Salmon Watershed Stewardship: The Timeline
KBNERR has a rich history of watershed ecology research and education supporting salmon watershed stewardship. Since the early 2000’s, the Reserve has uncovered a web of interconnections of how our southern Kenai Peninsula landscapes support the early life stages of salmon. This long term, place-based approach has enhanced our understanding and appreciation of our coastal ecosystems, helping to ensure that they remain healthy and productive. The watershed ecology program at the Reserve was initiated and led by Coowe Walker, whose energy, ideas, and creative partnership brought a team of researchers, students and community partners together to solve questions and engage communities in salmon landscapes. To connect research to people, the Reserve has used its Training and Education sectors and developed external education and conservation partnerships to ensure actionable science leads to stewardship of salmon landscapes. This page guides you through the timeline of watershed ecology work at the Reserve, with support from a passionate team of collaborating researchers. A full narrative of this work with background and references is also available.
The Reserve began a project tracking marine-derived nutrients in partnership with UAF.
Coowe Walker convened the Kenai Lowlands Wetland Workgroup, which brought together experts from around the country to discuss the value of wetlands and led to a project exploring the importance of headwater streams.
The research team surveyed 30 headwater stream reaches for juvenile salmonids and macroinvertebrates, looking at what topographic and other habitat features (riparian vegetation, water chemistry) are associated with these communities.
The research team collected samples to determine whether salmon food comes primarily from in-stream or terrestrial sources. These samples were analyzed using stable isotopes.
In connection with a followup study on headwater stream rearing habitat, the research team explored stream temperatures and groundwater influences in different topographies. Loggers were deployed in 2007, the main fieldwork was completed in 2008, and hydrological monitoring continued until 2011.
The research team conducted a second headwater stream study to verify and improve the juvenile salmon model from the 2006 study and quantify the linkage between streams and riparian wetlands.
The research team studied how hillslope alder cover affects nitrogen concentrations in streams.
The research team studied how nutrient concentrations affect bluejoint grass breakdown in headwater streams.
The research team began a pilot project exploring how juvenile salmon use the Fox River Estuary. The main project that came out of this pilot ran from 2010-2011, focusing on four sites along the estuary.
The research team studied which habitat features are associated with overwintering juvenile salmon, with a focus on groundwater. They sampled during the 2010-2011 winter, then captured out-migrating smolt in spring 2011.
The research team validated the flow-weighted slope salmon-habitat model from previous studies at new field sites.
The research team further explored how nitrogen from alders affects headwater streams, with focuses on groundwater flowpath length, nitrogen fertilization, and in-stream nitrogen fixation.
Graduate student Tammy Hoem-Neher collected data on juvenile salmon in the Anchor River Estuary to compare with the second year of full data from the Fox River Estuary.
The research team conducted a three-year study (2012-2014) on how alders affect riparian vegetation growth and soil characteristics.
The research team explored differences in winter habitat use at two sites – a ‘cold site’ and a ‘warm site’ – with different groundwater sources.
The research team fertilized part of a headwater stream with a low level of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to explore effects on productivity.
The research team studied how Coho Salmon and Dolly Varden vary genetically within and among Kenai Lowlands river basins. The study ran from 2013 to 2014.
The research team explored how juvenile salmon (and other fish) use the Anchor River Estuary. This study ran from 2015 to 2016
The research team explored what habitat features are associated with juvenile salmon and broader fish communities in 12 lower Cook Inlet estuaries. This study ran from 2016 to 2017.
The research team used the flow-weighted slope model to identify headwater streams with a high likelihood of being anadromous, and then surveyed them for juvenile salmonids. This project extended through 2017.
This collaborative project helped to bring the many years of watershed ecology research from KBNERR and partners to local decision makers and community members.
Since 2016, KBNERR has partnered with the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust on field site visits with fishermen and other local decision makers showing how Fish need Land Too.
KBNERR and partners explored the region’s blue carbon resources, initially focusing on saltmarsh sediments but later switching to peatlands (“turquoise carbon”), which represent a much larger carbon store in this region. The project ran from 2017 to 2019.
The research team explored how nitrogen and carbon, from alders and peatlands respectively, affect productivity downstream. This study ran from 2016 to 2018.
KBNERR and USF explored groundwater resilience in the Kenai Lowlands, publishing maps of groundwater discharge (full Kenai Lowlands) and recharge (Anchor Watershed). The main project ran from 2017 to 2019; the maps were published later.
This project explored respect for alder through community celebration of the salmon landscape.”
Homer Drawdown – a Cook Inletkeeper initiative – focused on peatlands in 2021, mapping depths as a community science project and raising awareness about peatland benefits. KBNERR served as the technical lead for this project.
Reserve receives funding to establish common ground on salmon stewardship through knowledge co-production and a maintained network of organizations and communities centered around watershed health.
The research team is studying how beaver dams and beaver dam analogs affect water levels, carbon exchange, and vegetation in headwater wetlands. Data collection is ongoing and extends through 2025.
KBNERR is working with the City of Homer to purchase land in the Beluga Wetlands for conservation, including stormwater drainage benefits.
The People
Longtime research partnerships with Dr. Dennis Whigham at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), the Ecohydrology Research Group led by Dr. Mark Rains at the University of South Florida (USF), and the Aquatic Ecology Lab led by Dr. Ryan King at Baylor University have greatly contributed to KBNERR’s watershed ecology work. These researchers’ expertise and passion surrounding vegetation, groundwater, and freshwater ecology respectively combined to form a robust, interdisciplinary research program. Graduate and undergraduate students have also played an integral part in KBNERR’s watershed ecology research, co-developing, piloting, and carrying forward many of the Reserve’s lines of inquiry. For more information on specific topics related to the Salmon Watershed Stewardship work please visit our research table filled with peer reviewed papers and student reports here.