A report presented today to Commissioner John Shively of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, concludes that the riparian management system on private timberlands in coastal Alaska is adequately protecting salmon habitat near timber harvest areas. The report, by Martin Environmental, Inc., of Seattle, is the result of analyzing 4 years of data, gathered on 15 selected streams in Alaska’s coastal forest, according to Jack Phelps, executive director of the Alaska Forest Association. The study was paid for by AFA, Sealaska Corporation, Koncor Forest Products, Klukwan Forest Products, Atikon Forest Products, the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Division of Forestry.

The study, titled “The Effectiveness of Riparian Buffer Zones for Protection of Salmonid Habitat in Alaska Coastal Streams,” monitored streams in both logged and unlogged watersheds, and focused particularly on the effect stream buffers have on the amount of large woody debris (LWD) that gets into or will likely get into streams after logging takes place nearby. Large woody debris is important because it contributes to the formation of pools that salmon need during their early life before they migrate out to sea.

“Sealaska and AFA launched this study in 1993 because an important feature of the Forest Practices Act was the requirement to monitor the effectiveness of the Act’s provisions. The timber industry wanted to ensure that monitoring would, in fact, take place and that it would be based on the best science available,” said Phelps. The monitoring program included analysis of stand composition in the riparian zones, stream channel characteristics, LWD, stream shading, spawning gravel conditions, and sedimentation.

“The Martin study especially examined changes within the buffers, and looked at how large woody debris gets into streams and interacts with channel structure to form and maintain fish rearing habitat,” Phelps said. “We are pleased that the findings in this study confirm the information we had in 1989 when we were rewriting the Forest Practices Act. Buffers 66 feet wide on either side of these streams are not only adequate to provide habitat protection, but they are of optimum size to ensure the continued supply of LWD needed to form the all- important rearing pools.”

“The research involved data gathered on the ground using conventional methods and research design, but also included new technology that provides a highly accurate photographic record of the dynamics of riparian buffers, according to Phelps. “The low elevation stereo photography that was used in this research is cutting edge stuff,” Phelps said. “We are excited that our study was used to pioneer this new technology. It is now being used in other parts of the country, and is likely to become a standard tool in this type of research.”

A summary of the report’s findings is attached.

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