Matanuska Valley Moose Range
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Proposed Moose Range rules limit target shooting to areas that don't exist yet
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources said Friday it has not designated any shooting areas in the Matanuska Valley Moose Range near Sutton. Under rules the department proposed this month, those areas would be the only places on state land in the range where target shooting is allowed.
"None have been designated," DNR wrote in a list of answers to public questions about the proposal, which Alaska News first reported Oct. 7. Future shooting areas may be designated by the department's Division of Mining, Land and Water, it said.
People already shoot there. After the Jonesville coal mine closed, the area near Slipper Lake became an informal spot for shooting, camping and ATV riding, according to a borough-commissioned study Alaska News reported on Oct. 14. The Mat-Su Borough Assembly backed creating the Jonesville Public Use Area in 2017 with a resolution citing a shooting death, several near misses and shots fired at houses, Alaska News has reported. The Legislature created it in 2018.
For now, DNR pointed to a Mat-Su Borough request for up to 210 acres near Slipper Lake to build a shooting range, open for public comment until Oct. 30. The borough puts the cost at about $7.5 million, built in phases as grants and other money allow.
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Latest
October 2026
DNR proposes requiring permits for most shooting in the Matanuska Valley Moose Range
DNR wants a permit for most gunfire near Slipper Lake and across the Moose Range, and for burning cars. Hunters are exempt. Comments due Nov. 9.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
September 2026
State extends Unit 9B resident moose season to Sept. 30 after bad weather limited hunting
Wind, rain and high water kept Iliamna-area moose hunters off the water. The state is adding five days, so the Unit 9B hunt now runs through Sept. 30.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Troopers cite a Wasilla hunter over evidence of sex missing from his moose
A Wasilla hunter was cited near Eureka after troopers found his moose no longer had evidence of sex attached, a detail that turns a legal animal into a charge.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Railroad board to discuss $315 million Port MacKenzie extension Friday
The Alaska Railroad board will discuss a private consortium's Port MacKenzie proposal Friday. Any board action must occur in public session.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Judge upholds federal permit for mining access inside Lake Clark National Park
A judge upheld the permit for a road, airstrip and tunnel inside Lake Clark park. The test was whether the Corps was arbitrary, not whether it was right.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Fish and Wildlife is putting GPS collars on moose in the upper Tanana
Tetlin refuge would like a word with its moose. It is spending $94,542 on GPS collars to learn where they go and how well they are eating.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Two bulls close the bow-only moose hunt at Eklutna Lake, with hunters still out
Two bulls came out of the Eklutna Lake country and the bow hunt is over. That is roughly half a ton of meat taken off a herd of about seventy.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A power surcharge in Manley Hot Springs would nearly triple
The fuel surcharge on Manley Hot Springs electric bills would nearly triple under a new filing, while state rural power assistance stays where it is.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
More from Matanuska Valley Moose Range
August 2026
Manley Hot Springs surcharge would nearly triple under a filing before regulators
Manley Hot Springs electric customers face a cost-of-power surcharge nearly three times higher on Sept. 1. The state credit that offsets it does not move.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A company wants to rework historic Interior goldfields, mining two creeks for a decade
A company wants to mine gold for a decade from two creeks in Alaska's historic Ruby goldfields, first struck in 1911, disturbing about 35 acres of streambed.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
A family gold operation wants four more seasons on Cache Creek, mined since the early 1900s
A family gold operation wants to work Cache Creek near Petersville for four more seasons, on ground mined by family outfits since the early 1900s.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The state plans to sell Granite Construction gravel near Chickaloon, without competitive bidding
The state plans to sell Granite Construction 40,000 cubic yards of gravel near Chickaloon with no competitive bidding, on a Glenn Highway stretch it's repaving.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A free hut near Snowbird Glacier could get a new 10-year state lease
A free backcountry hut near Snowbird Glacier — no membership, just get yourself there — could keep going under a new 10-year state lease.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Gold-exploration filings cluster in a historic Interior district
Three gold-exploration applications landed within six days in the historic Valdez Creek district, a small rush in an area that's produced gold since 1903.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Parks Highway delays ease on one stretch, but not the next
Parks Highway traffic control is gone between MP 322 and 325 after a haul-truck crossing opened, but the next stretch south still has speed limits and diversions until 2028.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
July 2026
State plans a gravel sale on the Parks Highway near Denali
Alaska is set to sell gravel from a Parks Highway site near Denali — under a system an ombudsman faulted in 2019 and the state declined to change.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
About Matanuska Valley Moose Range
The Matanuska Valley Moose Range is a state-managed game refuge in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of Southcentral Alaska, lying between Palmer and Sutton. It is set aside to protect winter habitat for moose, and the state uses prescribed burns to keep forage growing there.
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources regulates what happens on the range, including hunting, recreational shooting and gravel extraction. Gunfire is the recurring question: whether most shooting near Slipper Lake and elsewhere on the range should need a permit, where target practice belongs, and how hunting fits alongside those limits.
More from Matanuska Valley Moose Range
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by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Fish Creek sport fishery closes today; dipnet opening possible if counts hold
Fish Creek sport fishery closes today, but Alaska residents could dipnet sockeye starting late July if ADF&G counts exceed 35,000 salmon in coming days.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
June 2026
The state wants this gravel pit to be permanent.
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by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska Earth Sciences ask DNR for fuel cache permit in western Alaska Range
Alaska Earth Sciences seeks a permit to place 11 fuel caches in the western Alaska Range this summer, storing up to 55 gallons of jet fuel at each site. Public comments are due June 3 to DNR.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read