Current projects underway and properties under our care

Kenai River Watershed

Kachemak Heritage Land Trust protects another 46.393 acres within the cherished Kenai River Watershed. This marks the culmination of the fifth and final collaborative effort between KHLT and the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF), allowing KHLT to continue furthering its commitment to preserving the ecological integrity of this vital region.

Since its inception in response to the Sterling Highway MP 45-60 Reconstruction Project in 2020, KHLT has diligently worked to identify, evaluate, and secure lands crucial for wetland conservation. With this latest acquisition, the total land safeguarded by KHLT through the ADoT&PF mitigation funds for the Cooper Landing Bypass project has reached an impressive  200+ acres.

Anchor River - Dragonfly Property Project

The Dragonfly Property Has Been Saved!
Thanks to our hardworking and generous community, the Dragonfly Property will be protected in perpetuity—over the past year we’ve raised the funds needed to permanently protect 11.16 acres on the Anchor River! The Conservation Fund purchased the property in the fall of 2023 with grant funds from the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund and other sources, but KHLT needed to raise $40,000 for stewardship and overhead costs to ensure that the property could be transferred to our ownership and protected forever.

"The recent Dragonfly acquisition is a vital addition to KHLT’s Anchor River Salmon Conservation Area as it adds more critical fish and wildlife habitat to our beloved Anchor River." – Joel Cooper, KHLT Stewardship Director

The Dragonfly property is important for conservation because its location on the Anchor River provides spawning and rearing habitat for Chinook salmon, coho salmon, chum salmon, and pink salmon. The property also provides habitat for moose, bear, and other resident and migratory species. What is especially exciting is that the property is located next to eight other parcels owned and protected by KHLT which make up our Anchor River Salmon Conservaton Area. Conserving the Dragonfly property will help to maintain existing habitat for spawning and rearing salmon while improving connectivity of conservation lands along the Anchor River, an important migration corridor on the Kenai Peninsula.
Thank you to our generous supporters for protecting this incredible property!

“The process of protecting the Dragonfly Property has been one of the most inspiring of my KHLT career. The united effort to protect this beautiful property included land trust supporters, sport fishermen, commercial fishermen, supporters of The Conservation Fund, outdoor enthusiasts, and so many others. We will now all be able to fish and hike and enjoy another beautiful place where salmon will spawn freely and moose and bear will travel unhindered by development forever!” – Lauren Rusin, KHLT Conservation Projects Manager

Salmon Creek Conservation Area

In 2012, a partnership project with US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), State of Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G), Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB) Seward – Bear Creek Flood Service Area (SBCFSA), Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance (RBCA), and The Conservation Fund (TCF) acquired nine parcels to establish the Salmon Creek Conservation Area.  The initial 126 acres included four parcels funded by the SBCFSA for flood mitigation and five parcels funded by TCF with in-lieu fee monies for the protection of wetland habitat. The in-lieu fee funds had been paid by the City of Seward and Alaska Railroad to TCF as a land bank for US Army Corps of Engineers compensatory mitigation program. This conservation corridor was prioritized for acquisition as designated special flood hazard area, fish/wildlife habitat, and high value wetlands.

In 2020, the represented agencies reconvened to determine additional strategies to expand the area with Kachemak Heritage Land Trust (KHLT) taking the seat previously filled by The Conservation Fund and Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association (CIAA) joining the group.  The work group met on six occasions to identify the challenges and barriers, develop potential strategies, prioritize areas and parcels, and determine timelines and responsible agencies.

The purpose of the Salmon Creek Conservation Area (SCCA) is to create and foster effective collaborations to maintain healthy fish and wildlife habitat, healthy floodplain functions, healthy people, healthy fisheries and healthy economies in the Seward area. The overall mission includes the protection of the safety and health of the community, protection of public and private property from flood damages, and the protection of fish and wildlife habitat.