Just in time for his reelection campaign, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has reversed course on the absurd decision to permanently close the Chena River State Recreation Site in Fairbanks.

The campground and boat launch should never have been closed this summer. After a June 2021 closure order, the state and the city should have come up with a plan to resolve the matter. They didn’t.

Instead, the state and city did nothing. State parks has a maintenance staff of one in the northern region. That’s a big part of the problem.

The state said “significant law enforcement problems” led to the decision a year ago.

Dunleavy, who is spending tens of thousands a month of state funds to hire public relations people to promote his campaign, should have told the parks division to find a way to get the site open this summer.

The Fairbanks legislative delegation complained directly to him about the closure after my July 21 blog post and other accounts. Legislators asked several good questions that remain unanswered.

The key thing is that the state will begin to clean up the site and the “goal” is to open at least part of it before the summer ends. With the slowdown in the fire season, firefighters will be available for cleanup work.

That wasn’t hard. All it took was direction from the top during an election year.

But the state posturing about the reversal leaves a lot to be desired.

Dunleavy, and key state employees who owe their jobs to him, are again demonstrating that they are willing to use state resources for campaigning, which is against state law.

Akis Gialopsos, the acting commissioner of natural resources, is in that group.

The state press release announcing the reversal from the Department of Natural Resources paints Dunleavy and Fairbanks Mayor Jim Matherly as the heroes of this episode, neglecting to mention why they allowed it to close.

Gialopsos tells us now that Dunleavy recognizes how important the site is to Fairbanks. And Matherly counts himself as “very pleased” with the new plan.

Earlier this summer, the state blamed increased crime and said the closure was permanent. The site is within the city limits and under the jurisdiction of the the Fairbanks Police Department, with a chain of command that leads to Matherly.

After I wrote that the state claimed the rec site shutdown was permanent, the state changed the word to “indefinitely.”

Now the state says that the goal is to open part of the site before the fall. No schedule yet.

If the past is any guide, the Fairbanks news coverage of this debacle will be based on the press release from the state, which is pure campaign propaganda for Dunleavy and Matherly.

Your contributions help support independent analysis and political commentary by Alaska reporter and author Dermot Cole. Thank you for reading and for your support. Either click here to use PayPal or send checks to: Dermot Cole, Box 10673, Fairbanks, AK 99710-0673