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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-05-16 KRSMA Board PacketI(NAI la/ Special Management Area '. °WOrking togethec..tor theriver" *** Meeting Agenda*** Thursday, May 16, 2002 7:00 p.m. Kenai River Center I. CALL TO ORIBEI2 A. Roll Call B. Approval of 4/l S,'02 minutes C. Agenda Changes and Approval II. III. IV. PUBLIC COMMENT NE`V BUSINESS A. Upper Kenai River Area Restoration Efforts -Dean Davidson and Eric Johansen, Chugach National Forest OL1~ BUSINESS A. River Terrace Contaminatian Update, Rich Sundet, ADEC, Steve Bainbridge, ADEC, and Oasis Environmental B. Soldotna Urban DO"I' Project Update, Judy Dougherty and Laurie Mulcahy, DOT C. Kenai River Center Update V, PUBLIC COMMENT VL ADJOUI2I~TMENT A. Board Comments B. Date/Agenda of Next Meeting Committee Mee6nas at the KRC: 5:30 P.M. Water Quality Committee Meeting @ KRC, call Charles Quarre for more info Kenai Area Office, Box 1247, Soldotna, AK 99669, Soldotna 2625581 / Kenai Peninsula Borough, Box 850, Soldotna, AK 99669, Soldotna 2624441 Alaska Division of Parks and Ou[tloor Recreation, Department of Natural Resources, in ccoparatlon with the Kenai Peninsula Borough. KENAI RIVER SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA ADVISORY BAORD MEETING MINUTES Thursday, April 18, 2002 7:00 p.m. Kenai River Center I. CALL TO ORDER A. Roll Call Presen±: Tim Navarre, Rick Wood, Bill >huster, Lance Trasky, Linda Snow, Chris Degernes, Deric Marcorelle, Joe Connors, Ann Whitmore- Painter, Paul Shadura, Jim Golden, Brett Huber, Janette Cadieux, David Westerman Absent: Robin West, Ted Wellman, and Charles Quarre B. Approval of 3/21J02 minutes Approved as written C. Agenda Changes and Approval II. PUBLIC COMMENT None III. NEW BUSINESS A. Recent Alaska Board of Fish Decisions affecting the Kenai River, Mark Ga*.nhlin, Area Sportfish Biologist, ADF&G Mark briefly went over the recent changes to the Kenai River and Kasilof River fisheries. First he summarized the Kenai King Salmon fishery season which is broken into two halves. The first half of the season is from January 1 to June 10 and is managed to permit harvest of King Salmon under 40" and 55" or larger. The bag limit and seasonal possession limits did not change, however only unbaited artificial lures are allowed. The second half of the season is from June 11 to June 30 and is to be managed as a catch and release fishery with retention of King Salmon 55" or greater only. The decision to be made yet is whether bait will be allowed at the beginning or middle of the catch and release season. Mondays are float only from non-motorized, non-guided boats in May and June below Skilak Lake. The new daily bag limit for salmon over 16" on the Kenai River is 3 fish per day and can be a combination of King, Coho and Sockeye. The change in the personal use fishery will be the hours, which are restricted to 6 arxi to 11 pm daily.. The bag limit for Sockeye this year will be 3 per day, which is a change from 6 per day last year. Rainbow and Dolly Varden bag limit and possession limit changes dictate a bag limit of one Rainbow per day over 18 inches in the stretch from the Moose River upstream to Skilak Lake. The Dolly Varden bag limit and size limit from the Upper Killey River confluence upstream for the remainder of the Kenai River watershed is one under 18". For the Kasilof River, there were several conservative changes implemented to stay within the escapement goals. Guides are now only allowed one trip, one set of clients per day and are not allowed to fish while clients are fishing. The bag limit for King Salmon is one per day and of the five annual King Salmon allowed, only three may come from the Kasilof River. Fishing is not allowed from motorized boats during the King Salmon season. Also guides are required to have either State Parks or CFEC Triangle numbers on their boats. Jim G. asked if the general public would be allowed to retain fish on the. Kenai River after June 10 if there has been determined to be a harvestable escapement. Mark said the department has The ability to allow harvest on the early run if they project the harvest opportunity will remain above the upper limit of the escapement range. Jim G. asked if the client keeps a salmon on the Kasilof can they continue to catch and release. Mark said that rule has not changed, and yes; they can continue to catch and release fish. Rick W. asked how Fish and Game is going to enforce the guide changes on the Kasilof River. Mark said he does not know since this is the first year the Kasilof River is going to be managed under these regulations, and. predicted a sharp learning curve. Paul S. asked how ADF&G would assess the in-season abundance levels and slot limit success on the Kenai River. Mark said they would be conducting the creel survey. as usual, using the sonar passage data and The statewide harvest date from previous seasons. Paul S. asked what kind of creel type survey would be done on the Kasilof River. Mark said again this is the first year for these types of surveys on the Kasilof and they will be gathering fish abundance information from Crooked Creek and relying on data from previous statewide harvest surveys. