Restoring Pacific Salmon Habitat and Reducing Disaster Risk from Climate Change-Induced Glacial Outburst Flooding, Mendenhall River Watershed
Project Location: Juneau, Alaska
Project Goal: Restore salmon habitat in the context of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) and risk mitigation actions in the Mendenhall Watershed for long-term community and salmon resilience.
Why? Following the catastrophic 2023 glacial lake outburst flood, it became apparent that our community would have to take big steps to protect itself from future flood events. Recognizing that the Mendenhall is also home to salmon that are important to our economy and way of life, the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition (SAWC) applied for funding from NOAA’s Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience program to identify and design salmon habitat restoration opportunities that could integrate with flood and erosion mitigation actions. Solutions may include strategies to make gray infrastructure greener, enhancing important non-mainstem fish habitat, and restoring habitat quality in the mainstem after GLOFs have been permanently mitigated.
What’s happening now? SAWC is collaborating with local entities to:
- study fish use of mainstem and other flood-impacted habitat areas to inform restoration opportunities (with ADF&G Habitat Division)
- characterize riparian and upland habitat areas that may be involved in flood mitigation and restoration (with local experts, including Richard Carstensen)
- expand capacity to scale up restoration with native plants (with Tlingit and Haida’s Environmental Department)
- assess habitat conditions and begin identifying potential restoration projects (ADF&G Habitat Division, HDR, Inc., Inter-Fluve, US Forest Service)
- develop bioengineered bank stabilization designs to protect the Dimond Park footbridge while also providing fish habitat benefits (with City and Borough of Juneau, NHC, DOWL)
- reach out to landowners and other stakeholders to inform scoping and prioritization of possible restoration projects
What’s next? SAWC will continue collaborating with residents and relevant entities as we further develop project ideas and priorities. In the coming years, we’ll be working with funders and willing landowners to implement priority projects.
What can you do?
- NOW: Complete this survey and share your ideas. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about opportunities for involvement in the project.
- THIS YEAR: Be on the lookout for another community meeting to discuss habitat project opportunities in more detail.
- BEYOND: Join us in project implementation individually or with your organization!