SAWC staff, joined by ADF&G Habitat Biologists, visited the dredge ponds in Fish Creek estuary, near Douglas, AK, to assess watershed enhancement opportunities in the area. To learn more about current habitat conditions, we measured water quality and trapped overwintering fish in both ponds. The east pond was completely iced over, but dissolved oxygen concentrations were high, and many stickleback and even a few juvenile Coho appeared in the fish traps. In the west pond, which is connected to Fish Creek and tidally influenced, we found many juvenile Coho, stickleback, sculpin, and even a shrimp in the fish traps. Water quality measurements indicated high dissolved oxygen concentrations and a mix of freshwater and salty, tidal water in the west pond.

Rebecca Bellmore, Jesse Lindgren, and Rob Cadmus watch as Greg Albrecht checks the water depth through a hole in the ice on the east dredge pond in Fish Creek Estuary, Douglas, AK. Photo courtesy of John Hudson.

Jesse Lindgren, Greg Albrecht, Rebecca Bellmore, and Rob Cadmus survey the elevation of the east dredge pond in Fish Creek estuary, Douglas, AK. Photo courtesy of John Hudson.