Crooked Creek Information Site
Crooked Creek Information Site
Description:
Nestled at the head of Valdez Arm, the Crooked Creek Information Site is poised between the marine world of Prince William Sound and the forests of the mainland. Staffed from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the site features spawning chum and pink salmon, abundant waterfowl and an occasional hungry black bear.
Viewing Information:
The Crooked Creek Information Site is a small 3-acre site which harbors a waterfall and a clear water stream where pink and chum salmon return each summer to spawn. Occasionally, black bears can be observed feasting on the returning fish. The first salmon generally appear in the stream by mid-July and are present through October.
Across the Richardson Highway, the intertidal wetlands of the Valdez "Duck Flats" provide staging habitat for a variety of migrating birds and provide nesting habitat for ducks and geese.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the Chugach National Forest staffs a small information site at Crooked Creek. Informational exhibits and Forest Service guides help visitors understand this fascinating area.
Safety First: (for the salmon!)
The spawning salmon at Crooked Creek have had a difficult life! After one to four years in saltwater, they battle ocean currents, dodge orca whales and commercial fishing nets, and avoid hungry bears to return to these streams to spawn and die. Please do not make their lives more difficult -- do not harass the salmon!! Be bear aware!
Directions:
The Crooked Creek Information Site is located on the outskirts of Valdez, Alaska. Located at the head of the Valdez "duck flats" it is at .5 mile of the Richardson Highway.
Ownership & Management:
USDA Forest Service, Chugach National Forest, Cordova Ranger District (907) 424-7661
Closest Town:
Valdez, Alaska
Viewing Opportunities at Crooked Creek Information Site
Birds
The bird life at the Valdez Duck Flats and the Crooked Creek Information Site is spectacular. Birding is good throughout the year, but spring and fall migration will provide the widest diversity of species. Look for the following birds during your visit to Crooked Creek.
Perching Birds
- American dipper
- Varied thrush
- Song sparrow
- Common redpoll
- Common raven
- American robin
- Violet-green swallow
- Yellow-rumped warbler
- Golden-crowned sparrow
- Black-billed magpie
- Northwestern crow
Waterfowl
- Mallard
- Bufflehead
- Gadwall
- Northern pintail
- American wigeon
- Canada goose
Waterbirds
- Arctic tern
- Lesser yellowlegs
- Black-legged kittiwake
- Herring gull
- Glaucous-winged gull
- Great blue heron
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Our nation's symbol, the bald eagle is common in Prince William Sound. In fact, there are more bald eagles in Alaska than in all the other states combined! With their white head and 6.5 - 8 foot wingspan, bald eagles are unmistakeable. This majestic bird can be seen throughout the year along riverways and in forests in Prince William Sound. Large concentrations of eagles can be viewed in early spring during the yearly hooligan (eulachon) run. Also several pairs often nest along the Valdez Duck Flats and Dayville Road, providing a rare wildlife watching treat.
The Salmon of Crooked Creek
As regular as the seasons, pink and chum salmon return to the clear waters of Crooked Creek to spawn and die. From mid-July to late September, you can observe salmon choosing mates, defending territories and digging redds, or nests.
All Pacific salmon are anadromous, meaning that they hatch from eggs, travel to salt water to grow and mature, and then return to freshwater to lay their eggs and die. Although each of the five species of Pacific salmon have slightly different life patterns, they all depend upon both salt water and fresh water for their survival.
The fish that you see in Crooked Creek look very different from salmon in sea water. Ocean salmon are bright silver in color, but they change appearance as soon as they begin their journey back to fresh water to spawn. Both pink and chum salmon males develop a hooked jaw, and male pink salmon develop a large, fleshy hump on their backs. Chum salmon develop dark, maroon "tiger" stripes.
You are observing the beginning and the end of the salmon's life cycle. Wedged in the gravel bottom of Crooked Creek, the salmon eggs will overwinter and hatch in early spring. The newly-hatched fish, callled alevins, remain hidden in the gravel and survive on a yolk sac attached to their bodies. When the yolk sac is absorbed, the small fish emerge as fry.
Both pink and chum salmon head for the sea almost as soon as they emerge from the gravel. Pink salmon spend only 1.5 years in the ocean and return to spawn as 4-5 pound, two-year fish. Chum salmon spend 2.5 - 3.5 years in the ocean and are 8-10 pounds at maturity.
After overcoming obstacles that may include waterfalls, beaver dams, sea lions and people, the salmon's life in the stream is brief, as death comes shortly after spawning. Even in death salmon contribute to the food chain and return nutrients to the stream from which they came.
The Crooked Creek Information Site is perched between the marine wilderness of Prince William Sound and the maritime forests of the interior of Alaska.
Against a backdrop of snow-covered mountains, the Crooked Creek Information Site offers a spectacular view of the intertidal wetlands of the Valdez Duck Flats. Recognized as a State of Alaska Critical Habitat Area, the Duck Flats are an important staging area for migrating birds, and an important nesting area for waterfowl.
Twice each day, the tide covers and uncovers the wetland vegetation. This intertidal area is vegetated with thick stands of salt-tolerant sedge. Alders and willows fringe the inundated areas. The expansive mudflats are home to a wide variety of invertebrates such as insect larvae and small clams. Buried in the mud, these small creatures are an important food source for visiting birds.
The clear water stream of Crooked Creek is fed from the melting snow on the surrounding mountains. Although the stream level rises during high tide, the water remains fresh. Because of the year-round flow and the presence of the right size gravel, Crooked Creek is a productive salmon stream. Both pink and chum salmon spawn in Crooked Creek.