The 2016 Southeast Alaska Stream and Watershed Restoration Workshop brought together 21 Natural Resource Management Practitioners from across the region and 6 experienced Instructors from the Pacific Northwest for five days of intensive watershed restoration study, discussion, and field visits on Prince of Wales Island this May.
Led by a cadre of Restoration Practitioners from The US Forest Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service based in Oregon, the workshop brought new perspectives on watershed restoration goals and objectives, design, implementation, and monitoring. Instructors shared their expertise and experience working on watershed restoration efforts throughout the Pacific Northwest, and facilitated lively discussion around the opportunities, needs, challenges, and successes of restoration in Southeast Alaska.
Participants spent a day in the field on POW at a reach of Staney Creek reviewing previously collected cross section data and examining current hydrologic processes and habitat conditions on the reach before returning to the classroom to design a potential restoration project for the site.
Participants visited completed stream restoration projects on Gandlaay Haanaa, Harris River and Twelvemile Creek to discuss lessons learned and project successes and challenges.
SAWC would like to thank the National Forest Foundation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service Juneau Field Office for the funding support to make this training possible. We would also like to thank our partners at the US Forest Service for all of their work and support to make this such a successful workshop and robust learning experience.