By SUZANNE DOWNING
July 4, 2026 – On the eve of the Independence Day, supporters of Eaglexit launched a renewed effort to secure local self-governance for the Eagle River and Chugiak area.
After more than seven years of planning, research, and legal work, Eaglexit resubmitted its petition to Alaska’s Local Boundary Commission for a third informal technical review while a companion organization, Eaglexit Action, prepares to launch a yearlong signature-gathering campaign beginning July 4.
Volunteers will begin collecting signatures during the Chugiak Independence Day Parade and will also staff petition booths at the Moose Horn Café and Chugiak Café throughout the day.
The petition seeks to create the proposed Chugach Regional Borough, which would separate Eagle River, Chugiak, Birchwood, Eklutna, and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson from the Municipality of Anchorage to form an independent borough government.
Under Alaska law, organizers must collect roughly 10,000 valid signatures within one year before the proposal can move to formal consideration by the Local Boundary Commission. Organizers say they intend to gather at least 13,000 signatures to provide a comfortable margin.
“The submission of this updated petition represents the culmination of years of volunteer work and professional analysis,” said Catherine Margolin, chair of Eaglexit. “Our volunteers, consultants, attorneys, financial experts, and community members have invested thousands of hours studying whether a new borough could successfully serve the residents of Eagle River, Chugiak, Birchwood, Eklutna, and JBER.”
Margolin said the effort now shifts from planning to public participation.
“This is a very exciting time for us. Now is the time for the community itself to decide whether this proposal deserves to move forward,” she said. “Collecting signatures does not create a new borough. It simply gives residents the opportunity to advance the proposal through the state’s review process and ensure that the question receives full public consideration.”
Supporters argue that a borough dedicated exclusively to the communities of northern Anchorage would provide greater local control over education, budgeting, planning, and public services while improving accountability and representation.
The idea of separating Eagle River and Chugiak from Anchorage has circulated for decades, but this effort differs from previous attempts because it is backed by a completed draft charter, transition plan, fiscal analysis, governance structure, service delivery plan, and other documentation required under Alaska’s borough formation laws.
The proposal is no longer just an idea, Margolin said. “It is a detailed plan that residents can review, question, improve, support, or oppose. We welcome that discussion. Our goal is not to tell people what to think. Our goal is to ensure they have the opportunity to make an informed decision about the future governance of their community and correct a structural mismatch between the Municipality of Anchorage and the Eagle River-Chugiak community.”
Eaglexit Action will lead the public advocacy campaign while Eaglexit continues to oversee the borough formation proposal itself. The organizations say they are separate entities, with Eaglexit focused on research and planning and Eaglexit Action responsible for public outreach and collecting petition signatures.
If the required signatures are gathered, the proposal would proceed through the Local Boundary Commission’s formal review process before any borough could ultimately be created.
The proposed Chugach Regional Borough would encompass the area currently represented by Anchorage Assembly District 2, including Eagle River, Chugiak, Birchwood, Eklutna, and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
As parade-goers celebrate America’s 250th birthday and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Eaglexit volunteers hope residents will also consider signing a petition they say represents a declaration of local independence—not from the United States, but from governance by the Municipality of Anchorage.
