Anchorage Girl Scouts Adopt Potter Marsh
- ADF&G Press Release

Anchorage Girl Scouts Adopt Potter Marsh

(Anchorage) - Visitors to Anchorage’s most popular wildlife viewing location may observe some new caretakers at the Potter Marsh boardwalk this year. Girl Scout Troop 301 has “adopted” Potter Marsh as a site they will help protect and manage. An official signing of the adoption agreement will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 11, at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Offices located at 333 Raspberry Road in Anchorage. Media are invited to attend.

An agreement between the department and the Girl Scouts outlines their responsibilities which will include assistance with the upkeep of the boardwalk and other facilities, monitoring and protection of wildlife, assisting with public use and educational activities, and other age-appropriate duties.

“The intent of the Adopt-a-Refuge program is to further the community’s support and appreciation of our state wildlife refuges and ultimately all of our rich wildlife resources in the state,” said Refuge Program Coordinator Joe Meehan. “Community groups such as the Girl Scouts help us accomplish our management goals in the refuge by providing a much needed service and allowing us to be more efficient with our limited public funds.”

Georgia Lee Tolbert, troop leader for the Girl Scouts, said “This partnership is a wonderful way for the scouts to give back to their community and helps teach them about responsibility and their role as a citizen in helping direct the management of our resources.”

Potter Marsh, part of the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, is a 564-acre freshwater marsh in south Anchorage. Approximately 130,000 visits are made to the boardwalk at Potter Marsh each year with many more people utilizing other portions of the marsh and refuge.