Culverts among fish woes

PALMER — It can be difficult, sometimes, to keep track of all of the competing studies and claims about fishing in the Valley and why returns have been so poor these last few years.

Some anglers in the Valley say the poor returns of fish are due to problems in the ocean.

But a new study called “A Watershed Perspective on Salmon Production in the Mat-Su Basin” — commissioned by the United Cook Inlet Drift Association, a commercial fishing group — points the finger at habitat degradation in Mat-Su.

The study says culverts are one specific piece of the problem. The Mat-Su Borough refers to the type of culvert in question as “Anadramous Water Body Crossings.”

Culverts are pipes that run under roads to serve as stream crossings when a bridge would be too elaborate. But many of those culverts in use in the borough, according to the experts, impede the upstream travel of fish. Borough planner Frankie Barker said the borough is working to replace about 500 fish-impeding culverts.

Larry Engle with the borough’s Fish and Wildlife Commission agrees the culverts are a problem.

“This issue, this report is going to be used by opponents to pass more salmon to this area when we go before a regulatory body, like the board of fish,” Engel said.

He was speaking Aug. 20 at a meeting in which the Mat-Su Borough Assembly discussed whether to change its rules for building roads to require fish-friendly culverts.

Barker said the rules would only apply to new roads.

“To sustain healthy populations we have to make sure that their habitats are in good shape, it’s productive and it’s accessible and that’s what this ordinance is about,” she said at that August meeting. “We want to make sure we’re not creating new barriers to fish.”

She said that when a developer builds a road and applies to have the borough take over its maintenance the borough would have as one of its requirements that the culverts be up to the proper standard.

There was some concern, she said, that the regulation would duplicate one the state has but she said it would only complement the state’s regulations.

“The developer, if they followed our standards, would be able to get a Fish and Game permit pretty easily,” Barker said.

Another benefit, Barker pointed out is since the culverts are wider, they won’t wash out or become clogged as easily during flooding events. Of the 60 fish-friendly culverts the borough has already installed, nearly all of them survived last fall’s flooding event.

Assemblyman Warren Keogh backed that up.

“With an exception of one culvert where water came over the road,” he said. “they survived the flood event in great shape.”

In the end, the measure passed the borough assembly unanimously.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.