Independence Mine buildings will get a $1.3 million upgrade thanks to a new private grant

The park will remain open and operational throughout the work period, officials said.

It is the first such project in Alaska funded by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, which focuses most of its spending on healthcare issues. In state the trust has previously awarded over $21 million to address water and sanitation issues for rural Villages.

But investing in parks is not unheard of for their organization, said Walter Panzirer, one of the organization’s trustees, who first visited Alaska in 2019 as part of a philanthropic tour hosted by the Rasmuson Foundation.

“We realize that part of being healthy is being active, busy getting out into nature,” he said. “And what’s better to do that than improve the parks, including public access.”

The organization’s other park investment is at Little BigHorn in Montana, where in 2020 they gave $4.5 million towards building a new visitor center.

Four buildings at Independence Mine will receive work under the project: the Managers House; Bunkhouses 1 and 2; and the Mess Hall. The MatSu Parks and Trails Foundation will be administering the grant and work, and an assessment identifying the most urgent needs has already been completed, said Wes Hoskins, the foundation’s executive director.

The grant is a chance to address a slice of the park system’s maintenance backlog created by a lack of funding, Hoskins said.

“It’s projects like this and philanthropy that really helps bridge the gap,” he said. “State Parks has a really broad, comprehensive and sometimes it’s a challenging mission to meet all of the units that you’re managing. And these days, we need a really great mix of partners … so people can come out and hike the trails and come out to this infrastructure that connects back to the past.”

Statewide, the park system is battling $80 million in deferred maintenance projects, including projects ranging from latrine upgrades to historic site fixes like those at Independence Mine, State Park director Ricky Gease said in an interview during an Aug. 8 event at the mine. Rather than rely on the state for increased funding, Gease is hoping more philanthropic organizations step in to help.

“Over the long term we need to find vectors with which we can make investments. … Relationships like this that we can establish with outside foundations because they go out and talk to other foundations, ‘Hey, you know, we’re making an investment here, we encourage you to make investments,’” he said.

Panzirer said he hopes his Trust’s grant can be a “catalyst” for other funders, including the state. He said they have not spoken with Gov. Mike Dunleavy or members of the legislature about funding.

“We wish to be a catalyst, whether it’s the state that steps up the funding, or this spurs other foundations and other private donors,” he said. “If they can rehabilitate more buildings, I’ve been told that more of these buildings would be open to the public. And how cool would that be to the visitor or a local resident being able to access more of their state park?”

The site is one of a handful of historical parks in the state. Over the summer season several of the Mine’s buildings are open to visitors and managed through a state contract with Anchorage-based Salmon Berry Tours company. During the winter the paved paths around the site are groomed for cross-country skiing by the Ma-Su Ski Club.

Major restoration work on the site was last done in the early 1980s, Leidner said.

While weather, age and pressure from the winter snowpack on the buildings’ exteriors has caused structural damage over time, of even greater concern are problems caused by vandalism, Leidner said.

Among that damage are broken glass caused by rocks thrown through windows, busted doors and door frames, smashed and trashed artifacts in the preserved buildings, shattered historic fixtures, graffiti and even holes through walls. Preventing that further damage will take putting in break-resistant windows and doors, to simply keep the vandals out, he said.

“Last year, we had over 50 windows broken out up here between all of the buildings,” he said. “And so they threw rocks through everything. And it was just unbelievable.”

No one has been arrested or charged for those crimes.