Mat-Su Borough seeks up to 210 state acres near Slipper Lake for shooting range

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough has asked the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for up to 210 acres in the Jonesville Public Use Area near Slipper Lake in Sutton to build a multiple-lane shooting range. DNR posted the request Sept. 29, and public comments are due by 5 pm Oct. 30.

The borough's application puts the capital cost at $7.5 million, depending on grants and other funding, with Phase 1 construction planned for summer or fall 2027. The borough checked "yes" that the site would be restricted or closed to public use, but said only a portion of the public use area would close during construction, without saying which part or when.

The Legislature created the public use area in 2018 to address public safety concerns. The borough hired PND Engineers last year to design Phase 1: a rifle and pistol range, parking, restrooms and road improvements.

PND rated six potential sites and, in a May 27 feasibility study, recommended the area just west of Slipper Lake. The study describes it as an open, informal shooting area on mine tailings capped with 1 to 3 feet of sand and gravel. 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 and says a soil assessment may be needed.

DNR's notice calls the request a cooperative resource management agreement, but the borough used the state form for an interagency land management assignment. The notice also places the site in Range 3 West, while the borough and its consultant say Range 3 East.

The schedules differ too. In April, the borough manager signed a $1 million grant 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 schedule has design finishing in late 2027 and a National Environmental Policy Act environmental assessment open for comment in the first half of 2028. The records do not 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. Comments on those rules are due Nov. 9.