We foster partnerships and inspire Southeast Alaskans to steward our watersheds and support communities through participatory projects, research, and learning. |
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Field Notes - January 2022
Updates from SAWC & our partners.
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The to-do list for 2022
Rob Cadmus, Executive Director at SAWC
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With winter in full swing in Southeast Alaska, most of the streams we work on are cased in ice, but the staff at the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition are hard at work planning next summer’s projects. Here is a sneak preview of what's happening in 2022:
Klawock Indigenous Stewards Partnership: With the leadership of Shaan Seet Inc., Klawock Heenya Inc., Klawock Cooperative Association, and others, a formal partnership is being developed to implement the Klawock Lake Sockeye Salmon Action Plan and promote indigenous land stewardship in the Klawock-Craig area of Taan (Prince of Wales Island). The Klawock Indigenous Stewards Partnership will place a high priority on capacity development for the next generation of leaders and workers. At SAWC, we are excited to get back into the streams and restore sockeye habitat next summer with a local work crew, and we are also proud to help support this partnership with technical assistance in restoration, watershed assessment, and GIS mapping.
Gunałchéesh to all the partners and supporters involved, including those listed above and the Prince of Wales Tribal Conservation District, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Sealaska, and more.
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Jon Carle with the Prince of Wales Tribal Conservation District conducts a stream survey with SAWC during 2021. In 2022, SAWC and the Klawock work crew will return to this stream for a hand tool restoration project.
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Margaret Creek Restoration Project Moving Forward this Summer: The US Forest Service has prioritized Margaret Creek, north of Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island, as a “priority watershed” because riparian logging has left fish habitat degraded. Over the last few years, the Forest Service has begun to implement a watershed restoration plan that includes road work and instream restoration. With matching support from Bass Pro Shops & Cabella’s Outdoor Fund, the Leighty Foundation, and Trout Unlimited, SAWC secured an Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund Grant to finish the instream restoration work that requires heavy machinery. We are also teaming up with the Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC) and secured funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and USDA Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy to implement hand tool scale stream and riparian restoration at Margaret Creek with a tribal work crew. We are working with KIC to make sure the project engages the community, produces meaningful jobs, and builds capacity for future work.
USDA Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy: The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy last summer, and SAWC provided the USDA with a series of investment opportunities related to watershed restoration, the promotion of local foods, and capacity development. We are now working with USDA to plan how these opportunities can be used to help advance economic, ecologic, and cultural sustainability in Southeast Alaska in a manner that is directed by local voices. We expect to be rolling up our sleeves on variety of projects related to the USDA Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy this year!
Mitigation at East Ohmer Creek: East Ohmer Creek is located south of Petersburg and supports pink, chum, and coho salmon. A portion of the stream’s riparian area was logged and its floodplain was mined for gravel during the construction of the Mitkof Highway. The stream and floodplain are degraded, and fish habitat is poor. The US Forest Service is planning a stream and floodplain restoration project here and SAWC is supporting the floodplain restoration portion of the project with our In-Lieu Fee Compensatory Mitigation Instrument. SAWC conducted a site assessment of the East Ohmer area in October, and our mitigation plan is being reviewed by the Army Corps of Engineers. We are expecting work to begin this summer.
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A team began adding large woody debris into Margaret Creek last summer. |
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More progress in Juneau's Jordan Creek
Green Stormwater Infrastructure to be implemented
John Hudson, Restoration Biologist at SAWC
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The adverse impacts of urbanization on Juneau’s Jordan Creek have long been suspected. With support from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), we wrapped up a study that quantified those impacts last spring. This winter we’re getting ready to do something about the problem.
Each year tons of sediment laden with heavy metals and hydrocarbons makes its way to Jordan Creek as urban stormwater runoff. This muddy, oil-sheen covered water flows across parking lots, down ditches, and through pipes to deliver a cocktail of harmful pollutants like lead, copper, zinc and petroleum-based hydrocarbons to a stream that’s home to salmon and other fishes. Having mapped where this runoff originates and estimated the quantity of pollutants flowing to the stream, we can start the work of treating runoff before it reaches Jordan Creek.
The secret to cleaning polluted urban runoff is to route the water into green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). GSI can look like a run-of-the-mill vegetated ditch (a bioswale) or a highly engineered bioretention facility. The latter uses plants and a special bioretention soil mix to capture pollutants or even transform them into harmless compounds. The treated runoff either infiltrates the ground or continues its way to the stream in the conventional stormwater system.
This spring SAWC is partnering with several landowners to construct 4 different types of GSI in the Lower Jordan Creek watershed. The project is funded by ADEC and once completed, will remove over 13,000 pounds of sediment and associated pollutants from stormwater runoff each year. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and website for project updates.
