The Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area (KMTA) Board of Directors recently awarded five community grants, a total of $43,821 in funding, at their September 2019 meeting at the Sunrise Inn in Cooper Landing. The newly awarded grants will leverage over $100,000 of in-kind community support, and are listed below:
- Girdwood Trails Committee – awarded $5,650 to create and install new interpretive signs throughout the Beaver Pond Trail System.
- Alaska Trails – awarded $13,090 to support the Alaska Trail Stewards 2020 program, which includes 6 volunteer trail maintenance events and community planning meetings that increase trailwork collaboration with the US Forest Service.
- The Student Conservation Association – awarded $10,000 to support the Kenai Peninsula Regional Youth Crews in maintaining numerous trails throughout the Chugach National Forest.
- Seward Mural Society – awarded $8,288 to create and install a new whale mural across from the Alaska Sealife Center in downtown Seward.
- Kenai Watershed Forum – awarded $6,793 to increase community awareness-of and eradicate invasive plants, specifically White Sweet Clover and European Bird Cherry, in the communities of Cooper Landing and Hope.
KMTA receives and administers federal funds to support locally initiated community projects. Through KMTA’s Community-Based Grants Program, the organization works to enhance, preserve, and protect the historic, cultural, scenic, and outdoor recreational resources of Alaska’s only designated National Heritage Area.
Past projects funded include an award-winning high school curriculum, new museum exhibits, trail restoration, interpretive signage, citizen science programs, and historic building restoration. To see past projects click here.