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Near Island is slated for some growth in the coming years. The new Fish and Game building has been under construction for some time and ground was recently broken on the new Afognak Native Corporation building near Saint Herman Harbor. But it’s not just construction of new buildings taking place on the island. Hidden within the wooded areas surrounding the offices and developed land is a network of trails that will also see some changes in the months and years to come.
Andy Schroeder is the director and founder of Island Trails Network. He joined KMXT for Talk of the Rock on Tuesday and discussed trail expansion on Near Island.
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(Near Island Trails 1 :28 “Ever since we began, Near Island
is where we started building trails. In, that must be 2009. Near Island
is where we started learning and cutting our teeth in trail
construction. Mostly hiking, it’s an urban area; it’s a passive
recreation place. And these are primarily hiking trails with a two to
three food tread width and a narrow corridor for a natural experience
and a lot of people are walking this and running this and walking their
dogs on their lunch breaks or before or after work.”)
Schroeder said the plan is to fill out Near Island with a network of
trails, linking them with different buildings and already established
trails.
-- (Near Island Trails 2 :32 “And the
objective at Near Island is to, we’re trying to keep pace with
development and extraction there. And our sort of belief is that we can
expand the trail system as the same time as the island fills out. It’s a
strategically important island to the city of Kodiak. Parts of it are
going to need to be sold off and developed, we’re building a new fish
and game building over there. Our goal is to get in place and
institutionalize a little bit the trail system of Near Island so that
development when it comes in can sort of coexist with it.”)
Schroeder said the ITN crew has plans in place to construct a new trail
that will provide a unique view to those that use it.
--
(Near Island Trails 3 :37 “So our next stage of trail
development on Near Island is what we’re calling Phase Three, which
might also be called the Channelside Trail. Starts at Near Island North
End Park, across the channel from say the old powerhouse. It weaves
along the hillside under the bridge and goes that direction toward the
channel, I guess that would be, I’m going to get this wrong, Southwest,
and ends at the city trailer parking lot there, which may someday be
some other new public facility. So we’re proud of that plan, we’re
excited about moving forward, it’s been funded and we’re just sort of
working through some of the details with the city before breaking
ground.”)
As Schroeder said, Near Island already has a
well-established system of trails, many of which see a lot of community
use. Nick Kesling is a crew leader for ITN and said a huge part of ITN’s
work is to maintain and improve those trails that are already in place.
-- (Near Island Trails 4 :39 “I guess part of
our mission as Island Trails is to build sustainable trails and this
year with the front country crew we were able to over on Near Island to
if you’re pretty familiar with the south end over there near Trident
Basin there’s a well used trail there that kind of goes straight up a
hill at the beginning and goes out to the point looking at the harbor.
And this year was a really good opportunity and me Leslie and the front
country crew was able to go out there and to build a new trail head,
about 500 feet long, that was a more sustainable route to reconnect with
the trail and to get rid of that steep hillside and to make it last
longer and to be easier for everyone to use, all age types.”)
Schroeder said trail work is wrapping up as the temperature drops and
fall swiftly transitions into winter. The months ahead will be set aside
for logistical planning and fundraising for projects he hopes to tackle
in the coming year.
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