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Mioates April 18, 2002 Page 2 ot11 Bill S. asked if escapement is based on the sonar counts. Tim McKinley said the sonar counts fish in and creel survey counts fish out. The end product is the escapement and the number of fish that live to spawn. Bill S. said' he is trying to understand fish mortality based on how many times theq have been caught and released: Tim said they'do not get a second assessment for escapement on the river to capture information on fish mortality. They estimate 7% of the fish would die. Paul S. asked if that estimate of fish are caught once, twice or three times. Tim said it is a mix of those types. He said that based on studies done on catch and release fish, the mortality is about the same for a fish caught once verses a fish caught three times and released. Brett II. asked whether a fish caught three times in the 40" to 55" class would experience a higher or lower mortality if there was no catch and release protection in place. Mark said a fish caught one time or three times still has a 7% chance of dying. The biggest factor is whether the fish bleeds from the action. He said lactic acid by itself has nothing to do with fish mortality, it is simply an indicator of stress. B. Kenai River Angler Impact Study, iVlary King, ADF&G Mary briefly reviewed the study, which covered the area from Skilak Lake to Cook Inlet. There is a variety of land use along the watershed that includes resource development, mining, logging and recreation use, ptimarily ihvolving sportfishing from the shore and boats. With the popularity of the sportfishery and the increase in the economy there has been increased development in the area including personal residences, betels, bed and breakfasts, gU:ded fichinv_ huclnesses ynrl bnat rentalc_ ThP overall concern relates to understanding how these development increases may negatively impact the fish and wildlife resources. Various strategies are being used to mitigate recreational impacts to riparian habitat. The river between Kenai and Skilak Lakes has been designated primarily for non-motorized use since 1986. In 1999 the Board of Fish created drift only fishing days on Mondays, which provide increased opportunity without increasing concerns for habitat impacts. In 1986, DNR restricted horsepower to SOhp motors and the following year down to 35hp motors, primarily forsafety and concerns about bank erosion caused by boat wakes. ADF&G is conducting two projects in the habitat study. The first is an on- ground assessment cf shore angler impacts, which has been in effect since 1998. The second program is a pilot study using aerial photogrametry techniques to assess habitat change. The first objective of the shore angler impact study was to evaluate angler distribution during the sport Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes Aprit 18, 2002 Page 3 0(11 fishery for sockeye salmon. The data showed an increase of over 8% in use of public lands from 1996 to 2000. This is believed to be an increase in the participation in the fishery and not just a shift from private to public land use. From 1996 to 2000, over 90% of shore anglers fished from the mainland banks with the remaining anglers split between gravel bars and islands. The second objective of the impact study was bank change detection. Each site was assessed for various factors which might influence the rate of bank erosion, including habitat type, stream meander, powerboat activity and shore angler activity. Cumulative data from 1998 to 2000 showed that mean bank loss tended to be greater in areas of high powerboat activity. There was a .26 meter mean loss in areas of high powerboat activity verses a .04 meter mean loss in areas of low powerboat activity. Data also showed that bank loss tended to be greater in areas having increased angler efforts. The third objective of the study was to assess changes in vegetation. In- season analysis always showed a significant decrease or loss of percent cover vegetation associated with an increase in shore angler effort. They were never able to detect a significant annual or cumulative change in percent cover. High effort sites had a significant decrease in species diversity and at low effort sites, the reverse was true. The bank closures appear to provide an effective bank habitat protection. Additional signage, enforcement and education of bank anglers would also assist in the protection of these banks. The pilot study using aerial photogrametry has not been completed as yet. This study uses a method of comparing habitat between two time periods. The 1975 and 1985 aerial photo sets were selected. This study will assess bank position change between years and assess percent changes in cover by cover class. River mile 16 to 21 were selected because there was some development in 1975 and this river reach is geologically sensitive to erosion. River 24.5 to 26.5 was also selected because there was no development here in 1975 and this river reach is geologically less susceptible to erosion. Both river sections contain many of the on-ground survey sites, which can be used for ground truthing of results. Bill S. said it seems like the first number of anglers cause the most damage versus the subsequent great numbers of anglers later in the same area. Mary said that appears to be true. There was a large break between low .angler effort and high. angler effort and there was not much in-between. