Kuiu Island Stream Restoration

Stream and floodplain restoration work was completed on approximately 4.0 km of high value salmon and steelhead streams on Kuiu Island in Southeast Alaska. Approximately 1,100 pieces of wood were used along four different sections of streams to stabilize banks in some places and to improve instream habitat in others. The work was completed using two separate contracts; one for heavy equipment and another for a medium-lift Vertol helicopter. All four excavators and the helicopter were used to transport and deck wood near the stream and to construct structures within the channels and floodplain. In-stream work began June 20th and ended ahead of schedule on July 20, 2014, prior to adult salmon arrival to spawn. At one of the four sites (on the mainstem of Sagniaw Creek downstream of the bridge), invasive reed canary grass was also removed. Work at a fifth location on the mainstem of Saginaw Creek (upstream of the bridge) was not completed as expected because there were no heavy lift helicopters available to access the site.

This project will enhance salmon and steelhead habitat by improving overwintering conditions for juvenile coho salmon and steelhead trout; accelerating recovery of fluvial processes currently leading to bank erosion and channel widening; improving instream pool complexity and cover through placement of root wad trees; improving year-round low velocity adult salmonid holding and juvenile rearing habitat through pool creation; and improving floodplain conditions adjacent to salmon streams by providing nurse logs and roughness elements for flood resilience.