Project Information

Title: Port Graham Habitat Enhancement Proposal 23220608

Project Year and Number: 2023: 23220608

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2024: 24220608 , 2022: 22220608

Principal Investigator (PI): Kyle Graham (USFWS), Nathan Lojewski (Chugachmiut), Patrick Norman (Native Village of Port Graham), Jon Shepard (Port Graham Corporation)

Managing Agency: USFWS

Assisting Personnel: None

Research Location: Port Graham

Restoration Category: General Restoration, Habitat Protection

Injured Resources Addressed: Not Specified

Abstract:

Located on the western edge of the lower Kenai Peninsula is the community of Port Graham, the ancestral inhabitants of the Kenai Fjords and a thriving coastal culture. The Port Graham area boasts abundant marine mammals, fish, shellfish, birds and plants that remain vital to the residents of Port Graham and the surrounding villages. The focus of this proposal is an extensive road network that was constructed in the Port Graham, Windy, and Rocky River watersheds as part of logging projects from the 1960’s to 2004. Many of the stream crossings were constructed with log stringer bridges that have failed and resulted in degraded habitat or with undersized culverts that have become barriers to EVOS-injured resident and anadromous fish species. This project will improve fish passage, restore degraded stream crossings and permanently protect stream crossings from future degradation.

In this proposal, partners including Port Graham Corporation, Native Village of Port Graham Chugachmiut, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) propose addressing 24 stream crossings that impede fish passage or have resulted in degraded spawning and rearing habitat for EVOS-injured fish species. Additionally, repairing impassable stream crossings will provide critical access to subsistence resources in Windy and Rocky Bay for the residents of Port Graham, provide access to road maintenance equipment to conduct regular road maintenance, protect the commercial fisheries in Rocky, Windy, and Port Graham River watersheds, and provide access to recreational opportunities in the area such as sport fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing.

This project was approved for the FY22-FY26 funding cycle.


Proposal: View (3,320 KB)

Reports:
FY23 Q1 Report: View (1,374 KB)
FY23 Q2 Report: View (675 KB)
FY23 Q3 Report: View (1,474 KB)
FY23 Q4 Report: View (2,159 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available

Resolutions: