The Forest Service plans to build new public-use cabins on the northern Kenai Peninsula within the Chugach National Forest, and is seeking public comment on the proposed locations.
Chugach received money through the 2021 bipartisan federal infrastructure bill to develop new public use cabins, and fix old ones. The cabins, located along trails and at campsites in the forest, are popular recreation sites for locals and tourists, and are often booked months in advance. There are currently 40 on the peninsula.
Alaska received $14.4 million from the bill for work on the cabins. The Forest Service announced the first use of that money yesterday, plans for five new cabins near Turnagain Pass, Hope and Primrose.
The first three proposed cabins, located in Turnagain Pass, include two sites at the Granite Creek Campground and one cabin 2.5 miles into the Center Ridge Trailhead at the top of Turnagain Pass. That later location is along the Iditarod National Historic Trail.
The fourth proposed cabin is located in Hope, within the Porcupine Campground and near the Gull Rock Trail. The final location is near Primrose, on Meridian Lake and accessible by the Grayling Lake Trail.
Between now and July 3, the Forest Service is looking for public comment on those plans, by email at darin.watschke@usda.gov, or by mail to Darin Watschke, 161 E 1st Ave, Door 8, Anchorage AK 99501.
A statement from the Forest Service says public meetings about these cabin proposals will be scheduled later in the summer, and it will notify the public once details of those meetings have been set.
Last month, Chugach announced it was seeking input on fees for another new cabin, located near Crown Point at the Trail River Campground. That cabin is set to be built around the end of 2023, but is unrelated to the infrastructure bill.
