Our Parks and Recreation team maintains
10,946 acres of Municipal Parkland encompassing
226 parks! To help maintain these well-loved assets, our operations staff, along with help from our community and volunteers, work hard to keep our parks clean, green, and safe.
Summer Maintenance
The park operations team is responsible for the beautification, care and maintenance of parks, trails, public facility landscapes and road right-of-way landscape within the Municipality.
Mowing
Want to know who mows the lawns? Our team mows and maintains 250 acres of turf!
Playground/Asset Management
Our crews maintain and repair 82 playgrounds, 38 soccer fields, 64 athletic courts, and 62 ball fields!
Rewilding
In 2024, Anchorage Parks and Recreation started implementing No-Mow Zones around the borders of select parks. These are subtle reductions in mowing area to help us reduce emissions, reduce negative effects of erosion around streambanks, and create more sustainable landscapes.
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Horticulture
The Horticulture division of Anchorage Parks and Recreation is responsible for the production and care of thousands of plants utilized in landscaping and beautifying Anchorage. This includes:
- Planting and maintaining
461 flower beds and baskets with more than
76,000 annual flowers at 81 sites
- Operating 10 plant production greenhouses totaling
52,000 sqare feet
- Maintaining 179 tree and shrub landscape sites containing 21,600 trees, 39,525 shrubs, 1,135 perennials, and 3,007 feet of hedges.
- Irrigation for all of the above flower beds, containers, landscape, and turf sites.
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Pests and Invasive Species Management
Invasive species are non-native plants and animals that harm ecosystems by pushing out local species and causing environmental and economic problems. They can reduce land use, destroy natural food sources, and create areas dominated by just one type of plant. In Alaska, many invasive species are aggressive, harming native plants and animals, disrupting food webs, and posing risks to pets and livestock.
Anchorage Parks and Recreation collaborates with various agencies to manage invasive species.Several methods are used for control, including manual removal and mechanical tools, and herbicides are used as last resort. When herbicides are necessary, they target specific plants to limit damage to surrounding vegetation. All treatments are conducted by certified pesticide applicators who are trained in identifying invasive species.
Anchorage Municipal Code of Ordinances Chapter 15.75 Pesticide Control establishes that the application of non-organic approved pesticides can only be made on municipal property with the approval of the Director (Anchorage Health Department (AHD) or Parks and Recreation (P&R) Department). Control of invasive species is a stated reason in code for use of otherwise ‘non-allowed’ pesticides. Due to the invasiveness, aggressive growth forms, difficulty to control, and potential to disrupt ecosystems herbicide use has been granted in a limited capacity for certain plant species based on size, infestation, and location. All herbicide applications will adhere to public noticing requirements in Title 15.
Approved locations for herbicide application and species treated in 2023:
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Tikishla Park: European bird cherry
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JB Gottstein: Creeping (Canada) thistle and European bird cherry
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Kincaid Park: European bird cherry
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Far North Bicentennial Park: European bird cherry
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Campbell Park: Orange hawkweed
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Hilltop Ski Area Road: Orange hawkweed
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Forsythe Park: European bird cherry
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Oceanview Bluff Park: Orange hawkweed
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Section 36: Orange hawkweed
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Forest Management
To reduce the risk of wildfires to homes and businesses, the Municipality of Anchorage Department of Parks and Recreation, the Anchorage Fire Department, and the Office of Emergency Management have partnered to remove potential hazardous fuel sources such as dead standing or fallen spruce trees that killed by spruce bark beetle infestations. Removing dead woody material not only decreases wildfire potential but also reduces risk to trail users and park facilities from falling debris.
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