Volunteers build bridges for the salmon

MAT-SU -- With one of the longest, most grueling migrations of any species, salmon swim thousands of miles past predators, commercial fishermen and anglers to make it back to their spawning grounds. The Palmer Soil and Water Conservation District, along with roughly 20 volunteers, is making that long migration just a tad easier.

Over the weekend, volunteers from Job Corps, Ya Ne Dah Ah School and residents near Buffalo Mine Road hammered together two small all-terrain-vehicle bridges over Upper Wasilla Creek. The project took place on the state-owned Moose Range, a large tract of state-owned land off Buffalo Mine Road.

During the summer, ATVs cross salmon streams and gradually erode banks, to the point where some streams are too wide and shallow for fish to cross.

Catherine Inman, director of the Palmer Soil and Water Conservation District, said the 20-foot-long timber bridges will allow salmon to migrate, while providing easy stream crossings for ATVs. The bridges were built a couple of miles from Buffalo Mine Road and 15 snowmachines hauled the lumber.

"It's a complete win-win for the community," she said.

Dale and Bonnie Zirkle own the Moose Wallow Bed and Breakfast and first approached Inman with the idea. Inman said the conservation district agreed to sponsor the project with $1,500. One more bridge is planned for construction later this winter.

Mike Shields, a retired parks service employee, designed the bridges, which Inman said will be instrumental in restoring the streams. More bridges may be built in the future, but Inman said volunteer efforts will determine the outcome of the project.

"Volunteer labor and design work on this project was astounding," she said. "We're not in the bridge-building business but we're starting."

People who have more ideas for bridges, or who wish to volunteer for bridge-building projects, may contact Inman at 745-1441.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.