The University of Alaska Southeast (UAS), in partnership with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Conference of Alaska, the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife (USFWS) have pursued restoration efforts on Duck Creek since 2001. UAS has engaged primarily in assessments of improved water quality and habitat resulting from early stream bed and bank improvements throughout the main reach of Duck Creek and in particular wetland creation along the East Fork of Duck Creek. The UAS effort seeks to provide continuity from early to current efforts at stream restoration by providing biological and physical data for use in assessments of progress. Through measurements of water quality parameters along the East Fork and assessments of wetland characteristics at the two created wetland sites, collected between 2004 and 2007, this study has shed light on the potential of remediation efforts to improve water and habitat quality. The bulk of the collected data originates from the created wetlands and thus provides direct evidence but the project has also produced baseline data from the unimproved ponds along the East Fork and that data will allow comparisons that may guide future restoration efforts in Duck Creek and similar drainages.
In an addition to presenting and interpreting the data collected for this project, additional data collected from other sites on Duck Creek is discussed.
