Fisheries & Habitat

Working with others to conserve, protect and 

enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for 

the continuing benefit of the American people

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service u Spring 2014 Issue 2

Feature Fish - Chinook salmon / 4

Point of View / 6

Uniquely Alaska / 8

FEATURE: Weirs & Video Technology / 10

Helping Fish Cross Under Roads, Reach Habitat / 16

Alaska’s Aquatic Invasives at a Tipping Point / 18

News Briefs / 19

Future Faces of Conservation / 20

King Makers / 25

Alaska Staff Highlights / 24 & 26 

Back Cover: Fish From Your Point of View!

THIS ISSUE .

Alaska

NEWS

https://www.facebook.com/USFWS.AK.Fisheries.Habitat

INSIDE:

Spotlight on Chinook salmon!
Welcome to the second issue of Alaska Fisheries and Habitat News! 

We received a lot of positive feedback about our first issue and want to continue improving 

this publication so it’s useful to you and helps shed light on the Alaska fish and habitat 

issues you care about. Please don’t hesitate to provide us with suggestions. 

This issue’s theme—Chinook salmon—is timely. Widespread concern over statewide 

declines is a testament to the importance of the “King” of fish to people here in Alaska and 

elsewhere. It underscores a common desire to ensure that our grandchildren and their 

great-grandchildren benefit from healthy Chinook salmon populations—something many 

of us have been lucky enough to experience first-hand (see page 6 for a first-hand account). 

Our Alaska staff are working with others around the state to better understand and 

conserve Chinook salmon, and we’re proud of our unique role and contributions. 

For example, Alaska is the only place where the Service has in-season fisheries managers 

dedicated to meeting escapement and subsistence needs on federal public lands—and 

working with the State to ensure that enough Chinook salmon reach their spawning 

grounds so they’re available for future generations. We don’t take this responsibility 

lightly.

Our field office staff continue to develop and pioneer innovative technologies (see a 

great example of this on page 10). They’re using these technologies to better understand 

Chinook salmon that originate from tributaries that flow through National Wildlife Refuge 

lands and make important contributions to the Kenai, Kuskokwim, and Yukon river runs. 

Our Conservation Genetics Lab (the Service’s first, established in 1987 and co-housed in 

our Anchorage Regional Office) is using sophisticated laboratory techniques and analytical 

methods to provide genetics and biometric support for in-season managers and our State 

partners. 

Our habitat staff continue to collaborate with others—including the State of Alaska, the 

National Fish Habitat Partnership and its Alaska network of Fish Habitat Partnerships, 

local governments, and many others—to put projects on the ground that benefit Chinook 

salmon and other species (see some highlights on pages 16-17 and 22-24).

Chinook salmon are a priority for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and we look 

forward to continuing our work with partners to make positive progress on this King of 

conservation challenges.

Welcome

Tim Jennings

Assistant Regional Director

 Fisheries and Ecological Services

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska

From managing America’s National Wildlife System to jointly administering the Endangered Species Act with 

NOAA Fisheries, combatting illegal wildlife trafficking, and working with willing landowners to conserve fish 

and wildlife habitat, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wears many conservation hats!

Alaska Fisheries and Habitat News highlights the unified conservation efforts of our Fisheries Program, 

Habitat Restoration and Conservation Partnerships Programs, and Alaska’s network of Fish Habitat 

Partnerships. It also provides information about Alaska’s fish, their habitats, and uniquely Alaska conservation 

challenges and opportunities. We hope it gives you a flavor for the ways we’re helping conserve fish and 

their habitats in Alaska and, more importantly, why that conservation matters! Contact me with suggestions, 

questions, or if you’d like to subscribe: katrina_mueller@fws.gov / (907) 786-3637. 

Alaska Fisheries and Habitat News is a publication of the Fisheries and Ecological Services Division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska Region

Katrina Mueller 

Alaska Fisheries 

Outreach Coordinator

On the Cover: Juvenile Chinook salmon near the confluence of the Russian and Kenai rivers. USFWS/Katrina Mueller. 

Click here to receive future issues!
3 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

The theme of this second issue of 

Alaska Fisheries and Habitat News 

largely revolves around Chinook 

salmon. These fish have been in the 

news a lot lately (see subset of recent 

headlines above), with very low adult 

returns across Alaska generating 

much attention. In fact, the State of 

Alaska has listed several populations 

as “Stocks of Concern” and fisheries 

closures and gear restrictions are 

increasingly in play. 

A lot of people have a stake and are 

invested in the wellbeing of Chinook 

salmon that originate in Alaska and 

the Alaskan/Canadian waters of the 

Yukon River. They are valued by 

Alaska Native peoples and Canada’s 

First Nations, Alaska’s rural and 

urban residents, visitors from around 

the world, and the many businesses 

(both in-state and out-of-state) that 

are tied to associated fisheries. Their 

value crosscuts ecology, culture, 

nutrition, recreation, and economics. 

These Chinook have a complicated 

life cycle that takes years to complete 

and spans thousands of miles from 

headwater streams in Canada and 

Alaska to the Bering Sea and North 

Pacific Ocean. During the freshwater 

phases of their life cycle, they travel 

through large swaths of wild and 

“Board of Fisheries 

wades into Kenai 

River fish war”

“ADF&G Anticipating Another 

Low King Salmon Return”

largely roadless terrain where the 

logistics and cost to monitor returning 

adults and understand juvenile 

ecology pose a unique challenge. 

They spend a large portion of their life 

at sea, a largely black box they enter 

as smolts and exit as adults. Here, 

they—and the other species they 

interact with—are exposed to cyclic 

changes in sea-surface temperatures, 

coastal and and upwelling currents, 

fishing pressure, and other factors. 

Many factors can and do cause their 

populations to boom and bust. 

Fisheries managers have the difficult 

task of allocating harvest in a way 

that’s fair to the many different 

users that are spread out across an 

immense geographical area—from 

subsistence users in rural/remote 

communities along the Yukon and 

Kuskokwim rivers to the sport anglers 

(many visiting from around the world) 

hoping to catch the “big one” on the 

Kenai River or after work in an urban 

setting along Anchorage’s Ship Creek. 

At the same time, managers must 

conserve these fish and their natural 

diversity for future generations, 

making sure none of the unique stocks 

headed for different spawning grounds 

are disproportionally harvested 

in “mixed” fisheries that occur at 

locations or times when salmon from 

different populations are mixing as 

they move upstream together. 

Statewide declines, and how to 

address them, are fraught with 

complexity and unknowns. In 

Alaska, state and federal fisheries 

biologists use a variety of tools, 

techniques, and information to 

monitor Chinook salmon (and other 

species) and understand changes in 

their abundance, diversity, and health. 

These include weirs, sonar (much like 

a doctor’s ultrasound), radiotelemetry 

and genetics (both require handson capture), overhead aerial flights, 

fish wheels, counting towers, test 

fisheries, harvest information from 

creel surveys and post-season mail-in 

harvest surveys, modeling, traditional 

ecological knowledge, and more. 

Collectively, we’ve come a long way, 

but still have a lot to learn about what 

conditions Chinook salmon need to 

complete each and every life stage 

and the degree to which different 

stressors affect them from egg to 

adulthood. One thing is clear: fisheries 

management is complex, challenging, 

never perfect, always changing, and 

requires a collaborative effort. 

editor’s note by Katrina Mueller

“Bleak king salmon run 

predicted for Alaska's 

world-famous Kenai River...”

“Solution needed to 

restore king runs”

All of the artwork and essays featured throughout this special Chinook issue were submitted 

by Alaska youth (grades K-12) for the 2014 State-Fish Art Contest. Each year we look forward 

to seeing Alaska’s state fish (the Chinook) and other states’ fish through their eyes. This is the 

third year the Service has partnered with Wildlife Forever to carry out this national educational 

contest in Alaska and we can’t wait to see the 2015 entries! Keep up the good work - while we 

didn’t have enough space to show all of the submissions we love each and every one of them!

Jedidiah Llenado (Grade 2)
Chinook Salmon

Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Feature Fish

Photo: Josh Larios/Wikicommons

by Katrina Mueller

I am a Chinook salmon. As adults we 

commonly exceed 30-pounds, and, 

in rare instances, 100-pounds. A 

Kenai River Chinook that topped 

the scales at 97.25 pounds currently 

holds the sport fishing world record 

and the largest commercially-caught 

individual weighed in at 126.5 pounds 

(caught in Southeast Alaska in the 

late 1930s). Maybe this is why I’m also 

commonly called the King.

Many of my other nicknames (spring 

salmon, June hog, blackmouth) 

describe the timing of my 

spawning migration or my physical 

characteristics. The name of my 

genus, Oncorhynchus, is derived from 

the Greek onkos (hook) and rynchos

(nose), in reference to the pronounced 

kype (snout) of spawning males. The 

origins of my species’ scientific name, 

tshawytcha, can be traced back to 

the common name given to me by the 

native people of Kamchatka, Russia. 

I emerged this spring from the gravel 

of a Yukon River tributary (the Chena 

River) from a redd (nest) my mother 

dug last summer using her tail. 

Recognized as the official state fish of Alaska 

and Oregon, Chinook salmon are part of the 

fabric of human life throughout their range, 

supporting ways of life and economies 

associated with subsistence, personal use, 

commercial, and recreational fisheries.

In North America, the Chinook’s natural range 

once spanned from Point Hope, Alaska to the 

Ventura River in southern California. Today, 

populations south of California’s Sacramento 

River have been wiped out and a number 

of others outside Alaska are considered 

Endangered, Threatened, Candidates for 

Listing, or Species of Concern. Declines 

are largely a product of human activities 

significantly reducing access to historical 

freshwater habitats and the quality/quantity 

of those remaining. Even in Alaska, Chinook 

populations are showing signs of stress: 

eleven are currently considered Stocks of 

Management or Yield Concern. 

My parents spawned in this same 

stretch of river as their parents. Just 

like countless generations before, they 

died soon after, providing important 

nutrients to the river foodweb. 

This is the way it is for all Chinook 

salmon, for all anadromous Pacific 

salmon species. My story will end the 

same way if I survive to adulthood. 

