View source for Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge

{{Short description|Nature preserve in Alaska, United States}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge
| alt_name =
| iucn_category = V
| photo =
| photo_alt =
| photo_caption =
| photo_width =
| map = Alaska
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location in Alaska
| map_width =
| nearest_city = Anchorage, Alaska
| coordinates = {{Coord|61|32|N|149|21|W|region:US-AK|display=title,inline}}
| area_acre = 22,839
| established = 1975
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = [[Alaska Department of Natural Resources]]
| url =
}}
The '''Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge''' is located in [[Alaska]], south of [[Wasilla]] and north of [[Anchorage]]. It is composed of {{convert|28800|acre|ha sqmi|0}} of coastal marshy areas adjacent to Knik Arm that support populations of moose, muskrat, foxes, coyotes, eagles, and migratory waterfowl. In springtime, tens of thousands of migratory geese, swans, shoebirds, and ducks rest and refuel. Many of these stay in the summer. The [[Knik River]], the [[Matanuska River]], Rabbit Slough, Wasilla Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and Spring Creek flow through it.<ref name="ADFG">{{cite web |title=Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge, Alaska Department of Fish and Game |url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=palmerhayflats.main |website=www.adfg.alaska.gov |access-date=11 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
It is a popular location for hunting, skiing, iceskating, and hiking, and other uses.  It is bisected by the [[Glenn Highway]].
It can be accessed at Rabbit Slough, from the Glenn Highway, Nelson Road, Scout Ridge and other locations.
== History ==
An [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous people]] called the [[Knikatnu]] first settled the land that would become the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge before Alaskan annexation into the United States. The indigenous people left behind a trail that would become the Iditarod Trail. Prior to the [[1964 Alaska earthquake]], the land was dry grassland.<ref name="ADFG" /> The name of the refuge stems from the hay farming that went on before the earthquake.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://maps.usgs.gov/padus/#share=g-975a9e51a8c027ed5c83d8e8e513a3a3 U.S. Geological Survey Map] at the U.S. Geological Survey Map Website. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
[[Category:Protected areas of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska]]
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