Collaboratively Expanding Alaska's Anadromous Waters Catalog – Phase 3

From June 2019 through November 2019, staff from Palmer Soil and Water Conservation District set fish traps, looked for fish passage barriers, collected water quality data, and assessed habitat conditions at 11 tributaries of the Knik and Matanuska Rivers with the intention of documenting the presence of anadromous fish for the Alaska Anadromous Waters Catalog. Of the 11 tributaries sampled, Fall Creek, Big Timber Creek, and Knob Creek became eligible for nomination, adding 12.5 km to the AWC.

This project directly contributes to the conservation of salmon habitat by filling information gaps in Alaska’s AWC, surveying over 50 kilometers of tributaries that have not yet been surveyed for the presence of anadromous fish. The AWC specifies which streams, rivers, and lakes are vital to anadromous fish species and therefore afforded statutory protection under AS 16.05.871. Water bodies that are not specified within the AWC are not given that protection.