Completing each stage of my life cycle 

will require avoiding a different set of 

predators and conquering what one of 

the last largely* freeflowing rivers in 

the world throws my way—a dynamic 

environment shaped by ice, millions 

of tons of sediment rolling towards 

the sea each year, and a discharge 

exceeding a hundred thousand cubic 

feet of water each second. 

My parents left the Yukon River 

as smolts for the rich waters of the 

Bering Sea (perhaps ultimately the 

North Pacific) to acquire the strength 

and size needed to store enough 

energy to swim about one-thousand 

miles back up the Yukon. 

It was not until spending several 

years pursuing and growing fat off the 

Bering Sea’s smorgasbord of prey—

like herring, sandlance, and squid—

that they returned to this place where 

the beginning of my life cycle as an 

egg marked the end of theirs. 

Carla Coloma (Grade 1) - growing fat at sea

Ilene Fernandez (Grade 3) - emerging from gravel

Angelika De Leon (Grade 10) - returning home

4 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)
5 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Worldwide, less than two dozen rivers 

surpass the Yukon River in length, so 

our migrations are some of the longest 

of any salmon on Earth. Originating 

in the Canadian Province of British 

Columbia, this river flows through 

the Yukon Territory before crossing 

the United States/Canada border. 

Flowing east to west across the 

entirety of Alaska, it finally fans out 

across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta 

(roughly the size of Oregon) before 

flowing into the Bering Sea. 

The amount of energy needed to 

return home makes us Yukon kings 

highly prized for our unusually oily 

flesh—the source of heart healthy 

omega-3 fatty acids. I’d just as 

soon not get caught, but am proud 

to be the preferred food source for 

Alaska Native peoples who have 

subsisted on my species and my other 

Pacific salmon relatives since time 

immemorial. 

As “stream-type” Chinook, we spend 

our early days in the headwaters of 

large rivers and tend to stay longer in 

freshwater and have longer migrations 

than our “ocean–type” counterparts. 

This makes us particularly vulnerable 

to freshwater habitat fragmentation, 

and the drying, thawing, and rising 

water temperatures brought about 

by changing climatic conditions in 

Alaska’s arctic.

Before I migrate to sea (likely after 

spring thaw one or more years from 

now), I’ll move among a wide variety 

of freshwater habitats—mainstem 

rivers, side channel braids, 

headwater streams, and 

lower gradient 

streams with pools and 

wood for cover. 

In fact, I may 

move among these 

different habitats 

hundreds of miles from 

my natal stream 

to find what I 

need to survive 

the different 

seasons and 

environmental 

conditions typical of 

interior Alaska. 

It’s critical that I’m able 

to access these 

habitats—a 

seemingly 

mundane culvert placed 

where a gravel road crosses a stream 

that isn’t designed to pass fish can 

create a barrier that delays or totally 

prevents me from reaching suitable 

overwintering areas or some other 

key habitat that’ll help me live 

another day. 

Just as the “parr” marks along my 

sides camouflage me and help me 

avoid predators in freshwater, my 

coloration will change and help me 

blend in as I enter the salty waters of 

the ocean. If you were to fly over me 

swimming near the surface at sea, you 

may be able to see the blue-greenBecause Chinook migrate 

across state and international 

boundaries, many people have a 

stake in their conservation. 

Maintaining broad diversity of river-specific, 

thus genetically-distinct, populations of 

Chinook salmon throughout their range is key 

to the resiliency and stability of the species 

as a whole (and associated fisheries). As the 

saying goes, “don’t put all your eggs in one 

basket.” The same goes for salmon runs. They 

naturally boom and bust, but not in the same 

years—as a collective, they’re much more 

stable. 

*there is a hydroelectric dam across the Yukon River in the City of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.

Thanks to Jeff Adams, Jimmy Fox, Ray Hander, Trent Liebich, Doug McBride, and David Wigglesworth for their ideas and input.

purple hues of my back, speckled with 

black spots; from the side, chrome; 

and from below looking up, white, to 

match the lighter sky above. Then I’m 

gone...perhaps you’ll see me when I 

return. 

Jessica Canaga (Grade 9) - seeking cover in freshwater Mark Anthony Mabalot (Grade 5) - swimming at sea

Ana’s King by Anasteisha Rodriguez-Nieves (Grade 1)
My name is Jessica Hildebrand. 

My parents are Rodney and Celene 

Hildebrand; my paternal grandparents 

are Victor and Edith Nicholas, and my 

maternal grandparents are the late 

Leo and Delores Kriska. I grew up on 

a homestead located six miles from 

Koyukuk and 12 miles from Nulato. 

On the homestead, better known as 

“Last Chance,” is our family’s house, 

my parent’s privately owned business, 

our fish cutting area, smoke house, 

and numerous old cabins and caches. 

My parents also own a house in Nulato 

that we went back and forth to for 

school during the winter, but you 

would never catch us away from Last 

Chance during the summer.

This is where my best childhood 

memories were made and where my 

parents taught my siblings and I our 

subsistence lifestyle. In the fall we 

harvest moose for the winter, but my 

favorite time has always been the 

summer fishing season. 

Harvesting salmon is such a beautiful 

experience. I love when our whole 

family works hard together, bonding, 

and putting away this important 

resource for Alaskan Natives. During 

fishing season, my dad stays out on 

the river all night trying to catch a 

decent amount of Chinook for the 

women in the family to work on in the 

morning. 

Seining is typically the men’s duty but 

when my brothers were too young to 

go out with my dad, I would always 

volunteer myself (admittedly to get 

out of the hard work of cutting fish 

in the early mornings) to go with 

him. Although my mom, adamant on 

making sure my sisters and I knew 

how to process salmon, would never 

let me sleep in when there was fresh 

salmon to be put away. I will never 

regret the lack of sleep I endured to 

spend my nights seining on the Yukon 

River with my dad.

Jessica with a Chinook. Rodney Hildebrand

6 l Spring 2014

Point of View

Chinook Salmon for Our Future

 ...we all want 

the same thing—

for Chinook 

“

salmon to last.

by Jessica Hildebrand

I remember everything we talked 

about while drifting for hours, 

but one thing always stuck in my 

head. He told me about a time 10 

years or so before when he and his 

friend pulled in 28 Chinook in one 

drift. This shocked me because we 

had been seining for many hours 

already, had drifted about 12 times, 

and barely caught eight Chinook. 

It also saddened me to realize that 

our precious Chinook numbers are 

depleting and right before my eyes. 

This was when I decided that I 

would go to college and get a degree 

that would enable me to work in a 

field where I could help conserve 

salmon. So when I was 14 years old 

I moved to Fairbanks to receive a 

better education at James T. 

Hutchison High School, I 

enrolled for college with 

a declared major before 

I graduated, and I did 

my senior project on 

conserving salmon. 

I was lucky enough to 

have Kanuti National 

Wildlife Refuge Manager, 

Mike Spindler, on my 

panel when I presented 

my senior project and he 

told me to get in contact 

with former Tanana 

Chiefs Conference fish 

biologist, Lisa Kangas. 

Lisa is now an environmental 

specialist for Alyeska 

Pipeline Service Company 

and my mentor. After I 

got in contact with her in 

November 2011, she brought 

me to the Service’s Fairbanks 

Office to meet Aaron Martin, 

Supervisory Fish Biologist 

in the Subsistence Fisheries 

Branch. 

Aaron told me all about the 

internships with the Service and 

I knew that this position would be 

perfect for me. Words cannot explain 

how happy and excited I was when I 

got the call letting me know I got the 

position. I will always be grateful for 

this amazing learning experience with 

wonderful people.

As a Data Technician, I consolidate 

the numbers of Chinook salmon, 

chum salmon, and other species 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska 
7 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Jessica’s article was originally published in the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries 

Association’s newsletter. She is a student at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks working 

towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science. This past summer she completed 

her second summer as a seasonal Data Technician with our Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife 

Field Office’s Subsistence Fisheries Branch. 

that pass through weirs and sonar 

beams as they get reported in to 

me from the field crews daily. After 

this, I redistribute them to different 

agencies. During my daily routine, 

the low Chinook numbers compared 

to other species always hits close to 

home for me. However, I’ve been able 

to form objectives for myself that I 

think may make a difference. 

For example, before I worked for 

the Service, I was resentful towards 

the restrictions and regulations that 

were set during fishing season. Then 

I became aware of the reasoning for 

them and now have a new outlook. 

I want to voice these reasons to my 

fellow subsistence community so we 

can all become aware and take action 

together to save our Chinook salmon 

for the generations to come. 

The restrictions and regulations are 

not made to keep Chinook salmon 

from us; they are put in effect to 

protect the threatened species that 

are important to all of us! Instead of 

being bitter towards the restrictions 

and regulations, we need to accept 

them and work towards sustaining 

Chinook together. 

I’ve already made an impact on my 

own family by persuading them to 

harvest more chum than Chinook 

last year. Chum can be just as rich 

as Chinook in some areas and can be 

harvested without having such drastic 

effects on their numbers. 

My mom, once angry with the rules as 

well, now appreciates them and has 

been relaying the information I’ve 

given her to others in our village. She 

processed chum the same as Chinook 

last year, and has been showing 

others that there is not too much of 

a difference between the two when 

stripped, filleted, jarred, or canned. 

I believe that if we all make the 

sacrifice of choosing to harvest chum 

and let the Chinook pulses pass 

through to get to their spawning 

grounds that their numbers will 

begin to rise as more make it there.

Making the sacrifice now can help 

save the Chinook salmon from 

becoming extinct and the subsistence 

community needs to be aware of this. 

As a Koyukon Athabascan who lives a 

subsistence lifestyle, I do understand 

where the frustration is coming from. 

But it is time to stop fighting the 

restrictions and regulations and do 

our part because we, the Service, and 

Alaska Department of Fish and Game 

all want the same thing—for Chinook 

salmon to last. Knowledge is power 

and the more people who become 

aware and make the sacrifice, the 

more we will help make a difference 

in saving Chinook. So voicing the 

reasoning for the restrictions and 

regulations, and persuading others to 

choose to make the sacrifice or even 

just cut back a little on what Chinook 

is taken, is very important to me and 

what I hope to achieve.