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes April 18, 2002 Page 4 of 11 Ann W. asked if any of the areas included both high bank angler effort and. high boat activity. Mary said there were. Jim G. asked if the answer to these problems is to eliminate sportfishing on the Kenai River or is there some specific way that could be identified to improve the potential habitat here. Mary says they need to finish the aerial photogrametry study, which will give us more insight. At that point she said it would become the agencies, general public and other organizations time to discuss how to address this issue. Paul S. said he understands ADF&G is still in the process with this, but thought that there was supposed to be some recommendations from this report so the board could address it now. He continued by stating that the toss of .26 meters or .04 meters rr~ay no± seem li'.{e a lot of area, but wha± does that mean to fish friendly habitat, and effects on that? Mary King quoted policy statements 5 and 14 of the American Fishery Society for Paul, which includes ir, essence any minirial impacts to riparian habitat will have a interactive and cumulative impact on localized and global fish production. Mary said the study was designed to look at shore angler impacts and did not make that link to fishery productivity. Other comments from the board included whether F&G looked at windfall trees in the water and if there is an intention to publish the results of this study. Mary said they"do hope to publish it in the next year or so. C. Dick Reger, Hydraulic and Quarternary Geology of the Kenai River (~.PA Granij Dick briefly went over the purpose of the study, which is to prepare a geological map of the Kenai River corridor. This information will support the ground water studies and pollution remediation efforts along the Kenai River. 17,500 years ago, the Kenai River was established, as we know it today. The lower entrance to Cook Inlet was blocked and a lake was formed around 16,500 years ago. Various stades were formed since then including two terraces formed at the Kenai River drainage. 70 meters of erosion took place to form the valley in which Soldotna is located today, and during the next glacier advancement, 6 meters of gravel was deposited in the same area. In the last 14,000 years the Kenai River has been meandering back and forth cutting down about 5 meters or so. Next phase in the study is to set up local sections'where there are pollution problems to help understand groundwater movement better. Drilling sites along the river near the Warren Ames Bridge have been done to study the Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes April 18, 2002 Page 5 of 11 effects of the major earthquakes in the area such as the Great Alaska Earthquake. In the Portage area the land settled about 6 feet as a result of 1964 earthquake. In the Soldotna area the settling has only been about a foot or so. Studies have been done with forests that had been buried and killed as a result of that earthquake, and they found three or four forests that had been killed prior to that. From those studies they have evaluated the frequency of occurrence of these large magnitude earthquakes and they happen about every 700 to 900 years. The study will try to evaluate the terrace history of the river including when it was down cutting and moving. The 2 meter terrace dates to about 6000 years, the 3 meter terrace does not have a date as yet and the terrace around 6 meters dates from 6200 to 8100 years ago. Near Cunningham Park the terrace gravels that lie under 10 feet of peat date to around 11,000 years. Above that there is a 1 S-meter terrace which is the same level as the town of Kenai and it dates to about 16,000 years ago. The 20-meter terrace is not dated as yet. The Corridor Map is planned to be out by December, 2002. This map will pinpoint the best sites to put in detailed sections and begin doing groundwater studies. Lance T. asked about the old looking river channels out in the Swanson River areas. Dick said the Swanson was very different 16,000 years ago as it had more. sediment and major flows of water from the Turnagain Arm area. The lakes in the area now are called kettle lakes created from the melting of dead ice that was buried by gravel. Dave W. asked if anything has been done in the upper Kenai River above Skilak Lake. Dick said no and he is very interested in studying that area if there is any funding around for that. He said the deposits in that area aze less than 14,000 years old. D. Snug Harbor Road Snowrnachine Parking Area Proposal Tim said he had asked this to be placed on the agenda as this is a good idea and a proper use of the lands. The Borough also supports the idea, and hopes the board will support it as well. Dave Hopkins with the Kenai Public Land Users Group (KPLUG) briefly described the proposal and its purpose. They found a good parking area