Relatively unique among urban creeks, Campbell Creek still supports natural runs of four species of salmon. The creeks Dolly Varden and enhanced native coho salmon runs are very popular with local anglers. Heavy foot traffic had so severely trampled vegetation near Arctic Boulevard that a large area of streambank collapsed into the stream. This in turn degraded habitat used by young fish and caused more sediment to enter the stream. The cooperative project reversed the degradation, restored the bank and revegetated the site with native shrubs and trees. Alaska Flyfishers, Alaska Conservation Foundation, Great Land Trust, Anchorage Waterways Council, and the Alaska Departments of Natural Resources and Fish and Game provided funds, technical support, and/or volunteer labor in planning and completing the project.
"The Campbell Creek Project exemplifies a welcome trend toward public-private collaboration in the stewardship of our watersheds and fisheries," said David B. Allen, the Services Alaska Regional Director. "By working together we can correct problems before they become unreasonably complex and expensive. I hope that we can form more of these partnerships across Alaska."
The Campbell Creek Project is one of over 200 habitat restoration projects completed by the Services Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program in Alaska since 1995. The Partners program provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners to restore degraded wildlife habitats, including wetlands, stream and river corridors, and grasslands, on their lands. The program focuses on habitats important to migratory birds, anadromous fish, marine mammals, and threatened and endangered species. Through over 150 projects on the Kenai
River alone, the Service and partners have restored over 2 miles of degraded streambank and constructed 21 access stairways for anglers. Other project areas include Duck Creek in Juneau, the Chena River near Fairbanks, and Wasilla Creek and Lucy Lake in the MatSu Valley. In Anchorage, the Sourdough Mining Company and 2 homeowners benefitted from other Partners projects on Campbell Creek, and the Service is working with the Municipality and others to restore habitat just east of Westchester Lagoon. The Fish and Wildlife Service is actively looking for landowners in Anchorage and across the state to partner with us on restoration projects on their lands.
"The Campbell Creek fishery enhances the quality of life of Anchorage fishers and non-fishers alike." said David Goodman, President of Alaska Flyfishers. "Everyone - sportfishers, neighborhood residents, and area businesses alike - benefits from healthy urban streams and thriving runs of salmon and trout.
The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has become one of the Services most popular undertakings; nationwide, 55,646 acres of wetlands, 106,222 acres of prairies and grasslands, and 739 miles of streamside and aquatic habitats were restored in 1999 alone. Since the programs inception in 1987, over 21,000 private landowners have participated, and over 900,000 acres of wetlands, grasslands, prairies, and in-stream habitats have been restored.
For more information, contact Field Supervisor Ann Rappoport at the Anchorage Field Office at (907) 271-2787 or Partners for Fish and Wildlife Regional Coordinator Michael Roy at (907) 786-3925.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
Media Advisory: More information on Partners for Fish and Wildlife is available on the USFWS Partners website at http://partners.fws.gov/index.htm. You can subscribe to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska region listserver, to have our press releases sent to your e-mail address automatically by sending an e-mail message to: listserver@www.fws.gov">. Please indicate that you would like to subscribe to FWS-Alaska news and give your name in the body of the message.
