More than 13 acres of wetlands near conservation areas have a new owner — but that’s not going to mean drastic changes for the North Douglas parcel.<\/p>\n
Southeast Alaska Land Trust<\/a> recently acquired land that sits between City and Borough of Juneau’s 108-acre Conservation Area and the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game <\/a>Refuge<\/a>, the land trust said in a news release. The newly acquired property that’s visible from Glacier Highway will be known as the Grummet Wetlands<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The acquisition of the Grummett Wetlands does not change any of the current uses of the land (i.e., wildlife habitat, recreation area, open space), and that is the point,” said Amanda Pilley, Southeast Alaska Land Trust communications and development coordinator in an email. “The change is that now these uses are permanent. There is no chance of development or any activity that would disrupt the conservation values of the Grummett Wetlands. This property, and all properties that the Southeast Alaska Land Trust has under conservation, are conserved in perpetuity.”<\/p>\n The newly acquired property is named for the late Mike <\/a>Grummett<\/a>, an early Southeast Alaska Land Trust board member and lifelong Juneauite, who died in 2016. Grummett originally donated the roughly 13-acre property to Earthjustice<\/a>, which sold the property to the land trust.<\/p>\n Southeast Alaska Land Trust would not disclose how much the property was sold for. City and Borough of Juneau Assessor’s Office lists the site’s value at $161,400. The news release from the land trust announcing the acquisition said the land was purchased using funds received through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wetland mitigation program.<\/p>\n “It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate the acquisition of these beautiful wetlands on the 25th anniversary of the founding of Southeast Alaska Land Trust,” said Jay Nelson, President of the Board of Southeast Alaska Land Trust in the news release. “It’s especially rewarding that the conservation of this parcel was the dream of Mike Grummett, one of our early supporters and board members.”<\/p>\n Conserving lands near the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge is a goal of Southeast Alaska Land <\/a>Trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n