Mat-Su Borough asks state for 210 acres near Sutton for a shooting range

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough has asked the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for up to 210 acres of old coal mine land near Slipper Lake in Sutton to build a multiple-lane shooting range. DNR posted the request Sept. 29.

People already shoot there. After the Jonesville coal mine closed, the area became a de facto spot for shooting, camping and ATV riding, according to a feasibility study the borough commissioned. The study says some users have engaged in "indiscriminate shooting, vehicle burning, and vandalism." The Legislature created the Jonesville Public Use Area in 2018 to address public safety concerns.

The borough's application puts the cost at about $7.5 million, built in phases and depending on grants and other funding. Phase 1 construction is planned for summer or fall 2027. The borough hired PND Engineers last year to design that first phase: a rifle and pistol range, parking, restrooms and road improvements. DNR's notice says the site could later expand to buildings such as "education services, sale shops, etc."

Part of the public use area would close to the public during construction, the borough said, without saying which part or for how long.

PND rated six potential sites and recommended the area just west of Slipper Lake, the only one the study rated acceptable overall. It's an open, informal shooting area on mine tailings capped with 1 to 3 feet of sand and gravel, a cap meant to keep the tailings from reigniting. Ranges of 25 to 300 yards would need little grading, with Wishbone Hill as a backstop for shots fired north or west.

The site rated poorly for noise, with little terrain or vegetation to absorb sound. The study expects lead at all six sites, since people already shoot at each of them, and says a soil assessment may be needed.

The borough's schedules differ. In April, the borough manager signed a $1 million application to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Hunter Access Grant Program for Phase 1 design and environmental review, with a $250,000 borough match. That application has design finishing in late 2027 and a federal environmental assessment open for public comment in the first half of 2028. The land request plans Phase 1 construction for 2027. The records don't show whether the grant was awarded.

The request follows DNR's separate proposal, reported by Alaska News Oct. 7, to require permits for most shooting across the Jonesville Public Use Area and the Matanuska Valley Moose Range.