In early August, when the weather was sunny, we decided to bike along Eklutna Lake, a ride we have been doing for years, taking our children when they were younger. The trail along the lake is one of the many scenic rides we have near Anchorage. And while the scenery didn’t disappoint, the condition of the trail was the worst we have seen in over 30 years. Large parts of the trail were sloughing off into the lake, there were giant root balls in the trail, there were large puddles on the trail, and small streams running down the middle of the trail. Moreover, there were large amounts of loose gravel and large cobble rocks that made riding very unstable. And then there were lots of bushes and trees crowding the trail that made travel hazardous. There were lots of places where one needed to walk one’s bike because a slip could send one into the lake. These are huge changes over the delight of riding the trail just a few years ago. Gone are the days when families with younger riders could have a family outing riding along Eklutna.
It is abundantly clear that the Alaska Division of Parks and Recreation has virtually no budget for maintenance. We drove up to Prospect Heights Trailhead last week. The parking lot there has not been graded in several years — it is one mass of potholes a quarter-mile long. In talking with friends, it sounds like this is evident in many of the campgrounds and parks maintained by the state parks department. Trash and dirty toilet facilities are everywhere. Earlier this spring, the governor vetoed $336,000 for Chugach State Park maintenance and management.
The Division of State Parks and Recreation’s budget is another example of the deficiencies within the state bureaucracy where people are elected who detest the functions of government. The university and the Alaska Marine Highway system are mere shadows of what they used to be. Our anti-education governor vetoed $87.5 million in funding for K-12 education, $3.5 million from the Head Start program, $10.4 million in school maintenance for school repairs and capital upgrades, and another $35 million veto to infrastructure maintenance and renovation for the University of Alaska. The list of his vetoes goes on and on.
However, we all received our huge Permanent Fund dividend last year. It is becoming increasingly evident that our PFDs are being financed by cutting public programs and services, many of which contribute to the lifestyle of living in Alaska. Gov. Mike Dunleavy used our limited resources to buy votes to get re-elected. Alaska has been losing its population for a number of years. Many of the factors that impact where people decide to live are quality of life issues and recreational opportunities. A robust educational system, as well as parks and recreational facilities, as well as good transportation infrastructure, are part of what draws people to live here. We haven’t come to terms with the idea that many of the expenditures of government contribute to the quality of life that Alaskans have enjoyed. I wonder if we ever will.
— P.J. Hill
Anchorage
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