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Polluted runoff that flows into this catch basin will soon be treated in a bioretention swale instead. The green stormwater infrastructure will be constructed at the corner of Crest Street and Old Dairy Road in Juneau this spring. |
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Hoonah and Ketchikan 2021 Beach Sampling Complete
Rebecca Bellmore, Science Director at SAWC
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Sampling locations at Inner Point Sophia Beach and Gartina Harbor Way Beach. Three sampling locations at Gartina Harbor Way Beach are shown in the insert. |
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Beach sampling for fecal bacteria wrapped up in the fall for Hoonah and Ketchikan. On-the-ground sampling was conducted by Hoonah Indian Association and Ketchikan Indian Association staff throughout the recreation season (May-September) so that residents could be informed of any health risks associated with using their beaches.
This was the first year of sampling in Hoonah. Inner Point Sophia Beach and the harbor area were selected for sampling (see map). No recreational water quality standards were exceeded at either location; however, standards for raw shellfish harvest were exceeded within the harbor. In addition to measuring bacteria concentrations, Microbial Source Tracking was used to identify mammalian species that may be contributing to fecal contamination. Sampling on August 10 indicated the presence of bacteria from dog at Inner Point Sophia Beach, and gull and bird at both beaches; no human source was detected at either beach. Sampling at Hoonah beaches will recommence during the 2022 recreation season.
Ketchikan beaches have been sampled since 2017, and many of the beaches have already been placed on the state’s list of impaired waters (https://dec.alaska.gov/water/water-quality/impaired-waters/). Sampling this season was less frequent than in the past, with fewer exceedances. This year’s sampling and future sampling will help validate VirtualBeach modeling that DEC is developing to predict when beaches are likely exceeding water quality criteria based on environmental conditions like recent rainfall and temperature.
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Meet SAWC's Newest -Ologist!
Kelsey Dean joins the team
Kelsey Dean, Watershed Scientist at SAWC
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Kelsey joins the SAWC team as the Watershed Scientist. She is originally from Colorado and has a graduate degree in Water and Environmental Science from University of Alaska. Since Kelsey’s first Alaskan field season in Petersburg in 2016, she has been drawn to the forests, waterways, and communities of Southeast Alaska. Prior to joining SAWC, Kelsey worked for Alaska Department of Fish and Game, US Geological Survey, and the Forest Service conducting stream and habitat assessments and gaging streamflow. She is excited to work with communities to steward healthy, productive watersheds. When not working Kelsey can be found enjoying water in all its forms: skiing, packrafting, and kayaking. |
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Salmon in the Classroom heads into 10th Year
Reuben Cash, Environmental Coordinator at Skagway Traditional Council
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STC oversaw the 9th year of Salmon in the Classroom, continuing a long tradition of imparting ecological and biological salmon knowledge to elementary school students in Skagway.
2021 presented innumerous challenges to us all, and Skagway’s Salmon in the Classroom
program was no exception. The pink salmon run in fall of 2020 was nearly non-existent in
Pullen Creek, where genetics for seeding the school aquarium are typically harvested – this forced staff to rely on hatchery eggs for a third consecutive year and prevented students from directly participating in the release of fry into local waters. Concerns over COVID additionally prompted STC to conduct lessons virtually, presenting a suite of challenges met with creative solutions.
500 eyed coho eggs were received from DIPAC in January 2021, and directly seeded into an aquarium housed at the Tribal Community Center where staff was able to access, monitor, and maintain the tank. A principal component of this program is students’ ability to observe different life stages as they advance, and in lieu of direct observations STC placed a waterproof camera inside the tank to document changes. In the first several months of development salmon eggs and alevin are highly sensitive to light, requiring a cover sheet to be kept over the aquarium to prevent undue stress and physical harm to the young fish. The darkness poses a challenge to imagery capture, therefore staff decided to acquire a daily series of long-exposure images and stitch them together as time lapses. A longer shutter speed allowed the miniscule light to illuminate each image and the final product made it possible for students to make observations and record what they saw. In this way we were all able to witness eggs hatching and alevin transitioning into fry, events not always seen during a typical year due to the cover sheet and limited time spent observing.
Virtual lessons were delivered on the Zoom platform, augmented by real-time word mapping, surveys and quizzes through Mentimeter – this was a big hit with students. Topics covered included: salmon life stages, habitat requirements, species, threats, watershed science, water quality monitoring, and the cultural significance of salmon to Tlingit cultures. Kindergarten through Second grade focused on life stages, discussing habitat needs at each stage and singing along with the Salmon Song (which breaks down all six stages into six choruses and verses).
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Salmon in the Classroom coordinator Reuben Cash created a series of videos to show every stage of the salmon lifecycle.
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First and Second graders began discussing threats to each life stage and things we can do to reduce these impacts. Third graders learned how to use a dichotomous key and created their own habitat restoration plan for a degraded watershed. Fourth graders were shown how aquariums are different from natural streams, methods for maintaining this artificial environment, and were in charge of monitoring accumulated thermal units (ATUs), which help predict life stage changes. Fifth graders became water quality experts, sampling tank water weekly and reporting on six different parameters critical for salmon health.
