ALASKA—For decades, thousands of cruise ship passengers wanting to see an Alaskan bear feeding on salmon have come to a remote island about 20 miles north of Ketchikan, Alaska. Their destination, Margaret Creek, is home to sockeye, coho, chum and pink salmon, along with steelhead, cutthroat and Dolly Varden trout. But even thrilling tourists every summer like it does, this watershed was identified by the Tongass National Forest as a high priority for restoration.

Timber harvesting during the 1950s-1980s caused considerable damage to the floodplain, riparian forest and stream habitat, severely limiting the spawning and survival of the creek’s many species. Experts estimate it could take 150-200 years before the timber regrows and habitat forming trees naturally would fall into Margaret Creek again. That’s why the decision to restore the creek was approved in 2019.

“Margaret Creek restoration was prioritized by the agency based on extensive assessment of habitat condition and data analysis,” said Jon Hyde, a fisheries biologist with the Forest Service’s Ketchikan Misty Fjords Ranger District.

The forest worked closely with the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, Ketchikan Indian Community and local contractor P&T Construction to restore more than two miles of stream to pre-logged condition.

Restoration included constructing 22 in-stream large woody debris structures, removing four log culverts impeding fish passage, removing 305 meters of road fill blocking natural channel migration & cutting off the floodplain, decommissioning roads and using hand tools to add large woody debris along more than 200 meters of side channel habitat.

Heavy machinery work began in 2021 and continued through July 2022. The Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition and Ketchikan Indian Community worked together to hire and train a local work crew that performed instream restoration in areas where the heavy equipment could not reach or where a lighter hand was needed. The crews used hand tools to fall and move trees into the stream and to dig holes to anchor the logs into place.

To help train and prepare the local workforce, the coalition hosted an in-stream restoration workshop in Ketchikan in May 2022, attended by the Ketchikan Indian Community crew and tribal crews from Klawock and Metlakatla.

“The first peoples of the Ketchikan area have been stewarding these lands since time immemorial. These trainings provided a few modern tools to locals, so they can get jobs continuing this work,” said Ketchikan Indian Community Cultural Resources Director Tony Gallegos.

The restored habitat will not only influence a healthier return of salmon and other fish, giving them more places to hide, rest, feed and spawn, but will also bolster recreation development and wildlife enhancement to the area.

Bass Pro Shops, the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund, USDA Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation contributed funds to complete the two-year Margaret Creek Restoration and Enhancement Project.