Wade Behm and his son Eric of Happy Hooker Towing were called in by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to winch out a sunken Ford F-150 pickup from the waters of the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge Wednesday, about 500 yards south of Nelson Road.
Wildlife Trooper Ernie Brent, who is investigating the incident, said the driver was illegally off-roading when his truck fell through the ice into juvenile salmon rearing waters early in the morning on Feb. 8. He said operating a vehicle in the area without a permit is a class A misdemeanor.
"A lot of people don't recognize that the ice over flowing water doesn't freeze as it would on a lake, so just because the lakes in the area are driveable it doesn't mean the streams are," Brent said.
Brent said the damage that can be caused by such cases is substantial.
"It's not only the vehicle going through the ice but the damage caused by the removal process. We are lucky that in this case it doesn't appear the vehicle was leaking any fluids into the water. The refuge and streams in the area (Wasilla Creek and Rabbit Slough) are critical salmon spawning habitat for several species of salmon," said Brent.
Doug Hill, manager of the Palmer Hay Flats refuge, said that in the marsh area "even on a cold year, there can be open and thin areas in the ice due to moving water, narrow spots where the water is constricted, springs and perhaps due to gases from decomposition of organic matter."