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A stream smart culvert replaces an undersized culvert (foreground) on the Copper River Delta improving habitat quality and fish passage for Coho Salmon, Dolly Varden, and other aquatic organisms. Photo credit: U.S. Forest Service.
PALMER, Alaska, May 14, 2021 – A new project in Alaska’s Copper River Watershed that aims to improve salmon habitat and reduce flood risk was recently awarded $3.8 million in federal funding from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) via its Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). Project partners in the Copper River Watershed are contributing an additional $6 million, bringing the total project investment to $9.8 million.
Nationally, NRCS awarded $330 million for 85 RCPP projects this year including the Cooper River project in Alaska. RCPP projects are locally driven, public-private partnerships that work with private agricultural producers to address climate change, improve the nation’s water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability.
The Copper River Watershed Project will restore access to an estimated 187.5 miles of streams and 527 acres of lake habitat to sockeye, chinook and coho salmon, providing significant benefits to subsistence, sport and commercial fisheries.
In addition to benefiting salmon habitat, the project will also reduce the likelihood of severe property damage during extreme flood events, making the watershed more flood resilient and improving the structural integrity of roads and infrastructure.
The work primarily involves removing undersized culverts and replacing them with stream-smart culverts that allow fish and other aquatic species to safely pass; and planting trees and shrubs along streambanks to reduce erosion, enhance biodiversity and improve aquatic habitat.
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