Restoring Fish Habitat on a Tributary of Pat’s Creek

Restoring Fish Habitat on a Tributary of Pat’s Creek

Community Watershed Stewardship, Healthy Watersheds, Restoration & Mitigation
Before: Introducing the project At the end of March, SAWC completed on the ground restoration work on a small tributary that feeds into the Pat’s Creek watershed near Wrangell, AK. This tributary had been damaged and blocked off in areas as a result of previous logging operations at the site. The goal of this project is to return the stream to its natural condition prior to logging, allowing for fish passage and sustaining habitat for fish species. Here's an overview of the project site before restoration took place (photograph taken from the Zimovia Hwy bridge): The blue line shows roughly where the stream channel lies beneath piles of slash, sod, and a discarded puncheon trail. This stream crosses under a log stringer bridge from an old road (the black line),…
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Pullen Creek gets a facelift

Pullen Creek gets a facelift

Healthy Watersheds
Pullen Creek is a spring-fed salmon stream that flows through the heart of Skagway, Alaska. In 2006 a roughened channel was constructed downstream of Congress Way to help migrating salmon get through a perched culvert (think of a perched culvert as a small waterfall and a roughened channel as an access ramp). Over the years, high flows removed small rocks in the channel exposing landscaping cloth and eliminating salmon spawning habitat and places for insects to live. This week SAWC replaced the missing rocks with a mix a sand, gravel, and cobbles to restore the streambed in time for a big run of pink salmon later this summer. Check out a video on Facebook.
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WANTED: Watershed Monitoring Intern

WANTED: Watershed Monitoring Intern

Community Watershed Stewardship, Healthy Watersheds, Watershed Science
Position Description: We are seeking an enthusiastic, detail-oriented intern to develop a stream stage–discharge relationship and assist with water and sediment quality monitoring in Jordan Creek, Juneau, AK. The intern will work with Dr. Eran Hood (UAS), the SAWC Science Director and SAWC Restoration Biologist to measure discharge at the site of an existing stream gage across a range of flows throughout the year. Under the supervision of Dr. Hood, the intern will use the data to develop a rating curve for Jordan Creek. The intern will also assist SAWC staff with water and sediment quality monitoring, which will occur once during the spring and summer, and up to three times during fall storm runoff. Water and sediment monitoring events will require full work days (one day in April, one…
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Stormwater Monitoring, Restoration, and Watershed Planning for Jordan Creek

Stormwater Monitoring, Restoration, and Watershed Planning for Jordan Creek

Community Watershed Stewardship, Healthy Watersheds, Watershed Science
SAWC is excited to begin a comprehensive project to address stormwater runoff in Jordan Creek (Juneau). Lower Jordan Creek is highly urbanized. Rainwater and snowmelt flow quickly over pavement, picking up pollutants and sediments and carrying them directly to the stream, where they can damage fish and invertebrate habitat and health. With funding from the AK Department of Environmental Conservation (Alaska Clean Water Actions Program), we will monitor the water for heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and other urban pollutants for the next two years. Additionally, we will restore riparian vegetation, which can filter out pollutants and provide nutrients and habitat for fish, along one reach of the stream. Finally, we will develop a comprehensive watershed management plan by working with land owners and managers to identify solutions and funding sources that…
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