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Cook Inletkeeper
Salmon Stream
Monitoring Program
Study
Area
The Ninilchik River, Deep
Creek, Stariski Creek, and Anchor River watersheds lie in the
southern part of the Kenai Peninsula. The region is bounded on
the west by Cook Inlet and on the east by the Caribou Hills.
The topography is gently rolling, with wide river valleys and
extensive wetlands. Elevations range from sea level to around
2800 feet.
Temperatures in Homer, just
south of the study area, range from an average temperature of
-5.2 °C/22.7
°F
in January to 11.9 °C/53.4
°F
in July. Temperatures are generally colder in the central and
northern parts of the study area than in the southern portion.
Average annual precipitation is 24.84 inches in Homer. Most of
the rain falls during August, September, October, and November.
High stream flows also occur in April and May when air
temperatures increase, resulting in snowmelt and ice breakup.
The four watersheds are home to
many species of wildlife. A wide variety of seabirds,
shorebirds, raptors, waterfowl, and songbirds live in the
watersheds. Moose, black and brown bear, fox, lynx, coyote, and
many small mammals are found here. Finally, the streams host
chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, coho salmon
O. kisutch, pink salmon O. gorbuscha, Dolly Varden
char Salvelinus malma, and steelhead (anadromous) and
rainbow (resident) trout O. mykiss.
Land use has changed
dramatically over the last ten years in the study area with
increased road building, logging, and gravel mining. Prior to
1990, much of the study area was relatively undeveloped with
access into the backcountry provided only by trails along
seismic lines. In 1990, logging began in the four watersheds,
and accelerated rapidly due to downed or standing beetle-killed
trees. In the Ninilchik River watershed, for example, less than
one percent of the watershed was slated for timber sales in
1990. By 1999, 37% of the watershed had been harvested.
In October and November 2002,
the lower Kenai Peninsula experienced flood events not seen in
the last 50-100 years. Channel scour, bank erosion and major
habitat alteration reshaped salmon stream channels and riparian
habitat. Poorly-placed and inadequately-sized culverts on
private, Borough and State roads failed resulting in pulses of
debris torrents, which caused extensive damage to roads, bridges
and property downstream.
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