Fieldnotes Blog | Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition

15Oct 2015 by Angie Eldred

Juneau Wild and Scenic Film Festival – November 21

Join the Juneau Watershed Partnership and the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition for the 2015 Wild and Scenic Film Festival! A benefit event for the Juneau Watershed Partnership and SE Alaska Watershed Coalition, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival presents a series of environmental and outdoor adventure films to inform and inspire viewers to appreciate and steward our one wild world. Alaska Brewing Company beer will be available for purchase for attendees age 21+. Receive one free beverage with your membership donation of $25 or more! Tickets can be purchased at the door, or in advance at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center Box Office, Hearthside Books, Rainy Retreat Books, or online: [su_button url="https://red.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?t=tix&e=10da15bd0ed8d08e44c057706493201d" target="blank" style="soft" background="#fab769" size="8" center="yes" text_shadow="1px 1px 1px #000000"]Purchase Wild & Scenic Film Festival Tickets![/su_button] …

10Sep 2015 by Angie Eldred

Help us Build a Rain Garden!

Community Watershed Stewardship

This year SAWC and the Juneau Watershed Partnership received support from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation's Alaska Clean Water Actions program to construct a fence and rain garden that will treat urban stormwater runoff before it enters Jordan Creek in Juneau. We're looking for volunteers in Juneau to help us construct the fence and rain garden September 25-27! Interested volunteers should meet at a picnic table in the group of trees in front of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska building at 10 AM Friday September 25. Unless contacted otherwise, plan to meet at the same location and time on Saturday and Sunday. Unless otherwise notified, plan to meet at the same location and time on Saturday and Sunday. Volunteers should bring gloves, and a…

21Aug 2015 by Angie Eldred

Hoonah Community Meeting: The Southeast Alaska Mitigation Fund

Restoration & Mitigation

The Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition will be visiting Hoonah next week to provide information on the proposed Southeast Alaska Mitigation Fund and opportunities for aquatic resource mitigation! Please join us to learn more about opportunities to restore, create, or enhance aquatic resources in your community through the Southeast Alaska Mitigation Fund! [gview file="https://www.alaskawatershedcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/SAMF-Meeting-Flyer_Hoonah.pdf"] The primary goal of the Southeast Alaska Mitigation Fund is to maintain and improve the quantity and quality of aquatic resources throughout Southeast Alaska To meet this goal, SAWC incorporates the following objectives into the SAMF: Provide habitat restoration or enhancement as an option to mitigate for unavoidable, site-specific impacts to aquatic resources in SE Alaska Utilize a watershed approach to identify the most appropriate off-site mitigation options available. Work in an efficient and transparent manner with an Inter-Agency…

17Aug 2015 by Angie Eldred

Wrangell BEACH Monitoring Annual Report

Community Watershed Stewardship

The Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition's Annual Wrangell BEACH Monitoring Report is now available for review! With support from the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Wrangell BEACH Monitoring program was initiated in July 2014 to collect water quality data and keep the public informed of bacteria levels for safe recreational use at City Park and Petroglyph Beach near Wrangell. [caption id="attachment_5677" align="aligncenter" width="480"] SAWC staff Angie Eldred collects samples at City Park, near Wrangell[/caption] Bacterial contamination in Alaska’s coastal recreational waters can originate from sources such as shoreline development, wastewater collection and treatment facilities, septic tanks, urban runoff, disposal of human waste from boats, commercial and domestic animals and natural animal sources such as wildlife. People who swim and recreate in waters contaminated with such bacterial pollution…

24Jul 2015 by Angie Eldred

A Guide to Building Rain Gardens: How to improve water quality in your community

Community Watershed Stewardship

Clean water and bountiful salmon are an integral part of life in Southeast Alaska, where our wet rainforest climate creates the conditions to support the thriving rivers, streams, and ocean our communities depend on. While we live, work, and recreate in this beautiful corner of the world, the activities of our daily lives can result in impacts to the aquatic environments we hold so near and dear to our hearts. Taiya Inlet Watershed Council in Skagway is introducing a model solution to city pollution in one of their most popular streams. Stormwater Pollution in Urban Areas As rainfall and melted snow accumulate and move across the nonporous surfaces of our urban areas like sidewalks and city streets, they collect pollutants such as motor oil, gasoline, fertilizers, pesticides, heavy metals,…

