Woodard Creek begins in Woodard Canyon above Karen Hornaday Park and meanders through Homer into Kachemak Bay at Bishop’s Beach. The creek connects neighborhood properties and businesses. But like many water systems, Woodard Creek suffers from erosion, loss of flood plain, or culverting as it runs underneath parking lots and streets, hidden from view and thought.
In 2014, a group of interested land owners and community stakeholders joined together to form the Woodard Creek Coalition with a mission of promoting the health and safety of the Woodard Creek Watershed as a community asset. The project sought to respect public and private property and promote the natural integrity of the watershed. Together, arts, education, environmental, and governmental organizations, as well as interested citizens, articulated a shared vision and watershed plan, adopted by the City of Homer in 2017.
The vision for the future of Woodard Creek imagines “daylighting” the creek, bridge culverts, protecting the flood plain and watershed, and developing parks, art installations and trails for community access.
Link to City Resolution