...before I worked for the 

Service, I was resentful 

towards the restrictions 

and regulations...

“

(Essay by Dustin Reft of Karluk, Alaska)

The King Salmon is also called a Chinook Salmon, but in Karluk we call it the King Salmon. It is Alaska’s state fish. 

We catch them on the Karluk River in Summer. They lay eggs and die and grow up to 46 inches; some are up to 

58 inches. My dad catches the king salmon up at the river. He has fun catching the King Salmon. When my dad 

catches fish, the first king salmon goes to the elders. That would be my little grandma, Mary, and Ronny. Then my 

aunts will get some of them also. Once I caught a King Salmon. I was up at the point with my brother and sisters. 

It was in the summer time about 5 or 4 o’clock. It was a clear and sunny day. I threw my hook in and reeled it in 

really slow until the fish saw my hook. When he bit he pulled and the line started reeling out really fast. He went 

under the boat. We brought it in and David took it off the hook. I was so happy! We had salmon for dinner!

Krystal Joy Coloma Grade 4

Dustin Reft Grade 6
Uniquely

Alaska Logistics

n Biggest state with more coastline than the lower 48 states combined

n Produces ~80% of the worldwide supply of wild salmon

n Largely roadless. Heavy dependence on other, often costly transportation modes

ALASKA

Pictured from left: Service biologists Jim Boersma and Ken Gates from our Kenai Fish and Wildlife Field Office, 

and Jordan Head from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, removing ice from the Killey River’s bank in 

preparation for installing a weir used to monitor Chinook returning to its waters to spawn. USFWS/Ben Schubert

The Killey River weir site sits 24 

miles by helicopter from the Soldotna 

Airport, deep in the Kenai National 

Wildlife Refuge—one of 16 Refuges in 

Alaska managed by the Service that, 

together, cover 76 million acres (nearly 

20% of the state). 

More than half of the Kenai River’s 

early-run Chinook salmon are thought 

to spawn in this important tributary. 

The weir provides a platform to 

monitor Chinook salmon that have 

returned to spawn. Read more about 

our use of weirs starting on page 10. 

8 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)
The Alaska National Interest Lands 

Conservation Act, or ANILCA, 

(passed by Congress in 1980) 

mandates that rural Alaska residents 

be given priority for subsistence uses 

of fish and wildlife over other uses 

on Alaska’s federal public lands. The 

Secretaries of the U.S. Departments 

of the Interior and Agriculture 

are responsible for upholding this 

subsistence priority. The Federal 

Subsistence Management Program 

was established to help them meet 

this responsibility and is a multiagency effort led by the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service.

As lead agency, the Service provides 

the administrative and technical 

support needed to run the Federal 

Subsistence Management Program. 

This is done via the Office of 

Subsistence Management (OSM), a 

branch of the Service, staffed with 

Service employees and created solely 

to support the Program’s decisionmaking body (the Federal Subsistence 

Board) and it’s 10 Regional Advisory 

Councils (generally divided along 

indigenous cultural boundaries). 

OSM also administers a competitive 

grant program known as the Fisheries 

Resource Monitoring Program 

(FRMP). FRMP projects monitor the 

fish populations important to rural 

subsistence users. These projects 

inform fisheries management and 

the “in-season” managers who make 

decisions aimed at conserving fish and 

providing continued opportunities for 

subsistence. 

FRMP has funded hundreds of 

fisheries research and monitoring 

projects since its inception. In fact, 

fisheries studies carried out by the 

Service’s Fisheries Program staff 

are regularly funded by FRMP—for 

example, to operate weirs on Yukon 

and Kuskokwim river tributaries to 

monitor returning Chinook salmon 

(see page 10).

Uniquely

Alaska Subsistence

Contributors: Trent Liebich and Pippa Kenner, 

Office of Subsistence Management; Andrea 

Medieros, External Affairs

9 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Bureau of Land Management

U.S. Forest Service

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

National Park Service

Alaska’s federal public lands

Did you know? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is 

an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior 

(DOI). DOI is responsible for managing and conserving 

most federal lands and associated natural resources. 

The Secretary of the Interior, a member of the 

President’s Cabinet, is the head of DOI.

Did you know? Alaska is the only state where the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has in-season fisheries 

managers with responsibility and authority to ensure 

subsistence and escapement needs are met on federal 

public lands.

Rural Alaska residents harvest an 

estimated 38 million pounds of wild 

foods each year. That’s roughly 316 

pounds per person, with fish making 

up about 60%. No other state in the 

U.S. has such a heavy reliance upon 

wild foods. 

Salmon drying along the shore of the North 

River in Unalakleet, Alaska. Rhonda Nanouk
10 l Spring 2014

The Service operates weirs on 

Kuskokwim, Kenai, and Yukon River 

tributaries that flow through National 

Wildlife Refuges. These weirs provide 

a platform to gather key pieces of 

information needed to conserve 

Alaska’s salmon populations and 

manage associated fisheries. The weirs 

highlighted on the next few pages share 

something in common—they help us 

Andreafsky weir. USFWS monitor Chinook populations.

The Tuluksak and Kwethluk rivers both originate in the 

Kilbuck Mountains and flow through Alaska’s Yukon Delta 

National Wildlife Refuge. USFWS/Kristine Sowl

Video still of a large male Chinook and a group of chum 

salmon passing upstream through a weir. USFWS

Feature: Weirs

Weirs & Video Technology

Yukon River tributary weirs:

Andreafsky River

Gisasa River

Kuskokwim River tributary weirs:

Tuluksak River

Kwethluk River

Kenai River tributary weirs:

Killey River 

Funny River

Quartz Creek

We construct our weirs with evenly spaced PVC pickets aligned parallel to the direction of flow. 

The upstream end of each panel is anchored to the river bottom and the downstream end is lifted 

above the surface by a resistance board that planes upward in flowing water. Standard video 

components include a sealed box to house the video camera, pond lights and a digital video 

recorder (DVR) equipped with motion detection software. Migrating fish enter a narrow chute on 

their way upstream and pass in front of the video box. The analog video signal is routed to the 

DVR and converted to digital format instantaneously. The DVR removes blank footage and only 

reports motion events. We also incorporate fish traps to collect samples (e.g., scales for ageing 

or a small fin clip for genetic analyses) and use microwave technology to monitor remote sites. 

We power our remote video systems with a combination of solar and thermoelectric energy. 

After passing through the weir, fish continue their migration upstream to their spawning grounds. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

PVC picket panels

chute & fish trap

Flow

by Katrina Mueller

How it works!

Windows into the world of migrating fish

*Special thanks to Jeff Anderson, Fred Bue, and Aaron Martin for their input and review.
Kuskokwim—The Kuskokwim River 

flows through the remote and wild 

landscape of southwest Alaska into 

the Bering Sea. This noteworthy 

river—over 700 miles long—is 

particularly significant in terms of 

supplying food for Alaska Native 

peoples and other rural residents: 

Alaska’s largest subsistence harvest of 

Chinook salmon (on average, 84,000) is 

taken from its waters each year. 

A shrinking number of salmon 

returning to the Kuskokwim—

particularly Chinook (which are in 

a period of decline statewide)—is of 

concern to users and managers alike. 

2012 and 2013 saw the lowest numbers 

of Chinook reach their spawning 

grounds in documented history. 

For several years running, the total 

salmon escapement (the number of 

spawners that escape harvest and 

reach their spawning grounds) in 

several tributaries has been at or 

below the level thought necessary to 

sustain Kuskokwim Chinook. 

Kenai Fish & Wildlife Field Office

Kuskokwim

11 l Spring 2014

Above: The Kwethluk River, a Kuskokwim River 

tributary that flows through the Yukon Delta National 

Wildlife Refuge, taken from Three Step Mountain in 

Western Alaska by one of our past interns. 

Below: The Kuskokwim River. USFWS/Palma Ingles

Feature: Weirs

The State of Alaska recently adopted 

a new basin-wide escapement goal, 

and preliminary analyses indicate 

it was not likely met in 2013. Low 

returns have prompted commercial, 

sportfishing and subsistence fishing 

closures and gear restrictions for the 

Kuskokwim and its tributaries. 

Fisheries biologists from our Kenai 

Fish and Wildlife Field Office use 

weirs as their primary platform to 

monitor the salmon that return to two 

Kuskokwim River tributaries—the 

Kwethluk and Tuluksak rivers. Daily 

escapement numbers are relayed to 

managers charged with in-season 

(realtime) management of fisheries in 

the lower reaches of the river.

Both the Kwethluk and Tuluksak 

flow through the Yukon Delta 

National Wildlife Refuge and support 

Chinook runs that make an important 

contribution to the overall natural 

diversity of the Kuskokwim’s Chinook 

run. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

These two populations experience 

heavy fishing pressure as they 

pass through the lower reaches of 

the Kuskokwim. As a result of low 

escapement, sport and subsistence 

fisheries have been restricted in both 

systems, as well as in the mainstem 

Kuskokwim River near the villages 

of Kwethluk and Tuluksak, to help 

protect these spawning populations.

Our Kenai fish biologists have used 

underwater video technology at these 

two weirs since 2010 to get an even 

clearer picture of the runs in real 

time. For example, clear footage lets 

them determine sex ratios for each 

species without handling the fish. This 

information is helpful in understanding 

changes in, for example, the size of 

Chinook salmon and the ratio of males 

to females over time.
Feature

12 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Below: Funny River weir. USFWS/K. Mueller

Kenai Fish & Wildlife Field Office

The Kenai River near its mouth. Katrina Mueller

Kenai

Feature: Weirs

Weirs continued. Kenai—The turquoise 

waters of the Kenai River—Alaska’s 

premier sportfishing destination—flow 

over 80 miles westward across the 

Kenai Peninsula from Kenai Lake 

through the National Wildlife Refuge 

that bears its name before meandering 

into Cook Inlet. 

Recreational anglers begin and end 

the fishing season on the Kenai’s 

banks between April and November 

to fish for salmon, rainbow trout, 

steelhead, and Dolly Varden char. 

This river supports Alaska’s largest 

sport fisheries for sockeye, coho, 

and Chinook salmon, with anglers 

dedicating over 250,000 “angler days” 

(i.e., the time spent fishing for any 

part of a day by one person) each year 

fishing for Chinook salmon alone. The 

biggest Chinook ever to be landed 

with rod and reel—just shy of 100 

pounds—was a Kenai River king. 