09Jun 2015 by Angie Eldred

Tongass National Forest Watershed Restoration Program

Resources, Restoration & Mitigation

[caption id="attachment_5510" align="aligncenter" width="903"] Photo courtesy of US Forest Service[/caption] According to the US Forest Service, the streams and lakes of the Tongass National Forest produce 80% of the annual Southeast Alaska commercial salmon catch. In an effort to steward this important resource, Tongass Fisheries and Watershed staff are strategically targeting watersheds in the region that have been heavily impacted by past management activities for collaborative efforts to restore critical salmon habitat and enhance ecological function of these aquatic resources. The Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition is excited to work with the US Forest Service to support and advance regional watershed restoration efforts. Learn more about the Tongass National Forest Watershed Restoration Program and their 2015-16 program priorities: [gview file="https://www.alaskawatershedcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/TNFWatershedRestorationProgram2015.pdf"] [gview file="https://www.alaskawatershedcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/TNF_Watershed_Restoration_Fishpass_Enhancement_Programs_2015_2016_06022015.pdf"]

14May 2015 by Angie Eldred

Pat Creek Watershed Reconnaissance – Wrangell

Community Watershed Stewardship

[caption id="attachment_5485" align="aligncenter" width="611"] Pat's Lake, at the outlet of Pat Creek[/caption] Pat Creek, near the community of Wrangell, supports runs of coho, pink, sockeye, and chum salmon, as well as Dolly Varden char, Coastal Cutthroat trout, and Steelhead trout. The Pat Creek watershed is highly valued by the Wrangell community for its accessibility and opportunities for recreation and subsistence activities. Much of the valley bottom in the Pat Creek watershed was logged in the 1960s, 70s, and 90s; about 2,000 acres of timber on federal lands was harvested during that time. These lands were transferred to the state of Alaska in 1991 and are presently managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR) Division of Forestry and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. Because Pat Creek is…

13May 2015 by Angie Eldred

Monitoring Traditional Subsistence Resources With Environmental DNA

Community Watershed Stewardship

Eulachon, locally pronounced "hooligan" have been an important subsistence food source for residents of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Rivers near Haines for generations. Eulachon are anadromous (spending part of their life in the ocean, part in fresh water) fish that gather in large schools at the mouths of rivers and streams before heading up to spawn each spring. During annual runs, the small, oily fish can be easily harvested in large quantities, and are often smoked or dried and eaten as a traditional subsistence food. In Southeast Alaska Eulachon runs are present in the watersheds of the Unuk, Stikine, Taku, Mendenhall, Lace, and Chilkat and Chilkoot Rivers. [caption id="attachment_5459" align="alignleft" width="500"] Eulachon filling the Chilkoot River during the 2011 run.[/caption] In southern portions of Eulachon habitat range the species has been…

05May 2015 by Angie Eldred

Local Mitigation & Watershed Planning: POW Community Meeting 5/13

Restoration & Mitigation

Please join the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition for a community meeting in Klawock on May 13th! This meeting will provide information on the proposed Southeast Alaska Mitigation Fund; how communities can interact with this program to plan and carry out aquatic resource mitigation and restoration. Please visit https://www.alaskawatershedcoalition.org/programs/aquaticresourcemitigation for more information on aquatic resource mitigation in Southeast Alaska

01May 2015 by Angie Eldred

Sitka Community Meeting: the Southeast Alaska Mitigation Fund | May 11

Restoration & Mitigation

The Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition will be in Sitka Monday May 11 to provide information on the proposed Southeast Alaska Mitigation Fund and aquatic resource mitigation in Southeast Alaska! Learn more about aquatic resource mitigation in Southeast Alaska