Since our formative years as the Southwest Alaska Conservation Coalition (2000-2007) to our more recent status (2008-present) as the Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership, we’re proud to hang our hat on a number of projects that are moving the needle towards conserving fish habitat in Southwest Alaska. These include a mix of land/acquisitions and easements, in-stream flow reservations, cataloging of anadromous waters important for spawning and rearing, streamflow gaging, education and outreach, and basic monitoring. Below, you can learn a little more about each projects, by year, starting with the most recently funded!
Summary Documents
- Detailed spreadsheet of funded projects (2010-2012)
- Detailed spreadsheet of fiscal year 2014/future outlook projects
(2013) Bristol Bay Stream Temperature Monitoring Plan. The focus of this project is creation and implementation of a Stream Temperature Monitoring Plan for Bristol Bay watersheds, including a funding strategy to support a comprehensive program in select drainages. Local village water quality monitors will be trained to use a standardized water temperature monitoring protocol and receive technical assistance in determining sites suitable for sampling. This presentation, given by Sue Mauger at our 2013 workshop, has more details about monitoring steam temperatures in the Bristol Bay region.
(2013) Assessing fish passage at 21 road-stream crossings in the Chignik, King Salmon and Cold Bay areas. The focus of this project is surveying all road-stream crossings on existing road systems in the Chignik, Chignik Lake, King Cove, and Cold Bay areas that contain fish, analyzing those crossings for passability issues, and entering that information into the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Fish Passage Database.
(2013) Achieving strategic salmon habitat conservation through the Southwest Salmon Partnership Coordination. This project serves to provide the Partnership with coordination support for the implementation and updating of its strategic conservation plan and a coordinator that can arrange for meetings of the Steering Committee and the Science and Technical Committee, take minutes, carry out directives of the Committees, plan a science workshop, and interact on behalf of the Partnership with the National Fish Habitat Partnership board and staff to implement the Partnership’s strategic conservation plan.
(2012) Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership Fish Passage Assessment Program. The focus of this project is surveying all road-stream crossings on existing road systems in the King Salmon and Dillingham areas that contain fish, analyzing those crossings for passability issues, and entering that information into the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Fish Passage Database. interim report
(2012) Identification of Overwintering Habitat in the Nushagak and Mulchatna-Kvichak Watersheds. The focus of this project is to conduct baseline monitoring (basic water quality, macroinvertebrates, and fish) of headwater streams in priority areas of the Nushagek and Kvichak watersheds for interannual analyses; and examine relationships between physical habitat and biotic diversity.
(2012) Togiak River Chinook Salmon Habitat Use. The focus of this project is to acquire and analyze forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imagery to describe habitat characteristics associated with areas of high and low Chinook salmon spawning density in Southwest Alaska’s Togiak River, and to better understand the mechanisms of Chinook population declines throughout Southwest Alaska. This presentation, given by University of Alaska Fairbanks Masters student Stephanie Meggers at our 2013 workshop, details this project.
(2011) Bristol Bay River Academy. The Academy is an annual, week-long environmental education program that merges salmon and river education with conservation principles to educate, engage and inspire Bristol Bay young adults to become local leaders in salmon stewardship. This place-based river education course fosters sustainable outdoor employment opportunities in Bristol Bay, an region of Alaska that produces over half of the world supply of wild sockeye salmon. The Partnership funded the Academy in 2011. final report
(2011) Toxicology Tests for Copper in Mineral Claim Areas of Nushagak & Kvichak Watersheds. This project assessed the feasibility of conducting copper toxicology tests and stream side behavioral response experiments in Nushagek and Kvichak watersheds, including an assessment of other water quality or aquatic life studies important to understand the possible environmental impacts associated with mining. Here’s an annotated literature review for copper toxicity in aquatic systems.
(2010) Assessment of Fish Distribution & Abundance Upstream of Large Glacial Lakes. This project improved our collective understanding of the distribution and relative abundance of fish in the headwaters of Bristol Bay. It developed a geospatial model that can predict fish communities at unsampled locations. This model can be applied in establishing priorities for protection, monitoring, and field sampling. Over 100 miles of stream were added to the State of Alaska’s Anadromous Waters Catalog, a catalog of waters important for the spawning, rearing, or migration of anadromous fishes. final report
(2010) Protecting Fish Habitats in SW Alaska. This project consisted of anadromous stream surveys that resulted in 104 miles being added to the State of Alaska’s Anadromous Waters Catalog. It also included water quality sampling and investigations of groundwater connectivity in the upper reaches of priority drainages potentially affected by mineral extraction. Finally, it facilitated a science symposium/workshop. Listen to audio from this event: final report
2009 projects – coming soon!
2008 projects – coming soon!
2000-2007 projects – coming soon! During this period, over $17 million was raised to purchase fee or conservation easements on 69 tracts of land comprising over 78,000 acres! Most tracts were conveyed to federal or state conservation units and a few to the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust.
For more detailed project information, contact Tim Troll, Partnership Coordinator (see our Contact Us page).