Recreational salmon fishing 

throughout the Kenai River 

watershed overlaps with a uniquely 

Alaska “personal use” dipnet fishery 

for Alaska residents in the lower river, 

marine recreational fisheries, and set 

and drift gillnet commercial fisheries 

in Cook Inlet. 

These fisheries intercept migrating 

salmon at different points along their 

migration through Cook Inlet and up 

the Kenai River—from the beginning 

of the earliest run to the end of the 

latest. 

While 2013 was a bumper year for 

Kenai River sockeye salmon, the total 

number of Chinook returning to the 

Kenai is declining, with 2012 and 2013 

returns being the lowest on record. 

Based on when they migrate (“run”) 

upstream and where they spawn, 

Kenai River Chinook fall into two 

main groups: early- and late-run. 

Most early-run Chinook spawn in 

Kenai River’s tributaries within the 

Refuge and tend to begin migrating 

up the Kenai between late April and 

early July. Late-run Chinook return 

between mid-June and mid-August to 

spawn in the Kenai’s mainstem. 

To better monitor the early-runners, 

our Kenai Office operates weirs fitted 

with underwater video technology 

on three Kenai River tributaries 

that flow through the Kenai National 

Wildlife Refuge: the Funny River 

(operated since 2006), the Killey River 

(operated since 2012), and, in 2013, 

Quartz Creek—a smaller tributary 

that provides another important 

spawning area for early-run Chinook. 

It’s important that early-run Chinook 

reach these tributaries—over half 

of the Kenai’s early-run Chinook are 

thought to spawn in the Killey and 

approximately 20% are thought to 

spawn in the Funny River, although 

the latter number has been less in 

recent years (10-11%). 

Our Kenai Office monitors the Funny’s 

Chinook run (and a small, recentlydiscovered steelhead population) at a 

weir located less than a mile upstream 

of where the Funny enters the Kenai. 

They’re finding that returning 

Chinook are smaller and younger 

when compared to other populations 

in Southcentral Alaska. These smaller, 

younger fish tend to make less eggs 

than large, older fish, and the eggs 

are smaller. Small fish dig shallower 

redds and eggs are more likely to get 

scoured out during high flows. 

The Killey River also flows almost 

entirely within the Kenai National 

Wildlife Refuge, with its lowermost 

section flowing through private lands. 

The weir site is located two miles 

downstream of the Killey’s confluence 

with Benjamin Creek. Like the 

weir on the Funny, the Killey weir 

allows biologists to count the number 

of Chinook passing upstream and 

document their age, sex, and length. 

JoJo’s King Salmon by Jordan Carlos, Grade 2
13 l Spring 2014

The Killey River weir. Over half of the Kenai River’s 

early-run Chinook salmon are thought to spawn in this 

glacially-fed tributary. USFWS/Lucas Young

Spotlight on Technology

For over a decade, our Kenai Office 

fisheries biologists have been 

pioneering innovative underwater 

video technology at weirs, allowing 

them to provide more accurate counts 

of abundance with less manpower. For 

example, artificial lighting and a sealed 

camera box filled with clear water 

can record passing fish 24 hours a day 

even when the water is cloudy. Motion 

detection software only records motion 

events, saving staff many hours during 

review.

They are now exploring a novel use 

for another technology: Graduated 

Electric Field Fish Barriers 

(GEFFBs). Although floating 

resistance-board weirs are an advance 

over fixed picket weirs in their ability 

to operate in waters carrying a lot of 

debris (e.g., downed trees), they are 

difficult or impossible to install and 

operate in certain high flows. This 

reduces the accuracy of escapement 

estimates. It’s a currently available 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

technology that could potentially help 

address these limitations. 

GEFFBs, which use mild fields of 

non-lethal, pulsed DC electricity, 

have been used extensively in North 

America and Europe to block the 

movement of invasive species, like 

Asian carp, and guide fish away from 

hydropower and water intake canals 

and irrigation ditches. 

Staff are currently exploring the 

possibility of piloting a modified 

electronic guidance array to guide 

migrating adult salmon upstream 

through a fish trap and video counting 

chute. Theoretically, migrating fish 

spread out across the total width 

of a river at various water depths 

could be redirected to one side of the 

river channel with a very low power, 

pulsed DC waveform and allowed to 

travel unimpeded through a smaller 

and more manageable corridor 

affixed with an underwater video 

A video still of Chinook and chum salmon passing 

through one of our weirs that’s equipped with video 

technology. USFWS

Weirs continued. The need to better 

understand specific spawning 

populations prompted the development 

of the Killey River weir project as 

part of a larger cooperative project 

with the Alaska Department of Fish 

and Game (ADF&G). The information 

gathered from the weirs on the 

Killey and Funny Rivers, and most 

recently Quartz Creek, is being used 

in combination with radiotelemetry 

data, genetic data, and harvest 

information to generate population 

abundance estimates for comparison 

with information being gathered by 

ADF&G with new sonar technology. 

Ultimately, a better understanding of 

the Kenai’s different populations can 

help ensure their conservation. 

system. If successful, such a system 

could replace more costly and laborintensive resistance-board weirs (in 

terms of annual material costs and 

maintenance). 

This application of GEFFBs is still in 

the planning phase, and initial project 

development would likely occur as 

a small-scale controlled test on the 

road system where our Kenai staff 

would have control over many of the 

variables that may affect safety and 

system performance.

Feature: Weirs

Fairbanks Fish & Wildlife Field Office
14 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Weirs continued. Yukon—the massive 

Yukon River and its tributaries drain 

a remote and still-wild swath of land 

in Alaska and Canada that’s the size 

of Texas and Louisiana combined. 

Fewer than two dozen of the world’s 

rivers are longer—in the U.S., only 

the Missouri and Mississippi surpass it 

in length.

Yukon River salmon are equally 

impressive, with some Chinook and 

fall chum salmon undertaking a 

Herculean journey up the entirety of 

its length (~2,000 miles)—those that 

spawn in its headwaters in British 

Columbia have one of the longest 

freshwater migrations on Earth. 

The fish that make a living in the 

Yukon—salmon, whitefish, lamprey, 

northern pike and others—have 

provided a vital source of food and 

traditions for Alaska Native peoples 

and Canada’s First Nations for 

thousands of years. Today, these fish 

continue to provide a key food source 

for over 60 rural Alaska communities 

and reach commercial markets as far 

as Southeast Asia (Pacific lamprey) 

and New York City (Bering cisco). 

Because Yukon River Chinook and, 

increasingly, fall chum (as Chinook 

numbers decline statewide) have such 

importance, the U.S. and Canada 

established a long-term commitment 

to manage and conserve these two 

species as a shared resource and give 

priority to subsistence uses via the 

Yukon River Salmon Agreement of 

2001. 

To help meet the obligations of this 

agreement and the ecological and 

subsistence mandates of ANILCA, 

our Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife 

Field Office has a Subsistence 

Fisheries Branch with a permanent 

staff of six biologists. They monitor 

and work jointly with the State of 

Alaska to manage the in-season 

harvest of salmon on federal public 

lands and determine if subsistence 

needs are being met in Yukon River 

communities. 

The Service coordinates with ADF&G 

and numerous other agency and nonagency partners to piece together a 

greater understanding of the salmon’s 

part in the ecology of the Yukon River 

for the benefit of the people who rely 

upon this important resource in their 

everyday lives.

For 20 years, the Service has annually 

collected data on salmon abundance, 

run-timing, age, sex and length as 

Chinook, chum, and other species 

that move upstream through weirs 

located on several key Yukon River 

tributaries that flow through Refuge 

lands, including the Andreafsky and 

Gisasa Rivers. Video technology is 

being incorporated in 2014. 

Below: Hanging fish to dry by the Yukon River near 

Forty Mile circa 1930. Claude B. Tidd Collection

Fairbanks Fish & Wildlife Field Office

Yukon River. Stan Zuray

Gisasa

Andreafsky

Feature: Weirs
15 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Weirs continued. The 120-mile long 

Andreafsky River and its East Fork 

flow through the Yukon Delta National 

Wildlife Refuge and converge near the 

village of St. Mary’s (population ~500). 

This highly productive river supports 

some of the Yukon’s largest runs of 

Chinook, chum, coho, and pink salmon.

Andreafsky River salmon contribute 

to a significant mixed stock subsistence 

fishery that takes place in the lower 

Yukon River. The East Fork is one of 

many rivers along the Yukon River 

system where the number of salmon 

escaping to their spawning grounds is 

being tracked. 

The Gisasa River, located within the 

Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge, 

is a tributary of the Koyukuk River. 

The Koyukuk is a major Yukon River 

tributary, entering the mainstem 

downstream of the community of 

Galena (population ~470). It hosts 

one of the Yukon’s largest summer 

chum runs. The Service uses the 

Gisasa River weir to help monitor the 

effectiveness of various conservation 

actions aimed at ensuring enough 

Chinook and summer chum salmon 

escape the downstream fisheries and 

reach their spawning grounds. 

The two decades of consistent data 

that have been collected at weirs 

like these is rare, given the logistics 

associated with such a large river 

system flowing through a remote 

and largely roadless area. The data 

is thus very important, both in terms 

of 1) monitoring escapement and 

run-timing (key pieces of information 

needed to inform the decision-making 

process for setting subsistence and 

commercial fishing periods in real 

time), and also 2) tracking how fish 

populations originating from Refuge 

lands are changing over time (e.g., 

number of spawners, their size, age, 

and the ratio of males to females). 

The information collected at these 

weirs is being used to review 

population trends throughout the 

Yukon’s basin and to create models 

to help reconstruct the numbers of 

salmon that entered the mouth of the 

Yukon River historically. These efforts 

will help improve understanding of 

escapement needs and ultimately 

aim to ensure there are healthy and 

diverse fish for the future. 

