The Governor of Alaska, Tony Knowles, has directed his state departments of Transportation and Fish & Game to investigate a route for the South extension of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. The governor has stated his personal preference for a "Coastal" route for the trail. A "Coastal" route means the trail is located in the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge or along the fragile bluff.
The Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) manages the refuge and they strongly oppose most portions of this route for sound biological and ecological reasons. The ADF&G has come under official criticism from the governor for vigorously opposing a heavy-use trail in the sensitive marsh. A trail through the marsh will destroy its character and diminish its effectiveness as a home for abundant wild creatures. This is in direct conflict with the legislature's intent when it created the refuge. Running the trail near the rifle range will also certainly result in dangerous situations and will bring pressure to curtail operations or shut down the only public range within many miles of Alaska's largest shooting population.
This web site (www.thepetitionsite.com) has a petition opposing ANWR oil development, a project strongly promoted by governor Knowles. Consider this comparison: ANWR is over a million acres, and the development footprint is claimed to be 97 acres. The Alaska Department of Fish & Game calculates that the footprint of the Tony Knowles trail will be 51 acres. Yet, this footprint will fall on an area of only a few hundred acres!
The governor is directing Federal Highway Funds to this project. People, that is YOUR money! Think about it, and say NO! Visit this web site http://home.gci.net/~tvolin/acwr.html and follow the links for more information. Visit http://home.gci.net/~southtrail for project details, but remember this web page was built by people under the control of the governor.
WE THE UNDERSIGNED hereby petition the Governor of Alaska to avoid any trails that will be located in the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, along the bluff or anywhere near the Rabbit Creek Rifle Range.
