‘The fish appreciate your efforts’

BIG LAKE — Youths in the Division of Forestry’s Alaska Intern Crew restored a section of stream bank on private property along Little Meadow Creek July 10 to create fish habitat and reduce erosion.

Chuck Kaucic, District Manager, Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District, said the crew used coir logs and brush layering techniques to restore about 70 linear feet of severely impacted stream bank.

The damaged area was the site of a former illegal stream crossing, Kaucic said. About 150 such illegal crossings have been documented in the Mat-Su Borough, he said.

Kaucic said the restoration work used eight cubic yards of topsoil which was spread as a base layer and 400 square feet of vegetation mat, which was placed on top to replicate upland vegetation.

He said vegetation along stream banks creates habitat for salmon fry and mitigates soil erosion into streams.

Houston Mayor Virgie Thompson said she’d like to see more projects like this in the area.

“We want to do more like this, definitely,” she said at a picnic marking the bank restoration on Wednesday.

Sen. Charlie Huggins and Rep. Mark Neuman also spoke at the event.

Huggins reminded the audience that Little Meadow Creek is an integral part of a bigger ecosystem.

“I live on Scott Lake,” he said. “All the fish there come through here.”

Neuman said he has floated the creek many times and described it as a valuable community asset.

“Clean water is important to all of us,” he said.

This is the second restoration project the Alaska Intern Crew has completed this summer, said team leader Marc Much. He said the program started in 1984 as a fire crew and expanded to include different careers within the Department of Natural Resources.

Much said the program is available for people 16 and older who are in high school, college, or continuing their education and have an interest in outdoor education. Applications for next summer’s program are available at the Division of Forestry office in Palmer.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Alaska Department of Fish and Game funded the restoration work. Spenard Builders Supply contributed funding for the picnic.

Kaucic said the willows used to restore the bank came from the freezer at the Division of Agriculture Plant Materials Center. They are some of 1,300 dormant feltleaf willows cut and stored since March.

He said the Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District Stream Saver’s will continue to water the willow cuttings until the vegetation blooms in about a week.

“The fish appreciate your efforts,” Kaucic told volunteers before a row of dignitaries sliced the ribbon.

Contact managing editor Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.