Weirs also enable our staff to assess 

how well conservation efforts are 

working. For example, in 2010, both 

the Alaska Board of Fisheries and 

Federal Subsistence Board adopted 

regulations limiting the mesh size 

of gillnets to nothing larger than 7.5 

inches. The regulation, beginning in 

2011, sought to better match mesh 

Fairbanks Fish & Wildlife Field Office

size to harvest salmon across the 

wide spectrum of fish body sizes 

returning to the Yukon River as a way 

to maintain their natural variability. 

This was done in an effort to avoid the 

current selective harvesting of larger, 

older, Chinook salmon females that are 

capable of laying more and larger eggs 

(their big heads can’t pass through the 

small mesh). Due to continued poor 

returns in 2013, the Service worked 

with ADF&G to further reduce the 

mesh size to six inches while Chinook 

were migrating upstream. The goal of 

this regulation was to more effectively 

harvest the more abundant, smaller 

chum salmon and, again, protect the 

low numbers of Chinook migrating 

simultaneously. We hope to see more 

Chinook and these big females passing 

our weirs in the coming years as a 

result of these types of measures. 

Finally, the weirs’ base camps 

provide a platform for other studies, 

such as investigating what habitats 

lamprey prefer and where they 

locate themselves in the watershed. 

Or collecting baseline water quality 

data. On the horizon? Fleshing out 

logistics for catching juvenile salmon 

to monitor their condition (to assess 

their overall health) as they migrate 

downriver to the Bering Sea. 

Jennifer Morella with a Gisasa River Chinook. USFWS

Feature: Weirs
16 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Importance: Buddy Creek is Montana 

Creek’s biggest tributary. Montana 

Creek supports a very popular salmon 

and trout fishery two hours north of 

Anchorage. 

Problem: Two 5ft-diameter culverts 

were causing a fish passage barrier 

and constricting 16ft-wide Buddy 

Creek to 10ft at Katahdin Street.

Solution: Replace the undersized 

culverts with a nearly 20ft-wide 

culvert that lets juvenile and adult 

salmon move freely under the road.

Partners: Same as above.

Fish-friendly results: Juvenile and 

adult salmon now have access to an 

additional four miles of spawning and 

nursery habitat upstream. 

Two undersized culverts were replaced with a new 

fish-friendly arch that spans Buddy Creek’s entire 

channel (pictured just after installation), letting juvenile 

and adult salmon move through with ease. It can also 

handle a 100-year flood. 

Importance: Goose Creek provides 

spawning and nursery habitat for 

Chinook and coho salmon.

Problem: Three 4ft-diameter culverts 

at Cameo Road were constricting 

Goose Creek and preventing fish from 

reaching upstream habitats. 

Solution: Replace the undersized 

culverts with a nearly 20ft-wide 

culvert that lets juvenile and adult 

salmon move freely under the road.

Bird’s eye view of Goose Creek estuary where it flows 

into the Knik Arm of Upper Cook Inlet. This project 

removed the last known fish passage barrier between 

its mouth and uppermost reaches. 

Buddy Creek

Goose Creek

Fish Passage Program

Partners: The Service, Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game 

(ADF&G), Mat-Su Borough (MSB), 

Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat 

Partnership. 

Fish-friendly results: Juvenile and adult 

Chinook and coho salmon now have 

access to 10 miles and 400 lake acres of 

spawning and nursery habitat. 

Project cost: $248,756 (the Service 

contributed $120,000).

Project cost: $237,712 (the Service 

contributed $120,000).

Stay tuned: Buddy Creek has one 

remaining fish passage barrier that’s 

undersized and badly damaged where 

it flows under Sawyer’s Shady Road—

the partners have received funding to 

install a fish-friendly culvert in 2015. 

In 2013, ADF&G marked juvenile 

salmon with passive integrated 

transponder (PIT) tags and observed 

their movements in the vicinity of this 

barrier. This data—to be collected 

before and after Buddy Creek’s last 

barrier is replaced with a fish- and 

flood-friendly crossing—will test the 

effectiveness of similar projects in 

improving habitat connectivity for 

juvenile salmon. 

Before

After

Helping fish cross under roads, reach habitat

by Katrina Mueller

USFWS/K. Mueller USFWS/Bill Rice Shorezone

Recent

highlights! 

Romy Berkeris, Grade 6
17 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Above right: Bill Rice accepts the National Fish Passage Program Field Biologist of the Year award 

from Alaska’s Regional Director, Geoff Haskett, on behalf of David Hoskins (the Service’s Assistant 

Director of Fisheries and Aquatic Conservation). USFWS/Rose Primmer. Below: Service Biological Science 

Technician Casey Smith readies a piezometer last August to evaluate upwelling and downwelling 

areas in Rabideux Creek, a Susitna River tributary near Talkeetna. The data will be combined with 

other habitat measurements and fish assessments to better understand what spawning habitats 

salmon prefer, and help prioritize fish passage barrier removal projects. Stay tuned for more on this 

and other fish passage projects in the next issue. USFWS/Katrina Mueller

MAT-SU ASSEMBLY: 

NO NEW FISH PASSAGE BARRIERS

The Mat-Su Borough (MSB) Assembly 

has identified the protection of fish 

and fish habitat in southcentral Alaska 

as a legislative priority and continues 

to identify fish passage needs in 

state capital funding requests. In 

August 2013, the MSB became the 

third community in Alaska (behind 

Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula) 

to prioritize fish passage by adopting 

fish-friendly design standards for new 

road-stream crossings. 

The design standards include 

accommodating the 100-year flood and 

incorpating stream simulation and 

hydraulic methods to ensure culverts 

don’t interfere with the movement of 

weak swimmers (like juvenile coho 

salmon) or impact habitat negatively. 

“

Adoption of these new 

standards brings the MatSu Borough in line with the 

Kenai Peninsula Borough 

and Anchorage in having 

local culvert standards for 

fish passage. —Frankie Barker, MSB 

Environmental Planner

On January 21, 2014, Bill Rice 

reeled in national recognition for 

improving fish passage and increasing 

community resilience to flood events. 

—Geoff Haskett, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Regional Director (Alaska)

Bill has worked with local Alaskan 

communities for over a decade to 

design and install fish-friendly roadstream crossings that also reduce 

the risk of flood damage, support 

construction jobs and help sustain 

community economic benefits 

associated with salmon. 

One of only seven Service fish 

passage engineers nationwide, Bill 

has a rare combination of hydrologic, 

engineering, and interpersonal skills 

that he uses to build lasting and 

active partnerships to improve fish 

passage in Alaska. His expertise is 

also exported outside Alaska—he just 

returned from special assignment in 

Colorado where he worked side-byside with FEMA representatives, 

local and state officials and other 

Service staff to ensure response to 

recent major flood events consider the 

needs of both fish and communities.

The fish-friendly standards were 

developed by an interagency, public/

private workgroup of engineers 

(including our fish passage engineer 

Bill Rice—see right) and biologists. 

The Service, MSB, ADF&G, and the 

State’s National Flood Insurance 

Program Coordinator will be putting 

on workshops for contractors, 

developers, and public works staff 

that focus on putting the standards 

into practice.

In addition to being good for fish, the 

new standards will help reduce flood 

risk to private property and public 

roads, making installation of fishfriendly crossings when new roads 

are constructed a proactive means 

to improve public infrastructure and 

safety, and invest in salmon.

“

Fish Passage Program

Bill’s work helps support what all 

Alaskans love to do most—fish! We 

are proud of Bill’s accomplishments, 

as well as our other staff, the Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game, and 

other local partners involved with 

fish passage projects.

USFWS/Rose Primmer

A juvenile coho salmon. USFWS.K.Mueller
18 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Alaska may be unique in a lot of 

ways, but not when it comes to being 

acutely vulnerable to invasive species. 

Invasives from around the world have 

a growing presence across the Alaska 

landscape—and they’re changing it, 

threatening the very character that 

makes Alaska special. 

For example, Elodea, Alaska’s first 

known aquatic invasive plant, has 

already invaded three of Alaska’s 

foremost salmon areas: the Copper 

River region, the Kenai Peninsula, 

and Chena River (a major Chinook 

salmon producer in interior Alaska). 

What’s at stake? Alaska’s freshwater 

fish habitat and fish—Elodea’s already 

been documented choking out Chinook 

salmon and Arctic grayling spawning 

and nursery habitat. 

A popular aquarium plant and 

teaching specimen in Alaska, Elodea

was likely introduced via the dumping 

of a home or school aquarium. It 

spreads easily, with even small 

fragments being able to establish new 

populations after hitching a ride on 

boats, trailers, floatplanes, or simply 

being carried downstream. This 

invader—having also taken root in 

several Anchorage lakes only a short 

distance from Lake Hood (the world’s 

busiest floatplane base that serves 

much of the state)—is only one flight 

away from its next invasion.

Invasives have more potential 

pathways into Alaska than ever 

before, and even more paths are 

Aquatic invasives near a tipping point: 

following in the footsteps of the lower 48 states?

poised to open up as a result of climate 

change. For example, loss of sea 

ice is projected to greatly expand 

northern shipping activity, increasing 

risks of shipping-assisted species 

invasions into Arctic and Bering Sea 

coastal waters. Increased oil and 

gas development in Arctic waters 

will likewise bring drilling rigs that 

have the potential to unintentionally 

transport invasive species. 

A changing climate is also helping 

some invasives move northward. For 

example, the European green crab 

(an invasive that’s already established 

itself along Canada’s west coast 

and competes with commerciallyimportant native crab species) is 

expanding its range northward along 

the British Columbia coast as coastal 

waters warm.

Invasives pose a threat to Alaska’s 

fisheries, and its coastal economy. For 

example, the invasive colonial tunicate 

Didemnum vexillum was discovered 

in a Southeast Alaska harbor in 2010. 

This species threatens to foul marine 

areas in Alaska (including bottom 

habitats, shellfish aquaculture areas, 

maritime structures) as it has in many 

areas along the west and east coasts. 

For example, off the coast of New 

England, in Georges Bank, it’s already 

formed dense mats over hundreds of 

square miles of groundfish and scallop 

habitat. There’s great concern that 

this species will continue to spread 

in Alaska, impacting regionallyimportant subsistence and commercial 

fisheries such as Pacific herring 

that are so important to coastal 

communities. 

