ALASKA—USDA Forest Service, Trout Unlimited, Kinross Gold, Hope Mining Company and the National Forest Foundation are partnering to restore a critical salmon stream on Chugach National Forest.

What seemed at first to be a group of organizations with contradictory interests revealed itself to be a partnership ideally situated to promote a multi-year project to benefit local salmon, wildlife and the surrounding ecosystem.

The forest worked with Hope Mining Company to identify 2.2 miles of stream and a surrounding 74-acre area within their active mining claim for restoration. Trout Unlimited and Kinross Alaska, through their Abandoned Mine Restoration Initiative, are supporting the project and have made an initial commitment of $540,000 over three years. The National Forest Foundation is lending its expertise in project oversight and contract administration.

Resurrection Creek has been mined almost continuously since the late 1800s, when it became the site of one of the first gold rushes in Alaska. Over time, mining techniques eliminated floodplains and buried the stream channel and nearby wetlands. The watershed suffered over the years from the impacts to aquatic and wildlife habitat and a loss of riparian vegetation.

The Forest Service completed the first phase of the project on a 1 1/2-mile section of Resurrection Creek in 2007. The rapid benefits to salmon populations and surrounding habitat led the forest to explore further restoration efforts.

To formally introduce the second phase of the restoration, leadership and project team members from the Alaska Region and Chugach National Forest and key staff from each of the project partners held a kick-off event at the project site in Hope, Alaska, on Aug. 13.

Regional Forester Dave Schmid and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski both spoke about the importance of this restoration project and the benefit to Alaskans. Murkowski also noted that partners working side-by-side are critical in preserving Alaska’s bounty for future generations.  

Work on the project is set to begin in the spring of 2022, with an estimated cost $12.5 million. Follow the progress of the Resurrection Creek Restoration project by visiting www.resurrectioncreek.org.