Kootznoowoo, Inc. has joined together in partnership with the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, the United States Forest Service (USFS), and the National Forest Foundation to restore fish habitats at Cube Cove on Admiralty Island. Historic clearcut logging practices have damaged the land and affected the natural habitats of a variety of fish including coho and Kokanee Salmon, Coastal Cutthroat Trout, and Dolly Varden.
Prior to purchase by USFS, the Cube Cove area, which includes Florence Lake, Kathleen Lake, and Ward Creek, was in private ownership and was severely impacted by industrial scale clear-cut logging and associated road building. Between 1980-2000’s, nearly 80 percent of the area’s 22,890 acres were clearcut of almost every marketable tree. The clear cutting has caused a severe impact to fish and wildlife habitats, hydrologic function, and wilderness values. Today, scores of unmaintained culverts, three large bridges, and hundreds of miles of logging road remain.
Habitat conditions at the site have continued to degrade as culverts fail and block fish passage; roads back up drainage that diverts to streams and causes landslides; and due to the removal of old growth trees forest, stream condition declined.
In 2020, after Cube Cove was returned to the ownership of the USFS, the area was re-incorporated into the Admiralty Island National Monument and Kootznoowoo Wilderness.
Through the Cube Cove partnership led by crew leader Jamie Daniels, local Angoon residents and Kootznoowoo shareholders that included Justin Turner, Walter Washington, and Roger Williams were employed this past summer in year-one of the multi-year restoration project. Over the next few years the crew will:
- Remove 80 legacy culverts and three bridges abandoned after the logging era.
- Breach logging roads at 87 sites to reconnect and restore wetlands and streams.
- Restore fish habitats in 11 streams with large wood additions.
- Employ ecological thinning to enhance 950 acres of riparian forest next to lakes and streams.
“The first field season for this program was a great success,” said Jon Wunrow, Executive Director of Tourism & Natural Resources. “The work to restore Cube Cove from the damage that otherwise would be permanent honors Kootznoowoo’s commitment to preserving traditional lands. We are proud to partner with the Southeast Watershed Coalition and the United States Forest Service on this important project.”
To view the full Cube Cove Restoration plan and story map, go to https://arcg.is/1uG4G40