Documenting and rapidly responding 

to invasions in Alaska poses a unique 

challenge given the state’s size, 

its complex and lengthy coastline 

(Alaska has more than half of the total 

U.S. coastline), the extremely large 

number of water bodies compared to 

other states, and the relative lack of 

human capital and manpower to detect 

and respond to new invasions. 

Despite this, Alaska does have one 

unique advantage: invasions are 

still somewhat contained. Thus the 

opportunity still exists to avoid 

the crippling economic impacts and 

habitat losses resulting from new 

species invasions. Annually—in the 

contiguous United States—aquatic 

invasive species alone already cost 

tens of billions of dollars in damages 

and control efforts.

Effectively responding to invasive 

species in Alaska requires prevention 

and a readiness for rapid response 

when they arrive—whether by 

herbicide to rid a lake of Elodea or 

removal of marine structures fouled 

by invasive tunicates. To get there, 

we all need to be informed about how 

invasives enter Alaska and spread. 

The State of Alaska, the Service, and a 

growing number of other partners are 

working together, and with the public, 

to keep aquatic invasives at bay.

by Katrina Mueller and Cecil Rich

Invasive Species Program

WANTED: northern pike

Armed and dangerous!

Cannabalistic!

Long and lean, olive green

Light spots and razor-sharp teeth

Super predator lurks in vegetation; 

ambushes unspecting bait fish 

(or anything it can get in its mouth)

Streaks like a bolt of lightening when it attacks

Found in lakes and rivers all over the U.S.

Beautiful part of the ecosystem in many places 

but now invading peaceful lakes where it’s never been before, 

aided by foolish and unethical fish planters!

REWARD: A Great Dinner

“Northern Pike About to Strike” by John Paul Deering (Grade 3) of Anchorage, Alaska Northern pike is great eating (even if some people think its bony)
19 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

-2013-

The first annual Chena River Watershed 

Summit focused attention on the river and its 

Chinook salmon run on May 1st.

On May 17, Neil Stichert and John Hudson 

(our Habitat Restoration Team based in 

Juneau) received the Alaska Chapter American 

Society of Landscape Architects’ GreenBelt 

Award for improving habitat in public spaces. 

Legendary river restorationist Dave Rosgen

spent a week in Anchorage in June teaching 

applied fluvial geomorphology and river 

restoration. 

Gene Peltola Jr. began his new 

role as the Assistant Regional 

Director for Alaska’s Federal 

Subsistence Management 

Program in August. Gene, who 

is Yup’ik/Tlingit and born and 

raised in Bethel, is a lifelong 

subsistence user. He’s been working for 

the Service for 29 years, most recently as 

manager of the 22 million acre Yukon Delta 

National Wildlife Refuge in western Alaska.

On August 20, the Matanuska-Susitna 

Borough became the third community in 

Alaska to prioritize fish passage by adopting 

fish-friendly culvert standards for new 

roads crossing salmon streams. 

News Briefs

INTRODUCE A YOUNGSTER TO ALASKA’S COLORFUL CAST OF “CHAR”ACTERS!

Download and print the Alaska Fish ABC’s coloring book!

http://www.fws.gov/alaska/fisheries/fish/pdf/alaska_fish_abc.pdf

May 5-9 - Stream Simulation Design 

Approach for Providing Aquatic Organism 

Passage at Road-Stream Crossings 

Workshop (Anchorage). Contact Angela: 

ajcoleman@fs.fed.us / (907) 288-7728.

May 7 - Chena River Watershed Summit

(Fairbanks). 

May 24 - World Fish Migration Day. A one 

day global event to call attention to open 

rivers and migratory fish.

October 1 - short film submissions to the 2014 

Alaska Fish Film Festival are due. More 

information available by June 1 at: 

http://www.afs-alaska.org/annual-meetings/2011-2

October 20-24 - The 41st annual meeting 

of the Alaska Chapter of the American 

Fisheries Society will be held in Juneau. 

December 15 - Chinook Life Cycle youth 

art contest entries due. More information: 

Katrina_Mueller@fws.gov / (907) 786-3637.

December 2014 - Apply for funding through the 

Office of Subsistence Management’s Partners 

for Fisheries Monitoring Program. Contact 

Palma_Ingles@fws.gov / (907) 786-3637. 

Save the Date

The first Southeast Alaska Watershed 

Symposium was held November 4-6 in 

Juneau and hosted by the Southeast Alaska 

Fish Habitat Partnership and the Southeast 

Alaska Watershed Coalition. 

The 6th annual Mat-Su Salmon Science 

and Conservation Symposium was held 

November 13-14 in Palmer.

The Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat 

Partnership’s science workshop was held 

December 3-5 in Anchorage. 

-2014-

On January 22, Bill Rice received the Service’s 

National Fish Passage Program Field 

Biologist of the Year award. 

The Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat 

Partnership became the nation’s 19th 

Partnership to receive formal recognition by 

the National Fish Habitat Partnership Board on 

March 10. http://www.seakfhp.org/

Fisheries Program 

Biologists Ray Hander, 

Jon Gerken (left, with 

Regional Director Geoff 

Haskett), and Steve 

Miller were recipients 

of Regional Director’s 

Excellence Awards

on March 17 (Fostering 

Partnerships, Innovation in Conservation, and 

Diversity Champion, respectively). 

Chuck Ardizzone joined the Service’s 

Fisheries and Ecological Services Division as 

Regional Subsistence Coordinator on March 

31. This is a key position for the Service’s 

participation in the federal subsistence 

management process in Alaska. He has 

previously served as a wildlife biologist and 

as Wildlife Division Chief with the Office of 

Subsistence Management, and as Statewide 

Subsistence Coordinator with BLM.

USFWS/Katrina Mueller

USFWS/Rose Primmer

March 31 annually - Entries for Wildlife 

Forever’s State-Fish Art Contest are due. 

http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/fish/contest_art.htm

Kate Deering Grade 2 Kurk Cabudor Grade 2

Lucas Charliaga Grade 4 Antonete Partido Grade 5 Ocean Reft Grade 5
From Creek to Plate

We are partnering with Anchorage’s 

Boys and Girls Clubs, the Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game 

(ADF&G), and the Alaska Department 

of Natural Resources (ADNR) to 

connect urban Anchorage youth to safe 

fishing opportunities nearby. We began 

permanently housing quality salmon 

fishing equipment and life vests at the 

Northeast Muldoon Club (a hub for 

700+ youngsters) in 2013; the Spenard 

Club is participating in 2014. 

Anchorage is Alaska’s largest urban 

center with a population just shy 

of 300,000 people. It’s got big city 

diversity with 95 languages spoken 

within the Anchorage School District 

(behind English, the top five are 

Spanish, Hmong, Samoan, Tagalog, 

and Yup’ik). 

In combination with its urban 

character, Anchorage offers some of 

the wildest outdoor opportunities in 

the country, including 135 miles of 

paved trails and 300 miles of unpaved 

and wilderness trails that offer access 

to multiple rivers with all five species 

of Pacific salmon, close-encounters 

with moose, migratory bird viewing, 

and thousands of acres of habitat.

Despite proximity, a surprising 

number of Anchorage’s youth 

are unaware of or don’t have the 

means to access and enjoy outdoor 

opportunities literally within blocks of 

their homes and schools. 

In Alaska, our agency’s Connecting 

People with Nature Team is dedicated 

to just that. In 2012-2013, we 

distributed $31,250 towards projects 

in Alaska that connected people to 

nature (including Creek to Plate); 

the funds were made possible by the 

Department of the Interior’s Youth in 

the Great Outdoors (YGO) Initiative. 

Like the Service, Anchorage Boys 

and Girls Clubs want to build capacity 

to get kids outdoors. A growing 

Future Faces of Conservation

body of research shows that kids 

who spend more time outdoors and 

less time inside using smart phones 

and television are generally happier, 

healthier, and do better in school. 

According to Muldoon Club’s Athletics 

Director, many of the youth have 

never been exposed to fishing, nor do 

they (or the Club) have the equipment 

or know-how to gain that experience 

on their own. 

Introducing youth to fishing in Alaska 

has many benefits. It gets them 

outdoors pursuing a healthy food 

source. Salmon and other Alaska 

native fish are well-known for their 

heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids 

that also benefit brain development 

and function. Fishing also contributes 

significantly to the state’s economy 

and funds generated from license fees 

and equipment help support fisheries 

management and conservation. 

Creek to Plate was piloted in 2013. To 

connect Muldoon area youth to safe 

fishing opportunities nearby, ADNR’s 

Office of Boating Safety supplied 

“Kids Don’t Float” life jackets and 

instruction on their proper use 

and coldwater safety. The Service 

purchased quality Chinook and coho 

salmon fishing equipment—to be 

housed permanently at the Club 

(along with the life jackets)—with 

YGO funds and a generous discount 

from B&J Sporting Goods in 

Anchorage. 

With help from two 

giant stuffed salmon, 

ADF&G provided 

lively 

instruction 

on fishing 

ethics, salmon 

identification, 

and fishing 

regulations. 

USFWS/K.Mueller

20 l Spring 2014

The next several pages highlight 

just a few of the ways we’re 

helping invest in the future 

of conservation by engaging, 

educating, and employing youth 

and young adults.

Anchorage: Alaska’s largest urban center. K.Mueller

Below: Male pink salmon chase a female up Ship 

Creek last fall through Alaska’s most frequented 

urban fishing area. USFWS/Katrina Mueller

by Katrina Mueller
21 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

The classroom portion of the day 

wrapped up with casting practice. 

With the basics behind us, we loaded 

excited kids into the Club’s van and 

headed to Ship Creek, Alaska’s most 

urban fishing spot—and one of its 

most frequented. It was August 1st 

and the coho salmon were just starting 

to show up. We started our trip with 

a stop to see salmon schooling just 

below the Knik Arm Power Plant 

dam fish ladder. From there, we 

headed downstream, learning about 

salmon habitat and viewing habitat 

restoration sites as we walked to 

where we would be fishing—just 

below the old timber-trestle (now 

pedestrian) bridge. 

The fishing was slow—VERY slow—

but there was never a dull moment. 

