The Saginaw Creek watershed (Hydrologic Unit Code 190102020104) lies within the North Kuiu priority watershed in the north central portion of Kuiu Island on the Petersburg Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest. This 8,302-acre watershed is managed primarily for timber production, but is also important for commercial fisheries production, subsistence and recreation activities. Users from the nearby communities of Kake, Point Baker, Port Protection, Kupreanof, and Petersburg as well as approximately 25 outfitters and guides use this watershed for fishing, hunting, trapping, sightseeing, kayaking, camping and hiking. Recent changes in the physical conditions of the watershed have been driven primarily by timber harvest and road building, with natural and management-induced landslides also contributing to physical changes within the watershed. Commercial riparian harvest has altered forest stand conditions along much of Saginaw Creek and its tributaries, possibly altering patterns of wood recruitment and wood function in streams. Temporary and unused National Forest System (NFS) roads contribute sediment to streams and alter drainage patterns. Restoration projects respond to the need for speeding the development of riparian stands through riparian 2nd growth treatments, enhancing fisheries habitat through placement of large woody debris (LWD) structures, reducing sediment input and risk of mass wasting as well as restoring natural surface and groundwater drainage pathways by decommissioning temporary and NFS roads, and expanding stream, road, and invasive weed surveys to better characterize the watershed.
