SalmonState contracted with McDowell Group, an Alaska-based research and consulting firm, to measure the economic impacts in Southeast Alaska of three transboundary watersheds: Taku, Stikine, and Unuk Rivers. The analysis also briefly considers economic contributions to Southeast Alaska from the Nass and Skeena Rivers, two river systems that also have cross-border economic impacts.
You can download the report on the McDowell Group’s website here.
The Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership is beginning an effort to revise its 2014-2016 strategic action plan. This was the initial plan that guided the development and focus for the partnership over the past few years. Focus for revising this plan will take into account the expanded growth of the partnership, including additional perspectives and strategic priorities from new SEAKFHP partners, as well as develop regionally shared nearshore and estuarine conservation strategies.
If you are interested in getting involved please contact our coordinator at coordinator@sealaskafishhabitat.org.
Documents for this effort can be located here.
All-Alaska Fish Habitat Partnerships ESRI Story Map
Five national Fish Habitat Partnerships working in Alaska, Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership, Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership, Kenai Peninsula Fish Habitat Partnership, Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership and the Western Native Trout Initiative, with assistance from our partners from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and a very talented Directorate Fellow, recently produced a beautiful story map highlighting our work in Alaska.
The full website dedicated to the Alaska based fish habitat partnerships can be viewed here.
Check out the cool timelapse video of Pederson Creek’s west fork receiving a fish-friendly makeover. Two undersized culverts were replaced with a larger 6’X8’X52′ embedded culvert designed to retain natural stream function and fish passage at the road-stream crossing. Partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition. Survey and Design: DOWL. Construction: Howell Construction. Species present in creek: Dolly Varden Char and Coho, Pink, Chum Salmon. Filmed May 11-16, 2016 using Brinno Construction camera.
2015 Alaska Fish Passage Meeting – October 13-15, 2015 – Juneau, Alaska
The Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership (SEAKFHP) will host the 2015 Alaska Fish Passage Meeting October 13-15, 2015 in Juneau, Alaska. This meeting will examine the state of the science and practice of maintaining and restoring fish habitat connectivity through road crossings in the region. With over 5,000 inventoried culvert barriers on fish streams across local, state, and federal ownerships, maintaining current fish passage regulatory policies, design and implementation approaches, and performance monitoring schemas are critical to maintaining habitat connectivity. Interagency coordination and information sharing events reflecting the state of the science are keys for future success.
Inventories of fish passage barriers on Federal (USFS, FWHA), State (ADOT&PF), private (ANCSA Corporation) and municipal road systems in Southeast Alaska have been largely completed over the past 15 years. Advances and refinements in fish passage assessment, prioritization, design, and construction have also occurred across in the region as awareness of fish passage issues has increased. While progress has clearly been made, nearly ten years have passed since the last comprehensive review of fish passage management in Alaska. This meeting will convene leading Federal, State, and local engineers, transportation planners, hydrologists, biologists, and regulatory specialists to examine the plans, policies, and practice of fish passage management in the region. As road infrastructure in Alaska improves and expands, maintaining and restoring fish passage at road/stream crossings will remain a top priority for both transportation planners and aquatic habitat managers.
For information on this meeting please contact Deborah Hart, SEAKFHP Coordinator at coordinator@sealaskafishhabitat.org.
Additional meeting resources can be found here
America’s Fish and Fisheries – Shared through the Camera Lens – A 2015 AFS Fish Film Festival
Over 60 short films will be featured during the first ever AFS Fish Film Festival. America’s Fish and Fisheries – Shared through the Camera Lens – A 2015 AFS Film Festival showcases films that focus on the connections between people, fish and fisheries, the unique life cycles and habitat needs of different species, and how resource practitioners and ordinary people are helping conserve fish and their habitats across the nation. The films are from a variety of perspectives—including commercial and sport fishermen, subsistence users, researchers and managers, volunteers, landowners, and even fish themselves.
Films will be shown during the conference on Tuesday, August 18 –Thursday, August 20th. Films will be grouped into themes covering general conservation topics, habitat protection and restoration, fisheries enhancement, sport fishing, fisheries management, and fisheries research and education.
This festival offers a new way to share and understand the work and craft of AFS members and other fisheries professionals and stakeholders. It will provide an exciting vantage point to view successes and challenges in fisheries conservation, and most importantly grow appreciation for and awareness of our nation’s fisheries and the many ways in which we’re connected to fish and all the goods and services they provide.
The festival is hosted by the Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership (www.seakfhp.org), Western Native Trout Initiative (www.westernnativetrout.org), Sitka Conservation Society/ Sustainable Southeast Partnership (www.sitkawild.org/www.sustainablesoutheast.net) and The Salmon Project (www.salmonproject.org).
Tuesday, August 18, 2015: 8:00 AM-5:20 PM – click here for day 1 schedule
Wednesday, August 19, 2015: 8:00 AM-5:20 PM – day 2 schedule
Thursday, August 20, 2015: 8:00 AM – 5:20 PM – day 3 schedule
For full conference information, click here.
You can find the film festival program here.
Just Released! The Beaver Restoration Guidebook
In 2013, the NPLCC partnered with U.S. Fish & Wildlife, NOAA, Portland State University, and the U.S. Forest Service to develop a comprehensive guide on using beaver for stream restoration. Throughout the past year, five sold out workshops were held to share information from this developing guidebook with over 200 land managers currently working with, or interested in, using beaver in restoration projects. Workshop participants provided input and feedback into the guidebook, and we are pleased to announce its finalization and official release.
The goal of this guidebook is to provide an accessible, useful resource for anyone involved in using beaver to restore streams, floodplains, wetlands, and riparian areas. It provides a practical synthesis of the best available science, an overview of management techniques, and case studies from throughout the western US.
Read & download the guidebook here.
The Tongass National Forest has produced a fact sheet on their Watershed Restoration Program and also shared an update on various watershed restoration and fish enhancement projects planned for 2015 and 2016. You can find these documents here.
IJC Hydrographic Data Harmonization Phase III Workshop: Alaska-British Columbia-Yukon
June 1-5, 2015, Juneau, Alaska
US Contact: Karen Hanson: 801-908-5038 khanson@usgs.gov
Canadian Contact: Judy Kwan: 604-664-9153 judy.kwan@ec.gc.ca
International Contact: Mike Laitta: 202-736-9022 Laittam@Washington.ijc.org
Start Time: 1:00 p.m. Monday, June 1, 2015
End Time: 12:00 p.m. Friday, June 5, 2015
The goal of this workshop is to populate the new subset of Subbasins (US8-CAN4units) that constitute the boundary region along the Alaska-British Columbia border with seamless Watersheds (US 10-digit, WSC 6-digit codes) and Subwatersheds (US 12-digit, WSC 7- digit codes), standardized and interoperable with both Canadian and U.S. Federal, State and Provincial drainage area interpretations. All recommended delineations are based on standard topographic, hydrographic base layers and local data holdings. The structure of the workshop is interactive; IJC Task Force members prepare an ArcMap edit session and table in order to capture comments and suggested edits for each of these aggregations. Particular focus is placed on confluences and ridgeline placement.
Harmonization of the 10-digit, and all 12-digit within a shared 10-digit is the focus of the workshop. Proposed delineations will be posted for participant review one month prior to the workshop.
