Leask Lakes, located between Lake Harriet Hunt and the Naha River National Recreation trail, has been a long-standing conservation target for some Ketchikan community members.

The Leask Users Coalition hopes to be in line for a nearly $2 million grant to purchase a tract around Leask Lakes, seen here on Oct. 26, to preserve for recreational use. Photo by Mike Sallee

Bill Rotecki is co-chairman of the Leask Users Coalition, a group formed in 2004 seeking to preserve certain parts of the Leask Lakes area from timber harvest. Rotecki said Thursday that similar conservation efforts have been going on in Ketchikan for more than 20 years.

The coalition partnered with the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Cape Fox Corp., and the Southeast Alaska Land Trust in 2004 to develop and submit a report to the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program. The report outlined the coalition's intention for a conservation project in the Leask Lakes area.

Alaska Mental Health Trust owns a 4,850-acre tract encompassing the Leask Lakes and Leask Creek. The coalition is attempting to purchase 22 percent of the tract, or 1,065 acres, for easements surrounding the lakes and creek. The proposed easements would prevent timber harvest in those areas and allow recreational activity in the area. The area is now closed to the public.

The coalition recently announced that the Leask Lakes project has advanced to the national ranking level of the Forest Legacy Program, topping two other Alaska projects. It will be determined in March — after the President signs the federal budget — whether the coalition receives Legacy Program funding, according to Coalition Lands Coordinator Carrie Dolwick. The coalition is asking for about $1.9 million from the Legacy Program, according to Dolwick. It would have to come up with $675,000 in matching funds, she said.

The matching funds would come from a variety of sources, she said, such as private foundations and fundraising. The coalition raised about $12,000 toward the project at an auction last February and plans to hold a similar auction next February, according to Dolwick.

The Legacy Program is a nationwide, cooperative program between the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the Forest Service. The program emphasizes protecting and enhancing traditional forest uses, such as fishing, hunting, logging, hiking and wildlife viewing.

Dolwick said the coalition's intent is to purchase the land and timber rights from Mental Health, and then to develop a plan by 2008 for the 1,065 acres. She said there is great potential for an interconnected trail system in the area. She said she hopes to have one trail connecting the Naha River, Lunch Creek and Lake Harriet Hunt trails.

She said the proposed easement would "protect a wildlife corridor around the lakes and the creek, create public access for all community members, and leave a buffer around the lakes for future tourism opportunities."

Dolwick said there is a lot of historical value within the Leask Lakes area. She said there is a historical cabin at the site and four historic fish weirs. Annual runs of sockeye, steelhead, coho and pink salmon pour into Leask Creek every year and there is a dense population of black bears, wolves and mountain goats in the area, she said.

"There is a lot of community interest in the land," said Dolwick, adding that the area is also a critical nesting habitat for many birds, including the marbled murrelet. She said many bird watchers have been wanting to access the area, but cannot.

The marbled murrelet, a small seabird which nests in the coastal, old-growth forests of this region, is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in Oregon and Washington (sic), according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Rotecki said he felt good about the project advancing to the national level.

"I'm excited about it. We have a lot of good things going for us, and I think we have a very good chance of being successful," said Rotecki.

Dolwick, too, said she was excited about the project making it to the national ranking.

"I'm very hopeful. I think are chances are good because we have been working very closely with state and regional representatives. Everyone is really positive and I think this is a great opportunity for the community of Ketchikan," said Dolwick.

Dolwick said the coalition has been working closely with Mental Health in negotiating the amount of acres

within the proposed easement. As a part of these negotiations, restricted timber harvest would be allowed on 400 acres of the proposed easements.

"They are cooperative land owners and are willing to sell their land," said Dolwick.

The coalition recently received two grants totaling about $10,000 from the Ducks Unlimited and Pacific Coast Joint Venture conservation groups to flag the proposed easement boundaries.

The Legacy Program funded 40 conservation projects from across the nation in fiscal year 2006, totaling about $56.5 million. The Agulowak River conservation project was the only project from Alaska to receive Legacy Program funding in 2006; The Legacy Program contributed $591,000 to the project. The Agulowak River is located in the Wood River mountain range about 150 miles southeast of Bethel on Bristol Bay.

The coalition has applied for funding that would come in fiscal 2008, which begins July 1.