The new anglers experienced tangled 

lines, forgot to engage reel bails, and 

crisscrossed lines. Other anglers gave 

our group an extra wide berth. The 

fish likewise avoided us during this 

first outing, but enthusiasm grew as 

casting technique improved, fish were 

sighted from the bridge, and other 

anglers allowed the kids to view and 

handle the pink and coho salmon they 

had caught. 

The final take home 

message? It’s called 

fishing, not catching...

and there’s more to 

fishing than catching. 

A nice, albeit fishless, 

day spent outside 

during the short but 

sweet Alaska summer 

was further improved 

with a shore-lunch among 

friends, and culminated 

with a tour of the State’s new 

state-of-the-art William Jack 

Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery 

just upstream (and lucky photo-op 

with Alaska fish artist Ray Troll, 

visiting from Ketchikan). 

Youth enrolled with the Club now 

have direct access to the fishing and 

safety gear housed there. Service, 

ADF&G, and ADNR staff will interact 

with a subset of these youth up to two 

times a year—when the Kings are 

running in May and when the coho 

salmon run up river in August. 

This year, another set of fishing and 

safety equipment is going to the 

Woodland Park Boys and Girls Club 

in the Spenard neighborhood. With 

Anchorage serving as a gateway to 

Alaska’s world class fisheries and 16 

National Wildlife Refuges covering 

more than 76 million acres, this effort 

is taking a small, but important step 

toward engaging the next generation 

of conservation stewards in Alaska.

2013 volunteers included Jay Baumer (ADF&G), Annie 

Grenier (ADNR), Forrest Hannan (Marine Mammals 

Management), Trent Liebich (Office of Subsistence 

Management), and Katrina Mueller (Fisheries and 

Ecological Services). 

Getting out a little tangle. Sydney West/Boys&GirlsClub

Students were prepped on how to use a rod and reel 

before heading down to Ship Creek in Anchorage to 

catch coho salmon. USFWS/Katrina Mueller

As they hone their technique, Jenessa, Taurean, and Zach will be able to land a coveted salmon and bring it from 

creek to plate (these two silvers were kindly lent for this photo-op by a lucky angler). Sydney West/Boys&GirlsClub
12 l Fall 2013

Here’s a sampling of the schoolyard 

habitats that received support from our 

Fairbanks, Kenai, and Anchorage Field 

Offices in 2013. Stay tuned for updates 

as these living projects are ever-evolving 

to meet the shared needs of the schools 

and Service. 

Woodriver Elementary School (Fairbanks) 

installed two native plant rain gardens 

to address stormwater and erosion 

concerns, created a year-round outdoor 

classroom/nature trail, and removed 

invasive plants. Partners: 4H clubs, 

Seekins Ford Lincoln, Design Alaska, 

Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation 

District, Youth Corps, local artists, and 

construction firms.

West Homer Elementary School designed 

and developed a half-mile interpretative 

trail featuring forest succession, native 

wildlife and habitat, and a natural 

amphitheater. Partner: Homer Soil and 

Water Conservation District. 

Seward Elementary, Middle and High 

Schools, along with numerous 

volunteers, community members, and 

children’s groups, put in hundreds of 

hours transforming school grounds into 

a variety of native plant parks, making 

them inviting to birds, bees, butterflies, 

and small mammals. Partner: 

Resurrection Bay Conservation 

Alliance.

Tustumena Elementary School widened 

and extended the existing trail system 

that features native aspen, fungi, multicolored berries and a historical cultural 

resource site with fish pits. Partners: 

Kenai Soil and Water Conservation 

District and Spruce Bark Beetle 

Mitigation Program

Sterling Elementary School designed, 

developed and began constructing 

interpretative trails (below) to bring 

attention to native wildlife and their 

habitats.Partner: Kenai Soil and Water 

Conservation District.

Government Hill Elementary (Anchorage) 

engaged ~400 students in celebrating 

International Migratory Bird Day in 

their schoolyard habitat. The school (in 

partnership with the Service, Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game, and 

many others) began to transform the 

school grounds from an unused lawn 

into wildlife habitat in 2011 with special 

emphasis on birds that migrate between 

Alaska and Central and South America.

Schoolyard habitats make school 

grounds or nearby lands more suitable 

for native fish and wildlife, and provide 

an accessible place outdoors for children 

to learn about and connect with nature 

on a daily basis. Through the Service’s 

Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, 

local staff provide funding and work 

closely with the school community on 

planning and implementation. Schoolyard 

habitats benefit students, teachers, and 

communities while helping the Service 

acheive its conservation mission.

Schoolyard Habitats

Machetanz Elementary’s rain garden. Catherine Inman/Mat-Su Conservation Service

22 l Spring 2014 s

Machentanz Elementary School (Wasilla)

designed and developed a boreal 

forest, an alpine garden simulating a 

mountaintop, and a wetland/raingarden 

to restore about a half acre degraded 

school grounds with native plants to 

attract migratory birds and pollinators. 

Partners: Mat-SuMat-Su Resource 

Conservation and Development Council 

and Mat-Su Conservation Services

Wasilla Middle School designed and 

planted a rain garden to improve 

stormwater quality and stream health, 

attract native wildlife, and learn about 

environmental stewardship. Partners: 

Mat-Su Resource Conservation 

and Development Council, Mat-Su 

Conservation Services, Girl Scouts.

USFWS/Cheryl Anderson

Above: Woodriver Elementary students water newlyplanted native vegetation along their nature trail. 

Future Faces of Conservation

Mitch Osborne/USFWS

Below: Knik Elementary students learn about native 

wildlife from a Service biologist before planting native 

trees and shrubs. USFWS/Katrina Mueller
13 l Fall 2013 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ROD SIMMONS, Alaska Fisheries Program Coordinator - Alaska Regional Office

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

RANDY BROWN

DAVE DAUM, Fisheries Biologist - Fairbanks Fish & Wildlife Field Office

In 2008, former U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service Director Dale 

Hall identified one of the six 

Service national priorities as

“connecting people with 

nature, ensuring the future of 

conservation.”

Just Say “YEP” to Habitat Restoration

The Anchorage Park Foundation’s 

Youth Employment in Parks (YEP) is 

a 10-week summer program that hires 

Anchorage teens aged 16-19. Each 

year (since YEP’s inception in 2007)

our Anchorage Office has provided 

funding and staff time to support YEP 

for a week-long Anchorage creek 

habitat restoration project. 

The 2013 project improved streamside 

habitat along Chester Creek. Teens 

planted hundreds of native trees and 

shrubs and added topsoil and reseeded 

banks near the outlet of Westchester 

Lagoon with native grasses to 

compliment ongoing efforts to control 

invaisve reed canary grass. This 

project (including the cost of the YEP 

crew, contractor, and materials) was 

supported by the Alaska Department 

of Fish and Game’s Cost Share 

Program agreement with the Service 

via its Coastal and Partners for Fish 

and Wildlife Programs. The Service’s 

contribution was matched dollar 

for dollar by the Anchorage Park 

Foundation. 

This year, teens will focus their efforts 

on Campbell Creek. 

These hands-on week-long projects 

provide the perfect environment for 

participating teens to learn about 

local creeks, fisheries, water quality, 

and habitat restoration techniques. 

They also contribute significantly to 

the collective, ongoing community 

effort to improve habitat quality and 

connectivity within Anchorage.

These projects support the Service’s 

mission of working with others to 

conserve fish, wildlife, and their 

habitats and closely align with our 

agency’s desire to connect people 

with nature and, in so doing, ensure 

the future of conservation. In fact, 

YEP has been recognized by the 

Department of the Interior for 

its outstanding efforts to engage 

youth (especially populations underrepresented in natural resource 

fields) in on-the-ground habitat 

improvements that benefit fish, 

wildlife, and people.

For many teens employed by the Anchorage Park Foundation’s Youth Employment in Parks, this is their first job. 

Above, two teens replant native trees along Chester Creek near the heart of downtown Anchorage. 

Below: A SAGA crew at a habitat restoration site along Pullen Creek in Juneau, Alaska.

23 l Spring 2014

Chester Creek flows west from its headwaters in the Chugach Mountains through the City of 

Anchorage and into the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet via Westchester Lagoon. Over 65,000 Anchorage 

residents live within its 27 square mile watershed (just shy of half the size of Washington, D.C.).

Our Juneau Habitat Restoration 

staff have worked with the Southeast 

Alaska Guidance Association (SAGA) 

since 2005 and, in 2013, partnered with 

the Juneau Watershed Partnership 

to employ a 6-person crew (aged 19-

25) to improve habitat along salmon 

streams in the Juneau area. Youth 

worked alongside a professional 

biologist, learned on-the-ground 

revegetation and invasive plant 

management techniques, and became 

active participants in conserving 

important habitats. 

A Restoration SAGA

USFWS/Katrina Mueller

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

by Katrina Mueller

Future Faces of Conservation

“ 

With much of our habitat 

restoration work taking place in 

sensitive habitats with limited 

access, large machines are usually 

not an option. SAGA crews get the 

job done with hand tools, strong 

backs, and smiles. —John Hudson, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife 

Service Biologist 

(Juneau)
Restoring Habitat, 

Improving Public Spaces in 

Southeast Alaska

24 l Spring 2014

“

—Michele Elfers

they offer such great 

technical support...

they’ll come out to a 

site and are really in tune with 

the reality of construction.”

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Above: Neil Stichert (middle) and John Hudson 

(right) receive the 2013 Greenbelt Award. Below: 

Wetlands created in place of gravel dredge ponds on 

Nancy Creek in Mendenhall Valley, just northwest 

of downtown Juneau. They offer improved habitat, 

water quality, and aesthetics. 

Last year, the Alaska Chapter of 

the American Society of Landscape 

Architects (ASLA) awarded our 

Juneau-based biologists Neil 

Stichert and John Hudson with their 

GreenBelt Award. 

What does landscape architecture 

have to do with habitat restoration? 

Both benefit people! The GreenBelt 

Award recognizes colleagues who are 

not landscape architects but support 

ASLA’s mission “to lead, educate and 

participate in the careful stewardship, 

wise planning and artful design of our 

cultural and natural environment.”

Michele Elfers, a landscape architect 

with the City and Borough of Juneau, 

sees Stichert in particular as setting 

a great example of how to foster 

effective communication between 

construction operators, regulators, 

and landowners and provide guidance 

during the construction phase of 

habitat restoration projects. 

