{"id":368,"date":"2026-06-10T22:36:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T22:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=368"},"modified":"2026-06-10T22:36:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T22:36:00","slug":"anchorage-lawmakers-and-residents-push-back-on-jber-fence-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=368","title":{"rendered":"Anchorage lawmakers and residents push back on JBER fence proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Danny Clift was looking for fish fry in the creek that runs behind his house. He bought the place in East Anchorage because of the wild military land that borders his back yard.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe idea of having my home back this nice, peaceful, serene creek, it made it feel very much like home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Now, the military wants to build an 8-foot-tall fence topped with barbed wire along the edge of his property, right where that creek is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s really extreme. We’re talking about maybe 30 feet of ripping out all of the ground and all of the trees,\u201d he said. \u201cTaking all of the creeks that have natural wildlife passing through them right now, putting culverts in.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew this kind of thing was a possibility when he moved in nearly a decade ago, but that doesn\u2019t mean he likes the plan.<\/p>\n

When most people think of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, known locally as JBER, they think of the major military installations northwest of the Glenn Highway. But there\u2019s a huge swath of military land that\u2019s part of JBER southeast of the highway too. The new fence would go along the boundary between that part of JBER and residential neighborhoods in East Anchorage. <\/p>\n

The fence is just one of many proposed security measures in a 574-page issued by the military. Others include a nearly one-mile long fence along the Glenn Highway and a short fence along Ship Creek near JBER\u2019s Eagleglen Fitness Park. But residents<\/u> and lawmakers<\/u> have called for more time<\/u> to review the proposal. And they want to better understand why increased security measures are necessary.<\/p>\n

Daniel Volland is vice chair of the Anchorage Assembly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the magnitude of this project, being that it’s a seven mile fence that’s being proposed, I think it warrants further environmental review,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Anchorage Assembly passed a resolution<\/u> May 12 asking the military to extend the proposal\u2019s comment period from 30 to 90 days. Volland was one of three sponsors.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time the U.S. military has considered a perimeter fence. Two decades ago, the military proposed a 34-mile chain-link fence along JBER\u2019s East Anchorage boundary. JBER eventually decided against it.<\/p>\n

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Rick Sinnott was the Anchorage area wildlife biologist for the state Department of Fish and Game at the time, and opposed the plan. In a written statement to JBER about the current plan, he said that such a fence could have significant environmental impact, such as preventing moose from traveling between calving and wintering areas. The fence would run through bear, moose, and wolf habitat. There would be some gates for recreation and wildlife, which would be closed during military exercises.<\/p>\n

Anchorage\u2019s current wildlife area biologist declined multiple interview requests.<\/p>\n

Volland said his constituents who live near the base have questions about the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat that might mean for moose movement, neighborhood access to recreation, quality of life, and also the aesthetics of potentially having a huge fence with barbed wire on the top in your backyard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As the May 30 deadline approached, the military extended the comment period by just under two weeks. In a text message, Volland said he appreciates the \u201cresponsiveness to the community\u2019s request for more time.\u201d But, he said, he\u2019s not sure why the base needs more security in the first place. He hasn\u2019t gotten an explanation from the military. No one from JBER reached out to the assembly to discuss the proposal, he said.<\/p>\n

Representatives from JBER declined multiple interview requests.<\/p>\n

Anchorage residents have hiked and skied trails in parts of JBER for decades, but it requires a permit<\/u>, and a check-in on the JBER website. Sometimes the area is closed because there are live-ammunition drills. The draft proposal states that the JBER border with East Anchorage is vulnerable because trespassers sometimes interrupt military training exercises, or enter places where \u201cthere is an increased potential for severe injury or death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clift, who is the outgoing chair of the Scenic Foothills Community Council, said he\u2019s heard from JBER officials in the past who are frustrated with civilians entering the military land when they shouldn\u2019t. Clift said he gets that it\u2019s a real problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a recreational area back here, but they won’t sign into the website, and they won’t check to make sure that it’s open or closed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But Clift doesn\u2019t think the fence is the right fix.<\/p>\n

\u201cA better solution might be more signage, more knowledge,\u201d he said. \u201cPut the signs up so that people know where to log in and look at the website. That would be less catastrophic to this area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more 3 key takeaways from Juneau\u2019s finalized city budget<\/a><\/p>\n

The extended comment period<\/u> closes June 12.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The nearly seven-mile chain-link fence would be built along the boundary between U.S. military land and Anchorage\u2019s eastern edge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAnchorage lawmakers and residents push back on JBER fence proposal - Alaska Moving Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=368\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anchorage lawmakers and residents push back on JBER fence proposal - Alaska Moving Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The nearly seven-mile chain-link fence would be built along the boundary between U.S. military land and Anchorage\u2019s eastern edge.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=368\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Alaska Moving Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-10T22:36:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=368#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=368\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e09896005b88414084eb4bd3215ab0a\"},\"headline\":\"Anchorage lawmakers and residents push back on JBER fence proposal\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-10T22:36:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=368\"},\"wordCount\":841,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=368#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/686244379206b96bffb6a44c57afcfa2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=368#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=368\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=368\",\"name\":\"Anchorage lawmakers and residents push back on JBER fence proposal - 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