Moose Creek
Restoration Project

Athabascan Elders of the Chickaloon Tribe tell stories of Moose Creek abundant with five species of wild salmon. Those stories changed in the early 1900s when coal mining and associated railroad building caused extensive alterations to the creek, damaging in-stream habitat and cutting off the creek's meanders. The channel straightening caused the formation of a 10-foot high waterfall which blocked access by salmon and other fish to miles of upstream habitats. Salmon populations declined, leaving a few remnant Chinook and coho beneath the falls. In 2005, the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, with support from Mat-Su partners, reconstructed the stream channel in the historic meander bend around the waterfall. Within days of project completion, adult Chinook salmon were passing the project site, gaining access to more than five miles of reopened spawning and rearing habitats.

Removing barriers to fish passage, such as improperly sited or sized road culverts, is an easy way to restore access to large areas of aquatic habitat. The Mat-Su Basin Salmon Conservation Partnership expects to improve or reopen 100 miles of salmon habitat in the Matanuska and Susitna Basin over the next few years.

Learn more about the Moose Creek Restoration Project. Visit the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council website.