Mat-Su Assembly classifies Zero Lake Road land for a future shooting range

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly voted Tuesday to classify borough land on Zero Lake Road as reserve-use land for a future shooting range, over objections from neighboring property owners. Assembly members Bowles and Nowers opposed.

Residents and cabin owners testified against the site for nearly a year. They cited wildfire risk, lead contamination downstream, no borough-owned road access, and a fault line through the area. One cabin owner's structure sits about 1,000 feet downrange. Opponents proposed an alternative site zoned heavy industrial and sought a two-year moratorium.

A letter from a man shot in the neck near the site in 2020 backed a regulated range. Mayor Edna DeVries said "you're going to be safer, um, with something that's going to corral some of these yahoos."

The Assembly also approved classifications near Milepost 123 and Milepost 77 of the Parks Highway. The classifications authorize no construction, design or timeline, and appropriate no money.