Oil Patch Bits: The Nature Conservancy honors Palmer’s Kim Sollien

If you live in Alaska’s Mat-Su valleys, chances are you’ve met Kim Sollien on the trail with her three dogs, at the farmer’s market, or at your local community council meeting. Your kids may have heard her teach hands-on lessons about streams and salmon at their school. From having coffee with community leaders in downtown Palmer to swinging hammers while building a new boardwalk, wherever Sollien goes, she carries a simple message with her: “Tell me about the special places you love in the Mat-Su and I’ll tell you how we can work together to protect them.”

Because Sollien’s efforts are making a difference, The Nature Conservancy in Alaska is pleased to present her with the 2016 Susan Ruddy Community Conservation Award.

Sollien has been instrumental in Great Land Trust’s campaign to secure permanent public access to Bodenburg Butte, a popular hiking destination with a commanding view of the Matanuska Valley. She has led Great Land Trust in creating new hiking and nature-watching opportunities in an area newly added to the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge and worked with a number of Valley families to help them conserve their historic homesteads. Her sights are now set on creating a new coastal park near Settler’s Bay.

The Susan Ruddy Community Conservation Award is dedicated annually to an individual who has worked to promote conservation in Alaska through forging successful partnerships and building consensus in local communities. The award honors the remarkable contributions of Susan Ruddy, the founding state director of The Nature Conservancy in Alaska and current president of the Alaska chapter’s Board of Trustees. As an award recipient, Sollien serves a one-year term as an honorary trustee for The Nature Conservancy in Alaska.

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