The Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition's Annual Wrangell BEACH Monitoring Report is now available for review! With support from the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Wrangell BEACH Monitoring program was initiated in July 2014 to collect water quality data and keep the public informed of bacteria levels for safe recreational use at City Park and Petroglyph Beach near Wrangell. [caption id="attachment_5677" align="aligncenter" width="480"] SAWC staff Angie Eldred collects samples at City Park, near Wrangell[/caption] Bacterial contamination in Alaska’s coastal recreational waters can originate from sources such as shoreline development, wastewater collection and treatment facilities, septic tanks, urban runoff, disposal of human waste from boats, commercial and domestic animals and natural animal sources such as wildlife. People who swim and recreate in waters contaminated with such bacterial pollution…
Clean water and bountiful salmon are an integral part of life in Southeast Alaska, where our wet rainforest climate creates the conditions to support the thriving rivers, streams, and ocean our communities depend on. While we live, work, and recreate in this beautiful corner of the world, the activities of our daily lives can result in impacts to the aquatic environments we hold so near and dear to our hearts. Taiya Inlet Watershed Council in Skagway is introducing a model solution to city pollution in one of their most popular streams. Stormwater Pollution in Urban Areas As rainfall and melted snow accumulate and move across the nonporous surfaces of our urban areas like sidewalks and city streets, they collect pollutants such as motor oil, gasoline, fertilizers, pesticides, heavy metals,…
[caption id="attachment_5485" align="aligncenter" width="611"] Pat's Lake, at the outlet of Pat Creek[/caption] Pat Creek, near the community of Wrangell, supports runs of coho, pink, sockeye, and chum salmon, as well as Dolly Varden char, Coastal Cutthroat trout, and Steelhead trout. The Pat Creek watershed is highly valued by the Wrangell community for its accessibility and opportunities for recreation and subsistence activities. Much of the valley bottom in the Pat Creek watershed was logged in the 1960s, 70s, and 90s; about 2,000 acres of timber on federal lands was harvested during that time. These lands were transferred to the state of Alaska in 1991 and are presently managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR) Division of Forestry and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. Because Pat Creek is…
Eulachon, locally pronounced "hooligan" have been an important subsistence food source for residents of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Rivers near Haines for generations. Eulachon are anadromous (spending part of their life in the ocean, part in fresh water) fish that gather in large schools at the mouths of rivers and streams before heading up to spawn each spring. During annual runs, the small, oily fish can be easily harvested in large quantities, and are often smoked or dried and eaten as a traditional subsistence food. In Southeast Alaska Eulachon runs are present in the watersheds of the Unuk, Stikine, Taku, Mendenhall, Lace, and Chilkat and Chilkoot Rivers. [caption id="attachment_5459" align="alignleft" width="500"] Eulachon filling the Chilkoot River during the 2011 run.[/caption] In southern portions of Eulachon habitat range the species has been…
[caption id="attachment_5414" align="aligncenter" width="611"] Renovations underway at TWC's Jones Point property[/caption] Congratulations to TWC, the new owner of the Jones Point Property in Haines! The property encompasses 50 acres full of opportunity for stewardship, restoration, education, and recreation for the Haines community. Located on the banks of the Chilkat River and previously owned by Native village corporation Klukwan Inc., the property hosts several buildings that TWC intends to renovate and a large garage that will be taken down for safety concerns. Takshanuk Watershed Council obtained ownership of the property with support from The Conservation Fund. The property is currently a registered contaminated site with vehicle, boat, and machinery remnants awaiting proper removal and disposal, as well as contaminated soils deposited on site from other Klukwan Inc. properties that will require remediation.…
Taiya Inlet Watershed Council connects kids to their backyard watersheds and fishy neighbors with the Salmon in the Classroom program. TIWC Coordinator Rachel Ford gives us an update on Salmon in the Schools at Skagway Elementary school! [caption id="attachment_5397" align="aligncenter" width="700"] K-2 students play the food web game to learn where fish get their dinner[/caption] This is the third year of our Salmon in the Classroom program and what an interesting year it has been! Last year we were able to acquire local king salmon eggs collected and fertilized by the Department of Fish and Game and were therefore able to release our salmon at fry stage. This year, the Elementary school students have been watching the salmon life cycle through a cohort of coho eggs native to the Juneau…
Last week, Takshanuk Watershed Council hosted community mining forums in Haines and Klukwan to present information on large scale mining in Alaska. Sponsored by Chilkat Indian Village, Chilkoot Indian Association, Constantine Metal Resources Ltd., Lynn Canal Conservation, The Haines Chamber of Commerce and Lynn Canal Gillnetters; a range of speakers with knowledge and experience in permitting, mine development, environmental assessment, and socioeconomic and community impacts of large scale mines presented at the event. Moderated by Margaret Friedenauer, the forum's presentations were recorded and are available to stream at KHNS.org http://khns.org/community-mining-presentation Forum presentations are available for download at http://takshanuk.org/mininginfopresentation
2014 Wrangell Beach Monitoring Program Results: Beaches Meet Water Quality Standards This summer the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition began a recreational beach monitoring program to test popular local beaches for levels of harmful bacteria. With support from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation the Wrangell Beach program sampled waters at City Park and Petroglyph beach for organisms that indicate fecal contamination. The Beach Program was established by the Alaska DEC through the Alaska Clean Water Actions program to provide support for communities to begin monitoring marine water quality at high-priority beaches for bacterial pollution, specifically, fecal coliform and enterococci. City Park and Petroglyph beaches were identified by DEC as high priority because they are commonly used for community recreation. [caption id="attachment_5252" align="alignnone" width="611"] Petroglyph Beach sample site[/caption] The Southeast…
The Prince of Wales Unified Watershed Assessment is complete and available for viewing! Coordinated by the Prince of Wales Watershed Association, funded by the National Forest Foundation's Community Capacity and Lands Stewardship Grant, and carried out by Kai Environmental The purpose of the POW Unified Watershed Assessment is to provide an island-wide overview of the status of watersheds important to the local communities on POW Island. The goal of the POW Unified Watershed Assessment is to provide a consistent framework of information about each watershed on the island for each community, without community or watershed prioritization [caption id="attachment_5202" align="aligncenter" width="524"] Click for downloadable PDF[/caption] For more information on the POW Unified Watershed Assessment contact: Brandy Prefontaine, Watershed CoordinatorPrince of Wales Watershed Association907-209-4079pow.watersheds@gmail.com
Through a partnership with the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, Takshanuk Watershed Council and the Taiya Inlet Watershed Council have initiated a Northern Lynn Canal Cooperative Weed Management Area (NLC-CWMA) for Haines and Skagway. The purpose of the NLC-CWMA is to address invasive plant concerns and to facilitate the management of high priority infestations (through various treatment methods) for the purpose of preventing the reproduction and spread of weeds into, within and from the boundaries of the NLC-CWMA. The species of the greatest concern in the Northern Lynn Canal include Reed Canary Grass, Canadian Thistle, Orange Hawkweed, and Spotted Knapweed. Each of these pose a unique threat to their ecological area and the treatment method is tailored to be the most effective for each. If…
