing new public-use cabins on Alaska’s National Forests, including on the Chugach National Forest. The National Forest Foundation (NFF) is the primary partner assisting the Forest Service in achieving this goal.
Stay in touch with the latest Chugach National Forest updates on Twitter @ChugachForestAK and Facebook @ChugachNF.