beyond the entrance to Chugach Electric's road, and a short way up the road Yo Cooper Lake. This location is on the north face of a hill with a natural flat area. Dave said this would not be just a snowmachine parking area, but it,is for many different user groups such as skiers and hikers also. The proposal is to create a parking lot capable of accommodating 30-60 Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes April 18, 2002 Page 6 of 11 vehicles. KPLUG would like to receive permission to proceed with the construction, using volunteer work, volunteer money, and volunteer equipment. At this time KPLUG does not propose latrines or dumpsters ih the parking lot:' KPLUGhas offered to do spring cleanup and Chugach Electric has said they will clear the road and the parking lot. Dave said they have asked fora 10-acre area to have a buffer around the parking lot. He states that the design fora 30-vehicle parking lot will take up 2 acres and a 60-vehicle lot will be about 4.75 to S acres. Brett H. asked if they have begun the permitting process yet. Chris D. replied that she and Dave Hopkins have discussed permits. She said the permitting for this area will be done through State Parks and if the board is supportive of the idea, Parks will continue to work with KPLUG on this proposal. Cluis said there have only been info.-mal discussions so far on this issue. Jim G. said he does not see the advantage to not having toilets and dumpsters in the parking lot, since the improvements will attract more users. Dave H. said that latrines and dumpsters have been discussed since the beginning, but so far, even with the 50 plus vehicles using the area at one time, there has not been any refuse problems. Lance T. asked who would be responsible for the management of this area during the summer with camping and such. Chris said they are concerned with this and would like to recommend the site be closed for the summer. Dave H. said a gate could be easily installed. Dave ~~~. beiie1/eo that there 3Jt11 be w.,eed for duurpsters and lat,^.ne° because of the use it will attract. Dave Hopkins said there has not been a problem with refuse in the area but the group is willing to install and maintain those additions if it is necessary. Other board questions related to the timetable for this proposed project. Dave H. said this project could be done in the fall in 4-5 days as they are only waiting for permit authorization to continue Joe C. made a motion that the Board advises Parks to work with KPLUG on this project. Doric NI. seconded. More board comments included the need for outhouses for this parking lot, the Forest Service's support of this proposal and possible funding options, and the need fo have the oversight for this area and backcountry clean up written into the agreement. Vote: Unanimous consent from the board for a letter of support. (Motion does not include a specific recommendation for latrines or dumpsters.) Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes April 13, 2002 Page 7 of 11 IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Commercial Operator Committee Update: Draft Guide Board proposal Joe C. said the Committee has been discussing the draft Guide Board concept for the last three months, and continues to make progress on the idea. The Committee is currently identifying goals to achieve and hurdles to overcome. He invited more participation by other Board members in the discussion. B. Sterling Highway MP 45-60 Report: Janette Cadieux, Stakeholder process report Janette C. briefly went over the evaluation criteria and how the stakeholders are working to narrow number of alternatives down from 10. An environmental impact study will be done on at least two options, once they are selected. She asked the Board to provide comments on the draft criteria and options to try to narrow this down. Dave W. said there is no clear-cut consensus on which route is preferred. Janette C. said a concern expressed at the meeting was that on the Juneau Creek alternative, there would be an opportunity to put in crossroads or accesses to the bypass every two mites,. She also said at this time they are trying to develop evaluation criteria to decide which routes should be first off the list and which should be last off the list of possible routes. Chric Tl, caid that T1QT Plana to narrow the list of alternatives by late June. C. Rorest Legacy Committee Update Evie Witten provided a summary and objectives at the last board meeting. Chris D. said the committee consensus was that the goals and evaluation criteria provided was inclusive and mirrored many of the objectives in the Kenai River Comprehensive Management Plan. The Committee recommended that the evaluation criteria fits and the 5 main watersheds on the Kenai Peninsula should be identified as the main areas of concentration on the peninsula. The Kenai River would be the priority with the Kasilof, Deep Creek, Ninilchik and Anchor River also included in the list of lands to be considered for FLP funds. The committee would like to recommend a letter of support be sent to The Nature Conservancy, which is developing this assessment of need. