Chena Greenbelt Project
The Chena Greenbelt is a multi-partner effort to link approximately 30 properties together to form a network of green space for recreation, watershed protection and wildlife habitat. In the midst of a rapidly urbanizing land base in Fairbanks, Alaska, these properties face direct conversion from wetlands to gravel pits and suburban development. In some cases the wetlands are excavated to form small lakes that lie at the center of the new subdivisions.
To date, The Conservation Fund has acquired ten properties totaling 210 acres to form the nucleus of the Chena Greenbelt. The project is funded in large part by mitigation fees resulting from projects that impact wetlands. The Fund operates the only wetlands mitigation program in Interior Alaska, and these funds are essential to the success of the Chena Greenbelt Project.
