Salmonids in North Fork of Chester Creek

Observation by James Lima:

Several individuals swimming upstream in North Fork of Chester Creek near Sitka Park. Their body condition appears red and ragged (Zombiefied is the term some people use). In 18 years, I have not seen this many fish at that location this late in the year.

Comments from LEO Editors:

Human modifications to Chester Creek have drastically changed the natural salmon habitat, but there are on-going efforts to restore the waterway and better support coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) populations in Anchorage. In the 1970s, Chester Creek was channelized and dammed to create Westchester Lagoon. During this process, a weir and fish ladder were installed at the mouth of Chester Creek, but the ladder was later found to be ineffective and salmon populations began to markedly decline. In later years, several large water and fuel companies constructed pipelines over the culverts that connected the dam and the weir, effectively blocking migrating fish and changing water salinity. As a result, anadromous fish populations plummeted in Chester Creek. After a series of studies to determine the best method for restoring the creek ecosystem, construction of an open channel from Westchester Lagoon to Cook Inlet was completed in 2009. Between 2008 and 2013, the number of fish escaping in to Westchester Lagoon jumped from 481 to approximately 1500. In 2014, the Anchorage Waterways Council prepared a watershed plan for Chester Creek, outlining specific actions to improve water quality and quantity, enhance wildlife and fish habitat, create social and economic opportunities around restoration, improve communication and coordination, as well as support data collection.

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, salmon migration through Anchorage usually dwindles in September and is over by October. As Ken Marsh put it in his Alaska Fish and Wildlife News article "The Last, Best Salmon," coho salmon are "notorious dawdlers, drawn to sluggish creek mouths, stagnant backwaters, and deep pools" so perhaps there is some environmental reason that some salmon are hitting the spawning grounds later than usual. Between 2002 and 2005, the Anchorage Waterways Council coordinated water quality monitoring, but data is unavailable for 2020. Erica Lujan