Kachemak Heritage Land Trust (KHLT) is a non-profit organization, established in 1989 to preserve for public benefit, land with significant natural, recreational, or cultural values by working with willing landowners on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.

Across America, 37 million acres have been conserved by local, state, and national land trusts.  This is an area 16 1/2 times the size of Yellowstone National Park.  There are now over 1,600 land trusts -- local and regional organizations that are saving dwindling open space through cooperative voluntary action.  Property owners have worked with land trusts to protect ranches, ocean shores, wetlands, scenic views, farms, wildlife habitat, river corridors, and trails - land of every size and type that has special conservation, historical, or open space value.

Landowners choose from a variety of protection tools. The property may stay in private ownership and use, or may be transferred to the land trust. In every case, the way in which the property is protected depends on the wishes of the landowner and the natural values of the property.

Kachemak Heritage Land Trust was established as Alaska's first land trust.  Since its inception, Kachemak Heritage Land Trust has helped to preserve many acres of wildlife habitat, historic and cultural sites, recreational corridors, and urban open space on the Peninsula through easements and donations of land.

Yule Kilcher's conservation easement ensures that his 613-acre homestead will not be subdivided. His children are developing small home sites and will continue the agricultural and ranching activities that Yule began in the 1950s.

Toby Tyler's conservation easement ensures that his 20-acre property will forever be preserved for its conservation values including valuable wildlife habitat and serves as an important link in the corridor between the moose summer range and the Beluga wetlands wintering grounds.

Spring Wish List

2006-2009 Newsletters

KHLT's Diamond Creek Project success

Conservation Resource Mapping

Click above for KHLT's two-year resource mapping project identifying the most significant private land on the Kenai Peninsula.  Printed copies available by calling (907) 235-5263.  NOTE:  When viewing the maps, please note that the properties with the higher numerical scores (in red) are the properties with the highest ranking.

Join KHLT as a Member and purchase KHLT merchandise

KHLT Community Garden

Potato Project

“The best things that can come out of the garden

are gifts for other people.“ -Jamie Jobb

This year KHLT is growing potatoes for the Homer Food Pantry in a portion of the community garden, with help from some of our friends.

Compost to enrich the soil was provided by Jim Van Oss, and Homer Saw & Cycle assisted with tilling the area. Spenard Builders Supply gave us a discount on filter fabric to keep weeds in check, and Neil Wagner donated an assortment of seed potatoes from local sources. Members of Lyn Maslow’s third grade class from West Homer Elementary School did the planting.

Volunteers will tend the plants over the summer, and the elementary school students will harvest the potatoes this fall for donation to Homer’s food pantry.

In year one of what we hope will be an annual event, KHLT’s Potato Project aims to connect local youth to the concept of locally grown food while also giving back to the community. Please contact us if you are interested in helping out!

Federal Tax Incentives

 for Land Protection

find out more

Kenai Peninsula Landscape

Connectivity Project

KHLT's Connect the Dots initiative is designed to maintain landscape connectivity on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula by permanently preserving land adjacent to existing conservation land.

As we consider the properties identified in our resource inventory as most significant, many of them are adjacent to protected land and provide important movement corridors for wildlife.  These are the properties that we are targeting first for protection, as conservation science reveals that landscapes must remain connected to sustain habitat integrity.  If habitat is fragmented into “islands”, the ecological functions of an area may be compromised.

Thank you to all of the many individual donors who contributed to our annual appeal, helping us to meet our grant match for this important project!

Marie McCarty, Executive Director

"Thank you!" to the major funders of our Kenai Peninsula Landscape Connectivity Project:

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Coastal Program -- matching grant

The Mountaineers Foundation

The Skaggs Foundation

American Seafoods

Temper of the Times