Preserving, for public benefit, land across Alaska's Kenai Peninsula with natural, recreational, or cultural values by working with willing landowners.
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Conservation Resource Mapping
Kachemak Heritage Land Trust's 2004-2006 resource mapping project identified private Kenai Peninsula land parcels at least five acres in size with significant conservation resources. Parcels were ranked using best available data for specific criteria relating to key wildlife, waterfowl, and nesting bird species; salmon, rare plants, key habitat types, hydrology, parcel size, and proximity to protected lands.
In subsequent years, data from this project were updated and augmented with research generously shared by Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, Homer Soil & Water Conservation District, and Cook Inletkeeper. More about shared research
Then-current research helped KHLT’s 2011 summer intern Natalie Shapiro complete two new resource mapping projects to assist in our land prioritization process. The two projects covered:
1) parcels on the lower Anchor River; and
2) parcels owned by municipalities or the Kenai Peninsula Borough that are adjacent to existing conservation land.
Pursuant to recommendations from biologists and ecologists, some of the key attributes considered were:
Habitat for rare, threatened, or endangered wildlife and birds
Streams containing anadromous fish
Stream areas providing cool water
Wetlands contributing to Coho salmon habitat
Properties adjacent to protected land
Vulnerability to development
Large floodplains
The resulting maps provided KHLT with new, improved tools for prioritizing potential land protection projects.