Presented by: Jumana Vasi, Ruby Pap, Emma Hutchinson & Steve Higgs

NRE 517April 8th, 2002

                                                                                                  

Kenai River Watershed: The Place Natural features:• Over 37 fish species, 5 salmon

species• Other fuzzy, feathered, and giant

creatures: brown bears, caribou, bald eagles, beluga whales

The local economy:• Commercial & sport fisheries• Logging private/public forests• Recreational & tourism

Ecosystem Stresses/Issues• Damage to streambanks due to sport-fishing

– Trampling of sensitive riparian corridors

• Increased non-point source water pollution– Residential development– Recreational parks

• Urban/residential growth along river/wetlands– Incompatible development– High density recreational vehicle parks

• Habitat conversion, degradation, fragmentation– Wetland filling/draining– Timber harvesting

Kenai River Project Begins• 1993 – Local residents and Alaska FWS contacted TNC to request

their assistance in restoring the Kenai Watershed area

• 1996 – TNC Alaska organized a community forum and recommended forming a citizen-based group to protect the watershed, the economy and the quality of life valued by local residents.

• 1997-The Kenai Watershed Forum was created to bring together all the stakeholders and interested parties

                                                                        

Landowners (in order of size of land owned):• Federal agencies:

– USFWS – Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, – USFS – Chugach National Forest, USEPA

• Private residential landowners• State of Alaska • Native-owned lands• Townships: City of Kenai, City of Soldotna, Town of Stirling,

Town of Cooper Landing, Kenai Peninsula Borough• Commercial fishing industriesOther interested parties:• Alaska Conservation Foundation• Alaska Department of Fish and Game• Exxon Oilspill Trustee Council• Kachemak Heritage Land Trust• Kenai River Center• The Nature Conservancy• River Network

Stakeholders

The Kenai Watershed Forum

• Composed of community stakeholders, each with differing priorities: commercial, environmental, property ownership, natural resource use

• Incorporated as a private, non-profit community organization

• Initial funds provided by USEPA

• Currently funded through individual and business membership, Federal, State, and Foundation grants as well as profits from the sale of the Kenai River Nature Guide.

Citizens working together for community vitality in a healthy watershed

Initial Conservation Activities• TNC Produced a report for EPA and other

stakeholders:• An ecological model of region

analyzing watershed needs• Detailed land ownership maps• 1,000 person survey of watershed

residents to assess conservation sentiment

• Established a Kenai River Region office of the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust

• Townships began implementing environmentally-sensitive riparian developments

• Organized workshops and public meetings to create public understanding

Additional Conservation Efforts

Kenai River Festival

• Organized and hosted by the Kenai Watershed Forum

• Provides great opportunity to educate the public

“All Drains Lead to Kenai River”• High school student group stenciled signs on water

drains to create public awareness

Adopt-a-Stream• Goal: “To teach

people to become stewards of their watersheds.”

• Provides hands-on education for school children

Conservation Accomplishments• Created Killey River Brown Bear Preserve, 1997

• Trained over 75 volunteer quality monitors

• Instituted monitoring of macro invertebrates (aquatic insects as indicator species) through collaboration with Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game

• Acquired trail easements to provide public access across private property

• Removed Salt Pile which was contaminating Soldotna Creek

EM AssessmentFive key elements of an ecosystem

management approach:

• Ecologically-defined project focus• Complexity• Explicit definition of biological/social

goals• Collaborative decision making• Adaptive management

Ecologically Defined Borders• Project is watershed focused

– Kenai Watershed Forum

• Importance of interconnected ecosystem recognized by participants

• Stakeholders still focus on their main interests

– e.g.-commercial fisheries focused on fish and habitat

Complexity• Signs point to yes, but no

management plans to date

• Different permitting agencies housed together in Kenai River Center

• Emphasis on monitoring/data collection to better understand the needs of salmon

• Watershed scale project indicates recognition of complexity

Explicit Definition of Goals• KWF mission statement: “Citizens

working together for community vitality in a healthy watershed.”

• Long term goals of KWF:– Maintain the health of the Kenai River

Watershed – Promote Responsible Development – Ensure Quality of Life for Future

Generations – Seek Solutions to Local Issues – Enhance and Expand Learning

Opportunities – Improve Understanding of the Watershed

Collaboration• Parties involved explicitly state that

collaboration is important.

• In practice, much collaboration appears to be more talk than action.

• Exceptions:– Water quality monitoring – 14 groups

involved.– TNC and KWF have also been active in

attempts to involve community stakeholders.– Funding from govt agencies for education and

community outreach work of KWF, as well as stream bank restoration.

Adaptive Management

• Not clear that there is an actual ecosystem management plan in place yet, which leaves little role for adaptive management.

• Still collecting baseline data on water quality, fish populations etc, which will prove helpful in future adaptive management.

Summary/Future Prospects

• Stakeholders on board to a degree, but no apparent consensus as to appropriate actions.

• No explicit and coordinated management plan across multiple stakeholders.

• Greater attempts are needed to reach agreement on what types of actions are required to prevent further degradation of he Kenai River.

Resources Used for Assessment• Various EMI Analyses.• Newsletters of KWF.• Telephone discussion with KWF

representative.• Web Resources, including:

– TNC’s website on the Kenai River.– AK Dept of Fish and Game Kenai

River Overview.– EPA website on Kenai River.