Hatchery salmon are typically euthanized at the conclusion of a classroom incubation project due to concerns over pathogens and genetics if released into non-natal waters, however the Alaska Department of Fish and Game permitted STC to transport our coho fry back to Juneau for release into their home stream. Staff brought camera equipment along and documented the release for students and partners to watch at their leisure. A link to this video and all other media captured during the 2020-2021 program can be found here.
The 2021 – 2022 Salmon in the Classroom program is already underway following a strong pink salmon run in Skagway, meaning a local release and in-person classes for the 10th year of learning and stewardship. Thank you for your continued support in keeping Salmon in the Classroom a regular component of Skagway School’s curriculum!
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Takshanuk Watershed Council's "Stream Team"
Tracy Wirak-Cassidy, Education Coordinator at Takshanuk Watershed Council
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Watershed Education in Haines and Klukwan
Stream Team is a citizen science program that uses the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) protocols to teach students about stream monitoring. During the summer, participants joined Stream Team to conduct measurements and learn more about the Sawmill Creek and Chilkat River Watersheds.
During this 21/22 school year, Haines School 4th grade students are participating in weekly field trips to Sawmill Creek in Haines to measure water temperature, transparency, and cloud cover; and they are learning how to enter their measurements in the GLOBE database. Students graph their results and make observations about measurements throughout the seasons and compare those to similar measurements that are occurring around the world. Stream Team provides a deeper exploration of local watersheds through classroom lessons, stream measurements, and field trips. Students learned about TWC’s water monitoring projects at the Chilkoot River and set minnow traps in Sawmill Creek with ADF&G sport fishery biologist Richard Chapell to learn about the importance of protecting salmon habitat.
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Students taking temperature and transparency measurements at Sawmill Creek. |
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Students learned how to use the temperature probe and transparency tube in the classroom before going out in the field. |
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Science Director Stacie Evans teaches 4th grade students about TWC’s water quality studies during a field trip to the Chilkoot River.
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Klukwan School students and teachers participate in regular outings to the Chilkat River where they conduct the same measurements as the students in Haines, and they also record their results on the GLOBE website. |
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Montana Creek Planning Area is Live
Khrystl Brouillette, Project Associate at SAWC
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SAWC has been assisting the City and Borough of Juneau with creating an online map to better inform the public on uses in the Montana Creek Planning area.
The Montana Creek Planning Area stretches from Montana Creek Road through Spaulding Meadows and Windfall Lake, and ends just outside the Eagle Beach Recreation area. This area around Montana Creek is a popular recreation area for hiking, mountain biking, skiing, and more. Motorized ATV use and snow machine use is allowed in some of the planning area, but there is also some illegal ATV and snow machine use occurring.
The city is already planning restoration projects in the area and has been gathering public comment. This mapper will be presented at future meetings and is available to the public for individual review.
The mapper creates a complete view of land use within the area. It has information organized into 7 themes: Watershed, Wetlands, Biota, Priority Management Areas, Elevation, Land Ownership, and Infrastructure.
Layers within each theme can be toggled on and off so the user can view different aspects of the landscape. This map will help the public better understand the area and offer specific comments and suggestions in the planning process.
Also in the works is a map of the area showing motorized use acceptability. Due to the variety of landowners in the area, legal motorized use areas are scattered. The new map will focus on these areas and delineate land owners and their terms of motorized use.
For more information on the Montana Creek Planning Area project, please contact CBJ Parks and Rec Deputy Director, Michele Elfers, at (907) 364-2800. For information or questions on the Montana Creek Mapper, please contact SAWC Project Associate, Khrystl Brouillette, at khrystl@sawcak.org or (949) 235-9508
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Screenshot of the opening layout of the Montana Creek online mapper. |
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Picnic Creek sees Fish Returns!
Improving salmon access to Picnic Creek in 2018 yields big fish returns this year.
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Excerpt from the Fish Creek Story Map. |
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Salt and Soil 6th Season Complete
Meghan Stangeland, Marketplace Manager for Salt & Soil Marketplace
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2022 marks the 6th season of the Salt & Soil Marketplace. Last year the market saw 120 new members join the marketplace. We also welcomed five new vendors – three from Juneau and two from Haines. While many of our produce vendors saw a delayed start to the season due to cooler temperatures and a very late spring, the demand for locally grown vegetables and plant starts was high. In 2021 the Marketplace again partnered with the Juneau Community Gardens to host their annual plant sale which was a great opportunity to support the Community Gardens and to widen the demographic reach of the marketplace.
The Healthy Foods = Healthy Families Initiative supported 2 more families this season and partnered with the AWARE shelter to provide locally grown food for the shelter as well ingredients for Haa Tóoch Lichéesh programs which featured traditional uses of local ingredients such as Spruce Tips. In 2022 educational outreach and programming will be the focal point of the Healthy Foods = Healthy Families Initiative, working to educate beneficiaries on cooking methods, preservation tips and the importance of locally grown food.
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Spruce Tips donated from the marketplace were used in a workshop offered through Haa Tóoch Lichéesh.
Photo Credit: Haa Tóoch Lichéesh.
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Salt & Soil participating in the annual "Stuffed Event" at the JAHC in December of 2021. |
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