Koktuli River named 'Waters to Watch'

Published on May 5th, 2010

By TAMMY JUDD

Two Alaska rivers, Koktuli River and Wasilla Creek, were listed on the 2010 National Fish Habitat Action Plan's 10 "Waters to Watch." The organization's top-10 list includes rivers, streams, lakes, watershed systems and shores that it believes will benefit from conservation efforts.

Regional fish habitat partnerships, which have formed throughout the U.S., voluntarily carry out the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. The Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership, made up of The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Bristol Bay Native Association and funding from an association of Bristol Bay commercial fishermen, has an ongoing project collecting fish distribution data in the Koktuli River and other systems in the drainage area. Additionally it has been gathering flow data on the river. The data is documented to comply with state laws and regulations and will be submitted to the state for review and approval with the goal of inclusion in the state's Alaska's Anadromous Waters Catalog, according to a news release. The documented fish distribution observations would "provide an increased level of regulatory protection for all physically documented stretches of anadromous water bodies that produce salmon within Alaska," according to the news release.

The project goal is to fill in information gaps in anadromous waters maps by surveying headwater streams for the presence or absence of salmon.

The Koktuli River, located near the site of the proposed Pebble gold and copper mine in Southwest Alaska, is a tributary of the Mulchatna River in the Nushagak River watersheds. The rivers are a "highly productive" salmon spawning region that all feed into Bristol Bay, an abundant salmon fishery. It is also habitat for recreational fish such as rainbow trout, northern pike, arctic grayling and Dolly Varden.

Bristol Bay fishermen and many residents are concerned if the Pebble mine project is permitted, the potential risk to the watershed is too great.

Altogether, the Southwest Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership has added more than 100 miles to the Anadromous Waters Catalog over the last two seasons, the news release said. "The field observations and resulting documentation and nominations for the upper reaches of the Nushagak and Kvichak watersheds have demonstrated that it is likely all water bodies in the area provide important habitat for salmon. This assumption is based on field surveys to date documenting salmon presence in approximately 75 percent of the stream reaches observed, many of them small streams less than 10 feet wide," it reads.

The Koktuli River in February was nominated by the nonprofit organization Trout Unlimited as an Outstanding National Resource Water, which through the Clean Water Act would have given the river the highest protection.

Paula Dobbyn, spokeswoman with Trout Unlimited, said they were disappointed that the DEC rejected the nomination in March.

"We're glad the Koktuli was listed as one of the top 10, but it's not enough. We want the river to have the ONRW (Outstanding National Resource Water) status. That would really protect it," she said. "It's one of the most threatened waterways in Alaska because of its close proximity to Pebble. DEC should enact protection for the river now instead of waiting until the mine is open. We'd ask the state to reconsider its decision and hear the voices of the many Alaskans that are concerned about Koktuli and about all the water in Bristol Bay that could be affected by the mine."

The other Alaska waterway listed on the 10 "Waters to Watch" was Wasilla Creek, located in Southcentral Alaska in the Matanuska Susitna Valley, north of Anchorage. It is under the stewardship of Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership, which is "working to assure sufficient amounts of clean water, continuous fish passage and overall healthy fish habitats will be maintained within the Wasilla Creek drainage."

The "Waters to Watch" list brings attention to ongoing conservation efforts.

"By watching these 10 models of our nation's aquatic conservation efforts under way, we can see real progress, in both avoidance and treatment of causes of fish habitat decline," said Kelly Hepler, chairman of the National Fish Habitat Board. "Through sound science and on-the-ground locally driven partnerships, these select Action Plan projects can be held high as a vision of what quality habitat should and can be, and how it benefits all people throughout the United States."

The rest of the 10 "Waters to Watch" for 2010 include:

• Bobs Creek, Pa.

• Diamond Lake, Iowa

• Fairbanks and Soda Springs, Nev.

• Georgetown Creek, Idaho

• Green River Basin, Wyo./Colo./Utah

• Lake Vermilion, Minn.

• Mackeys Creek, Miss.

• West Branch, Machias River, Maine