Community Based Environmental Protection Success Story:
The Kenai Watershed
The Kenai River, at the heart of the Kenai peninsula, is one of Alaska's most popular and well-known wtarsheds. With 27 species of fish, including trophy-sized ranibows and the largest king salmon ever landed with sport fishing gear, the Kenai River is perhaps best known for its fish. Indeed, one of every five fish caught by sport anglers in Alaska comes from the Kenai River. The river also supports the second largest concentration of overwintering bald eagles in Alaska, as well as trumpeter swans, Wrangel Island snow geese, beluga whales, brown bears, moose, caribou, wolves, and many other species. This biological abundance drives a robus local economy that derives substantial income from commercial and sport fisheries as well as recreational and tourism related services.
The Kenai River watershed, located a short 150 mile drive south of Anchorage, is one of Alaska's fastest growing areas. The resident population alone has doubled in the last 20 years. The Kenai Peninsula also experiences in excess of 1 million visitor days per year from recreational users. The primary threats to maintaining the biodiversity, productivity, and health of the Kenai River watershed are:
- Urban and residential growth along the river and its tributaries and in adjacent wetlands;
- Damage to streambands due to intensive sportfishing and related activities;
- increase in degraded water quality, primarily from non-point source contributions;
- Conversion, degradation, and fragmentation of habitat.
The Nature Conservancy as been active in Kenai River conservation since the early 1990's, largely with support from EPA and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Through this work, they have built a program based on the Conservancy's trademarks of non-confrontational, science-based conservation. Their work in the Kenai River watershed has also represented a significant foray into the realm of community-based conservation.
This direction mirros work the Conservany and others are undertaking the the Lower 48 and internationally. At the heart of this work is the fundamental belief that conservation and watershed protection will be successful only if the approaches are crafted within the context of local community values. The EPA has embraced this approach and has provided key technical and funding leadership to advance community-base watershed protection. By placing a full-time staff person in Kenai, the EPA has also furthered its commitment to advancing collaborative, community-level approaches to meeting environmental performance goals.
Much of the Conservancy's work involves listening to residents of the Kenai River watershed and seeking understanding regarding local perceptions on watershed issues. This listening has happened through facilitated visioning sessions, and through close working relationships with key partner organizations. The key accomplishments by the Conservancy and its parners that have evolved out of this listening include:
- Expansion and enhancement of local Adopt-a-Stream programs;
- Support for a staffed Kenai River Region office of the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust to create permanent capacity for private land conservation;
- Creation of the Kenai Watershed Forum, a broad-based citizen's organization and support for a director and program activities;
- Organization of a series of workshops and public meetings on "river-friendly" construction techniques and land planning for a sustainable future;
- Organization of a Watershed Education Coalition and implementation of an outreach and education plan;
- Establishment of a volunteer water quality moitoring network and a water quality monitoring coalition, and development of a coordinated plan for water quality monitoring for the Kenai River watershed;
- Support of an interactive CD-ROM on the Kenai River Watershed targeted at 5-6 graders; and
- Production of a video on Kenai River watershed conservation.