Pats Creek Restoration

In 2019, the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition restored habitat for salmon and steelhead trout in Wrangells Pats Creek. Thirty-one whole trees were harvested and placed in the mainstem and west fork of Pats creek to enhance fish habitat. An abandoned logging road on the south side of Pats Creek was breached in four locations to reactivate stranded floodplain and restore natural channel migration, and five fish passage barriers were removed by the decommissioning of the Tunnel Road. Post construction monitoring showed that implementation was in line with design plans. As the work was completed in 2019, the project was able to close earlier than expected.

By adding large woody debris structures, this project will improve the habitat complexity of Pats Creek for anadromous salmonids, with the added benefit of promoting bank stability and reducing flooding disturbance in the riparian area. Floodplain reconnection, by breaching the abandoned logging road in the alluvial fan, provides the dual benefit of enhancing aquatic habitat quality and area and ameliorating the effects of larger floods, making the system more resilient to climate impacts. Decommissioning of the 3.2 km Tunnel Road will restore fish passage to side tributaries through the removal of five fish passage barriers.