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes April 18, ?002 Page 8 of 11 Tim N. made a motion in support of the Committee recommendations, and Joe C. seconded it. Vote: Unanimous consent from the board to send a letter. D. Kenai River Center Lpdate a. DOT Clearing along ROW in Cooper Landing Suzanne briefly described the history of the "safety clearing" along the highway in Cooper Landing that was recently done by DOT. Before the project commenced, John Czarneski from the Borough and Carl High from DOT went to inspect area. John then. issued a letter with instructions for brush cutting and hand clearing within 50 feet of the Kenai River. DOT was instructed to prune, rather than cut down trees, which is not what happened. Fish & Game also wrote DOT a letter advising they preferred DOT to clear by hand within 100 feet of the river. Suzanne said she also wrote DOT a permit, but she knew they would minimally impact State lands. Suzanne is not sure what the Borough is going to do as far as any action against DOT for the violation within the habitat protection corridor. USFWS has advised DOT that they will not be permitted to clear as much along the Sterling Highway within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge area, so the most extensive clearing is east of the Refuge boundary near Russian River. Also Suzanne reported on the American Water Resource Association meeting field earlier in the week, in which Dick Reger made a presentation and led a field trip. The Kenai Watershed Forum is going to sponsor a mini forum on May 23 at the Kenai River Center to discuss contaminated site management along the Kenai River. They are looking at setting up a panel and having NOAA, DGGS, University of Fairbanks, ADEC, Borough and an advisory board member present. They want to do a panel discussion on hydrology and different contaminated sites throughout the peninsula. Suzanne would like a board member to be chosen by the next meeting. Bill S. said he talked to Rex Young, Carl's supervisor, who was in charge of the project and Bill suggested flagging the right of way prior to work commencing, and then an agency review after completion. Brett A. said at the next meeting they will have DOT here to talk about the Soldotna Urban Project and perhaps they can tell the board where they are with this issue also. DEC will also be here to talk about the contaminated sites. V. PUBLIC COMMENT Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes Aprit 13, 2002 Page 9 of 11 Joe Malatesta, Sr. spoke on how the board has a tough job and has an obligation to protect habitat for everyone. He believes this board should go to the Alaska Board of Fish to urge for a zero loss of habitat. Joe M. said the board is not fulfilling their obligation to protect habitat losses. He said that building boardwalks is not the answer to fixing the habitat. Jim G. said everyone here is concerned with the Kenai River and this board tries to do what is best for the river system. Joe M. said he is not accusing the board of not doing anything but he said he has not seen any results from this board. Dave Martin said he was concerned that the Board talked more about other issues than about Mary King's report on the loss of habitat. He urged the Board to complete the next phase of the boat wake study. Jeff Bedouin expressed concerns about the loss of habitat that ADF&G verified, and urged the board to do more to protect habitat at Board of Fish meetings. Rod Berg said there is a new impact on the river that folks might not be aware of This involves the towing of drift boats upriver. Guides and non-guides are drifting downriver from the Soldotna Bridge to the Beaver Creek area and being towed back upriver to start over again. This is creating major wakes because of the drift boats are really plowing through the water. Rod said this is going to get out of hand. Rod said he is asking the state to outlaw drift boats with commercial registrations from the Kenai River because this fishery was established to give Joe Fisherman an opportunity at This fishery (on drift boat Mondays). He also is asking the State to outlaw the towing of drift boats. Rod also asked the State to reduce the current Yz mile area restriction to %4 mile for duck hunting on the Kenai River. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes April 18, 2002 Page 10 of 11 VI. ADJOURNMENT A. Board Comments Bill S. said the USFS would be willing to do another presentation and summary regarding the Russian River habitat studies. Paul S. said benzene has been located in wells near the Zipmart and it is still spreading. He also said the Board needs to take more action to protect habitat, as was suggested tonight. Deric M. said he believes Don Fritz from DEC did say there was benzene in the drinking water near the Zipmart at the last meeting. B. Date/Agenda of Next Meeting May 16, 2002 DOT staff will discuss the Soldotna Urban Project, and ADEC will have staff available to discuss the River Terrace contamination report, and discuss the contaminated sites program. The USFS will have staff available to discuss , habitat restoration efforts in the upper river area. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Meeting Minutes Aprill3, 2002 Paee ] 1 of ll