Check out a recent KTSK radio story and article in the Wrangell Sentinel about our restoration project in Pat's Creek. The US Fish and Wildlife Service put together a fun time lapse video showing the action. It wonderful to see this project through to completion!
Restoration of salmon habitat at Pat Creek near Wrangell is underway. SAWC and our partners are adding large woody debris to about 1 km of stream. Fish like trees (when they fall in they create pools and other preferred habitats). The lack of mature trees along (and also in) the creek has resulted in less than optimal fish habitat including overwidened areas lacking pools and cover. Here is a before and after shot from the same spot on Pat Creek that shows the addition of large wood. Before After
Work started today on SAWC's Pat Creek Fish Habitat Enhancement Project! Photo: Mike Brunfelt, with Interfluve, Inc., works with Brett Woodbury, BW Enterprises to improve fish habitat to Wrangell's Pat Creek. Location: Wrangell Island, Southeast Alaska Fish: Salmon (Coho, Pink, Chum, Sockeye), Dolly Varden char, Cutthroat Trout History: The valley bottom was logged in the 1960’s-70’s. This logging occurred before stream buffers were required, and trees on the stream’s banks were harvested. Restoration Need: Fish like trees (when they fall in they create pools and other preferred habitats). The lack of mature trees along (and also in) the creek has resulted in less than optimal fish habitat including overwidened areas lacking pools and cover. The Project: During the summer of 2019, “large wood” (tree trunks/roots) will be added to…
Please join us on Feb 20, 5:00 PM, at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall to learn about and discuss the effects of ocean acidification in Alaska. The event will include short presentations from ocean acidification researchers Jessica Cross and Bob Foy of NOAA, followed by Q&A/dialogue with the audience. This is a chance for people to ask question about what we know so far about ocean acidification in Alaska and what we might expect in the future. It's also a chance for researchers to hear thoughts and information needs from the local community.
With springtime in full swing in Southeast Alaska, our meadows and forest shrub-layers are greening up as new leaves sprout from twigs and blades of grass poke up from the ground. However, in certain places around Juneau, curious-looking patches of yellow stand out starkly within a sea of fresh green growth. These bright spots are infestations of reed canarygrass, an extremely aggressive invasive plant that is found throughout Juneau and elsewhere in the region. In late summer and early fall, canarygrass transfers energy from above-ground foliage to below-ground rhizomes. Come spring, this stored energy fuels the production of new stems and leaves which rise up through a dense mat of yellow thatch left behind the previous year. By early May, fresh green growth nearly obscures last year's thatch. Reed canarygrass…
Most people don’t worry much about invasive plants during the winter months. After doing battle with them all summer or watching them take over our yards and open spaces during the growing season, we relax as the last of them die back in the fall. As cold winter weather grips the landscape, we take comfort knowing these aggressive species are tucked away in frozen soil for several months. As someone who’s attention is drawn to every infestation they see while out and about during the summer, I’m certainly enjoying this invasive plant-free time of year. While invasive plants may be out of our sight right now, they definitely should not be out of our mind. Now is the time to make plans for defeating these unwanted invaders. In 2018 SAWC…
Taiya Inlet Watershed Council is starting up another year of Salmon in the Classroom at the Skagway School. We are excited to be partnering with the Skagway Traditional Council this year, bringing a cultural component to the program! We started out the year with an egg take from our local pink salmon in Pullen Creek. The eggs are now in their tank in the school’s hallway for the students to observe as they go through the life cycle. In the spring they will be released back into Pullen Creek to continue their journey! Our last lesson focused on the internal and external anatomy of salmon. We had an up close and hands on look of the various organs and body parts. Source: Taiya Inlet Watershed Council Blog
Taiya Inlet Watershed Council is starting up another year of Salmon in the Classroom at the Skagway School. We are excited to be partnering with the Skagway Traditional Council this year, bringing a cultural component to the program! We started out the year with an egg take from our local pink salmon in Pullen Creek. The eggs are now in their tank in the school’s hallway for the students to observe as they go through the life cycle. In the spring they will be released back into Pullen Creek to continue their journey! Our last lesson focused on the internal and external anatomy of salmon. We had an up close and hands on look of the various organs and body parts. Source: Taiya Inlet Watershed Council Blog
An invasive plant is defined as a plant species that is non-native (or alien) to an ecosystem and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. The annual cost of invasive plants to the U.S. economy is estimated at $120 billion per year. Despite its remote setting, Southeast Alaska is not immune to invasion by these plants nor the economic and ecological impacts that come with them. In fact, well over 50 invasive plant species in more than 1,000 infestations have been documented in Juneau alone. Reed canarygrass takes over a stand of fireweed near lower Jordan Creek in Juneau. SAWC is taking on two of the most invasive of these plant species – Bohemian knotweed and reed canarygrass. Knotweed…
