Saddle Trail Property Acquisition (Hawaii Beach)

https://www.conservationfund.org/projects/protecting-a-key-piece-of-kachemak-bay-state-park

1/15/2024

Exciting News! The Conservation Fund has successfully donated the Saddle Trail Property to the State of Alaska for the benefit of Kachemak Bay State Park and for the protection of public access to this remarkable spot! THANK YOU to everyone who stepped up to support this important land protection effort. We could not have done it without you. I’d like to thank all the private and individual donations, and well as significant support from The Homer Foundation and ConocoPhillips Alaska. And it’s not too late to help if you haven’t done so already, so please donate to this project!

4/11/2023 Update

I am excited to announce that The Conservation Fund has received a $25,000 grant from ConocoPhillips Alaska to support this project, bringing our total to over $100,000 in donations. The Conservation Fund will continue to fundraise for the remaining $200,000 while it works to transfer the property to the Kachemak Bay State Park in 2023.

10/20/2022 Update:

The Conservation Fund continues to explore and cultivate fundraising opportunities, with a recent focus on public grants to leverage $75,000 in private donations. We understand that a $300,000 goal is ambitious and a difficult lift in a small town such as Homer, so we are dedicated to broadening our fundraising horizons to ensure that this project is successful. Thanks for your patience and continued support!

4/11/2022 Update:

Exciting news! The Homer Foundation has provided a $20,000 grant to this important acquisition. Combined with several other significant gifts from the Homer community, we are now at $75,000, or 25% of the way to our goal. Thanks for your continued support.

2/8/2022 Update:

The Conservation Fund is now the proud owner of the Saddle Trail Property! Using its internal funds, The Conservation Fund has taken the leap to buy the property so that the opportunity to protect this community asset is not lost. Please give to this project to help us achieve our fundraising goal so we can convey this property to the State Park and permanently protect public access.

12/13/2021 Update:

Thanks to strong support and encouragement from the Homer community, The Conservation Fund is comfortable extending its fundraising into 2022 and 2023 to ensure that the opportunity to acquire and protect this property for the public is not lost. The Conservation Fund is accelerating and diversifying its fundraising efforts to ensure that we will be successful, and more information about our fundraising strategy will be available on this website soon. Please support this project and help to spread the word!

Background:

The Conservation Fund (Fund) is raising money to protect an important property for public access and recreation within Kachemak Bay State Park. Chris Little, the Alaska Associate for The Conservation Fund, lives in Homer and is leading this effort. As a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to protect America's land and water resources, the Fund has been working in Alaska since 1994 and has protected over 300,000 acres of important habitat throughout the state. 

At approximately 5 acres, the “Saddle Trail” property is located in Halibut Cove within Kachemak Bay State Park and provides important shore access to the beach and neighboring Saddle Trail, one of the most popular trails in Alaska. The Fund has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect the Saddle Trail property and public access to this important area.

The acquisition of the Saddle Trail property will secure a beachfront location for Park visitors to access this incredible area and hike on the nearby Saddle Trail, a well-used trail to Grewingk Glacier Lake and an important access point to numerous other backcountry trails. The sandy beach in front of the Saddle Trail property, locally known as Hawaii Beach, offers unparalleled "beach" recreation and safe access to this area for boats. When the tide is high, Hawaii Beach is inundated, and visitors are confined to the staircase at the start of the Saddle Trail. If the Saddle Trail property is successfully acquired and protected for public access, visitors would be able to use the uplands on the Saddle Trail property without fear of trespass.

With no road access to the Park, visitors rely heavily on boat transportation and beach access points such as this property to access and enjoy the Park. Tourism and recreation are essential to the economy of Homer and the Kenai Peninsula and acquiring this property is a top priority. This project has strong public support from local Homer businesses and the community. The Fund intends to acquire and hold the property for a short period of time, then convey the property to the Kacheamk Bay State Park.

In order to protect this vital access point to Kachemak Bay State Park, we need to raise $300,000 by summer 2023. Please consider a gift today.

The Fund will purchase the property using its internal funds to ensure that this opportunity is not lost. The Fund will hold the property for 1-2 years until its fundraising goal is achieved, then donate the property to Kachemak Bay State Park.

To kick off this fundraising campaign, the Fund is committing $25,000 to this project from the Estate of the late Dale Bondurant, a long time supporter of conservation and Kachemak Bay State Park. To best leverage private fundraising, the Fund is also exploring public grants to support this project.

If you would like to donate with a check, please make the check out to The Conservation Fund and write "AK-Saddle Trail/Halibut Cove" in the Memo line on the check. Please mail the check to:

• The Conservation Fund 
• 1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300
•  Arlington, VA 22209

* If The Conservation Fund exceeds its fundraising goal for the Saddle Trail acquisition, all remaining funds will be used for additional acquisitions within Kachemak Bay State Park. In the unlikely event that the Saddle Trail property acquisition does not come to fruition, you can redirect your gift to one of The Conservation Fund’s other Alaska conservation initiatives or receive a full reimbursement. We will contact you directly should this unlikely event occur.

Project Manager Contact Information:

• Chris Little, The Conservation Fund, P.O. Box 940 Homer, AK 99603
• Phone: (907) 929-2249
• Email: clittle@conservationfund.org