Mat-Su landowners can seek two-thirds reimbursement for streambank repairs by Oct. 30

Erosion Repair Funding Open to Mat-Su Landowners

Mat-Su landowners with eroding lake shoreline or streambank can have up to two-thirds of the repair cost reimbursed under a state and federal program now taking proposals. The deadline for the 2027 Mat-Su Habitat Rehabilitation and Protection Cost-Share Program is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fish administers the program with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is open to private landowners and public land managers in the Mat-Su Borough. It covers technical advice, help with state and federal permitting, and construction money. Funds are limited, and the department says not all projects can be funded.

The department says the work uses bioengineering techniques to stabilize, revegetate and rehabilitate streambanks and shorelines.

"The mission of our program is to protect salmon habitat by working cooperatively with land managers and landowners who may be experiencing erosion or habitat degradation on their property," habitat biologist Grace Fahrney said.

The program began in 1995 on the Kenai Peninsula and expanded into the Matanuska-Susitna Basin in 2007. Alaska News earlier covered the Fairbanks-area version of the program, which reimburses up to half the cost of streambank work in the Tanana Watershed.

How to Apply

For more information, contact Fahrney, the Mat-Su program manager, at 907-267-2146 or [email protected]. Details are also posted on the ADF&G cost-share program website.

Proposals close at 5 p.m. Oct. 30. The banks keep moving until then.