Palmer and Wasilla: Mat-Su towns forge ahead.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: TOWNS IN TRANSITION

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Yahoo, Mat-Su! While this homegrown ditty blasts across the air waves encouraging Alaskans and visiting friends and relatives to spend travel dollars in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, at the same time, the giddy-up-and-go dynamic behind the little jingle also captures the energy that is pulsing through the entire Valley as it continues to grow faster than farm crops in the midnight sun.

While other communities and regions statewide talk about jobs and economic development as part of their long-term wish list, the core communities of Palmer and Wasilla are forging ahead in some of the state's largest industries --along with attracting some new ones--developing a sturdy economic base that is likely to put one of the largest boroughs in the state on everyone's map in the next several years.

VISITOR INDUSTRY

For those just passing through in search of a good time, Bonnie Quill, executive director of the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau (MSCVB), says that the visitor industry--one of the largest and fastest growing in the region--continued to see increases in the number of international and independent travelers arriving this past summer. Despite the punch, many Southcentral communities took from 117,000 cruise passengers who did not sail here due to the economy and redeployment of ships to other ports of call, when final season numbers are tallied she expects to find that the industry again came out on top.

Of about 780,000 visitors annually, Quill says that during the peak summer season 90 percent arrive from Outside and 60 percent are Alaskans who are all too familiar with borough attractions that range from 2,000 miles of dedicated trails--for hiking, snow machining, four-wheeling and dog mushing--to high-end lodges and some of the state's top attractions such as the Iditarod Sled Dog Race and the Maska State Fair.

Currently, visitors spend $201 million annually and create 3,100 jobs, which she says could measurably grow if it invests in needed tourism infrastructure, such as more inviting trailheads, restrooms, kiosks and interpretive information. MSCVB is also in the beginning planning stages for developing a new Mat-Su Valley South Gateway Visitor Center.

EXPLOSIVE GROWTH

Since 1975, when the population was 10,000, Mat-Su has experienced what any region would consider explosive growth. By 2000, the census counted 60,000 residents and since the beginning of the decade estimates show the population has grown 43...