Stichert and Hudson frequently 

bring disparate interest groups and 

stakeholders together and work 

collaboratively towards conservation 

outcomes that make a positive 

difference for people, salmon, and 

other wildlife.

by Katrina Mueller

Juneau Habitat Restoration Team Juneau Habitat Restoration Team

Staff: Neil Stichert and John Hudson

Tell us a little about what you do. 

 We help communities conserve intact 

habitats and restore degraded habitats 

across Southeast Alaska, from Ketchikan to 

Yakutat. Recently we’ve worked with partners 

in Skagway, Gustavus, Haines and Juneau and 

have upcoming projects in Hollis and Thorne Bay. 

 Each year we work closely with Southeast 

Alaska Guidance Association (SAGA) crews 

to improve streambank habitats and control 

invasive species. 

 We’ve been involved in all phases of 

a number of fish passage and wetland 

improvement projects, and also work closely 

with partners during the project assessment 

and design phases. 

 We support projects that inform on-theground work—for example, we worked with 

the Takshanuk Watershed Council to prioritize 

fish passage barriers for removal in the 

Haines area and with the Juneau Watershed 

Partnership to identify and map important 

habitats in Juneau-area watersheds. 

 We always try to leverage Service dollars 

and our technical expertise with others to get 

the biggest return on investment. At the same 

time, we try to optimize the strengths and 

flexibility of the Service programs we extend 

to partners here in Southeast Alaska [Coastal 

Program, National Fish Passage Program, and 

Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program]. 

What are some of the threats to fish 

habitat in Southeast Alaska communities?

 Stormwater discharge into salmon streams 

and development that’s encroaching into 

riparian corridors, a weak regulatory climate 

for wetland and stream protection, and fish 

passage barriers where roads cross streams.

Neil, you’re the Chair of the Southeast 

Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership...what’s 

unique about it and why is it important? 

 The partnership spans the entire southern 

panhandle of Alaska including the Alexander 

Archipelago. 

 This region ranks as one of the largest, most 

complex, and intact estuarine and temperate 

rainforest on earth. Many small, vibrant 

communities with economies and ways of 

living linked closely to fish and fishing dot the 

landscape. With the exception of three, none 

have road connections outside their locale.

 The partnership provides coordination 

support for partners operating across this 

island-dominated landscape and helps to 

facilitate a coordinated delivery of on-theground habitat restoration and conservation 

projects. 

“

That’s a skill and that’s 

why they’re so successful. 
25 l Spring 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Partner Highlight

Landowners: ask Kim for a copy! 

Contact: 

Kim Sollien

Mat-Su Program Director

ksollien@greatlandtrust.org

907-746-6406 

“

” We’re very thankful to those 

landowners who have chosen to work 

with us to conserve and/or restore 

salmon habitat on their lands...and 

we’re excited to share their stories and 

to hopefully inspire others to become 

King Makers, ensuring that salmon 

continue to have a strong presence in 

the place we call home. If you are (or 

know) a King Maker, GLT would love to 

tell your story too!

An active member of the Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership, Great Land Trust 

(GLT) has concentrated much of its conservation efforts on wetland and estuary habitats 

in the Upper Knik Arm of Alaska’s Cook Inlet. With partners, GLT has helped conserve 

over 9,825 acres, including 5,000 acres of wetlands and 43 miles of shoreline habitat 

important for all five Pacific salmon species. 

GLT is also in the midst of launching its KING MAKER campaign to acknowledge, honor, and 

celebrate those local people taking action for wild salmon. You can find videos featuring 

landowners who have conserved salmon habitat on their property to help ensure that 

adults keep coming back to spawn and that their offspring have access to high quality 

nursery habitat at www.greatlandtrust.org.

YOU MIGHT BE A KING MAKER IF YOU...

... maintain native vegetation along your waterfront property

....use non-toxic natural fertilizers on your lawns and in your gardens

....regularly maintain your septic

....utilize designated stream crossings when out recreating

....remove invasive plants (e.g. reed canary grass) from your property

....support local efforts to conserve salmon and their habitats

Background: FIsh Creek in Wasilla, Alaska. USFWS/Katrina Mueller
26 l Spring 2014

Suresh standing on the Chukchi Sea last June. 

Lisa looking for invasive Elodea last summer in a Kenai 

Peninsula lake. USFWS/Cheryl Anderson

What’s the most complex/interesting 

project you’re working on right now? I’m 

part of a multi-agency team led by the Service 

to assess the population of Pacific walrus. 

This project spans applied statistics, marine 

mammal biology, and population genetics, 

representing cutting edge wildlife science. 

Walrus are fascinating and they’re on the 

front line of climate change. They are an 

important resource for many Alaskan native 

communities. This project will help inform 

future management decisions and I’m helping 

design a mark recapture study using animals’ 

unique genetic codes as the mark.

Any advice for budding statisticians 

interested in conservation careers? 

Diversify your analytical skill set and 

experiences. I use many different approaches 

to address research and management 

questions ranging from computer simulations 

and complex applied statistics to thought 

exercises and structured conceptual modeling. 

Natural resource management is more than 

mathematics and number crunching. Get out 

in the field, collect data, and experience the 

ecosystems and the people who rely on them.

How did you help make a difference 

this past summer? I hope the aquatic plant 

surveys we conducted will help curb the spread 

of Elodea, a common aquarium plant and 

aggressive non-native in Alaska. Determining 

the extent of its invasion in Kenai Peninsula 

waters is a precursor to eradication. We also 

collected, pressed, and mounted samples of 

the native flora for a new regional collection. 

It’s exciting to be able to identify and inventory 

(nearly) every aquatic plant near shore, and to 

think that in 20 years some scientist might use 

my samples to better understand the aquatic 

ecology of the region!

What was the most memorable thing 

you saw/did this summer? Taking my first 

helicopter ride was pretty neat, and filling over 

700 sandbags was certainly memorable, but I 

think the most rewarding was getting agesex-length samples from 60 Chinook salmon 

at midnight at the Funny River weir. To see 

up close (if only for a brief moment) so many 

of these fish that are so revered locally and 

around the world is an impressive experience. 

What about your experience would you 

like to share with other young people? 

As a seasonal technician you have unlimited 

opportunities to learn and to discover what is 

most fulfilling to you. The most important thing: 

try everything. Don’t be afraid to drive a boat, 

operate a chainsaw or camp out for weeks on 

end. I had never taken a fisheries course or 

been fishing before coming up here. It turns out 

I love fisheries and have learned so many new 

and interesting things because of it. This past 

summer I was able to marry my background 

in plant science with my field experience 

in fisheries and am thinking about pursuing 

graduate school in aquatic ecology.

SURESH SETHI, PhD

Office: Conservation Genetics Lab

Branch: Fisheries

Job: Biometrician

What is a biometrician? Technically, a 

biometrician is an applied statistician working 

in the natural sciences; I think “all purpose 

quantitative guy” better describes my job. I 

advise biologists and managers working on 

Chinook salmon in Togiak National Wildlife 

Refuge, Pacific walrus in the Chukchi Sea, 

invasive plants in Southcentral Alaska and 

everything in between.

What role do statistics play in fisheries 

management and conservation? Managers 

have the tough job of making decisions which 

affect ecosystems and the people who rely 

on them. They need objective information—

informed by observations, scientific theory, and 

experimentation. Statistical analyses help us 

interpret data collected in the field and reach 

objective conclusions to inform management 

and conservation. 

LISA SCHOMAKER

Office: Kenai Fish & Wildlife Field Office

Branch: Fisheries

Job: Seasonal Biological Science Technician

Libby Benolkin 

Jon Gerken

Doug McBride 

Cheryl Anderson 

Jeff Anderson

Jim Boersma

Anchorage

Kenai

Juneau

John Hudson Neil Stichert 

Alaska Regional Office 

Chuck Ardizzone

Mike Buntjer

Katrina Mueller

Cecil Rich 

Jeff Adams

Fred Bue

Randy Brown

Jeremy Carlson

Laurel Devaney

Fairbanks

Ray Hander 

Aaron Martin

Gerald Maschmann

Jeremy Mears

Jeff Melegari

Geoffrey Cook

Penny Crane

Jason Everett

Blair Flannery

Cara Lewis

Conservation Genetics Lab

Randal Logues

Jeff Olsen

Ora Schlei

Suresh Sethi

Bill Spearman

Meg Purdue

Bill Rice 

Theresa Tanner

Heather Fuller

Ken Gates

Ken Harper

Fisheries & Habitat Staff

ADFG/Justin Crawford

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Alaska (Region 7)

Alaska Staff Highlights

Mitch Osborne

Steve Miller

John Wenburg

David Wigglesworth
WANTED: FISH PHOTOS!

Celebrate Alaska’s fish. Build awareness about their conservation. 

SHARE YOUR FISH PHOTOS!

Visit our “Fish From Your Point of View” webpage for details: http://www.fws.gov/alaska/fisheries/fish/contest_photo.htm

or contact Katrina Mueller: katrina_mueller@fws.gov / (907) 786-3637

FISH FOR THE FUTURE. Children are the future 

stewards and beneficiaries of Alaska’s incredibly 

rich fisheries resources. Send in shots of youth 

fishing, helping with fishing gear, holding/releasing 

fish, or otherwise interacting with Alaska’s fish/

participating in related Alaskan traditions!

CATEGORIES

FISH DOING FISHY THINGS. Like migrating, 

spawning, feeding, fighting, hiding, and jumping in 

their natural, Alaskan habitats. Any species, any 

time of year...If they do it, we want to see it! 

UNIQUELY ALASKA. Alaska’s fish support 

subsistence, personal use, recreational, and 

commercial fisheries. Capture these unique 

fisheries and the settings in which they occur. If 

you catch and release, send in your best shots of 

fish that are alive and partially (or fully) submerged 

in their natural habitat!

Made in Alaska: Rainbow Trout

Togiak National Wildlife Refuge

WHAT A GIRL WANTS. Male fish go through a 

lot to impress the ladies. Watch for these amazing 

changes and send in your best close-ups!

https://www.facebook.com/USFWS.AK.Fisheries.Habitat