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Homer Area Small Parcels

The Tulin parcel is located approximately 10 miles north of Homer on Cook Inlet. The parcel contains 3,580 feet of shoreline and runs parallel and contains Diamond Creek. The parcel is adjacent to State owned land to the south that does not have road access to the Sterling Highway. This parcel has exceptional potential to enhance recreational opportunities by providing improved access to a large section of beach that prior to purchase was inaccessible to the public. This large wooded parcel is located on a bluff overlooking Cook Inlet and provides habitat for nesting bald eagles.

The Overlook parcel is located just outside of Homer on the bluff overlooking Cook Inlet. It is situated below and visible from the Sterling Highway scenic overlook. The parcel is bounded on the north by State lands. The parcel is accessible by foot down a steep path or via a 3.5-mile hike from Bishops Beach. The parcel has ¾ mile of shoreline on Kachemak Bay and contains extensive tide pools, unique to the area, with rich intertidal flora and fauna Acquisition of this parcel also benefits recreation and tourism enjoyed particularly by local residents. Local community groups, public schools, and natural history groups use this area for environmental education field trips, bird watching, and specimen collecting.

The Homer Spit Mud Bay or Green Timbers parcel consists largely of low lying intertidal mud flats and salt marsh on the eastern side of the Homer Spit along Kachemak Bay extending across the spit to include the outer beach berm. This parcel protects important intertidal resources. The estuarine habitat extends from the mid intertidal to the supratidal elevations transitioning from a muddy intertidal, gravel substrate to grass salt marsh along the western beach berm. On the bays side, the brackish waters of the intertidal provide habitat for juvenile salmon, harbor seals, and rich intertidal vegetation supporting numerous species of migrating shorebirds. In the spring, the wetter areas of this parcel are of importance to a variety of waterfowl. Because of the rich intertidal and the resources that use the intertidal, the area is of great interest to the local community and supports recreation and tourism activities such as bird watching and wildlife viewing.

The Beluga Slough parcel is a 38-acre tact adjacent to the Beluga Slough that drains into Kachemak Bay. This parcel protects important intertidal resources. The intertidal vegetation and invertebrates are of special importance to migratory birds seasonally. In the spring the tidal flats are used by tens of thousands of migrating birds and the uplands are used for roosting at high tide. The area is also important to waterfowl as recognized in the Kachemak Bay Critical Habitat Area Management. Because of these resource values the community places a high value on the area and the parcel helps support community based recreation and tourism activities such as the Homer Shorebird Festival.

As part of the Homer Spit/Beluga Slough package, the City of Homer agreed to set aside and place an additional 59.52 acres of city land in protective status by conveying a conservation easement to the United States and State of Alaska. The Homer Spit and Beluga Slough parcels are owned and managed by the City of Homer with conservation easements held by the United States, and the State of Alaska.