Tanana Lakes Recreation Area Master Plan - Fairbanks North Star ...

3 Resource Assessment
The Tanana Lakes is an ideal location for developing a recreation area. The
scenic area is conveniently located, offers great potential for expansion;
complements gravel extraction, is a habitat for migratory birds and other
wildlife, and is along the shoreline of the Tanana River.
This section summarizes the assessment of key resources used to prepare
the Master Plan. The resource management guidelines recommended in the
Master Plan were based on the inventories of key resources of the area.
Floodplain Setting
The project area is located along the north bank of the Tanana River. The
Tanana River flows generally northward for 531 river miles through a broad
alluvial valley. The channel pattern of the Tanana River changes near Fairbanks
from a more open braiding to a narrower braiding. Upstream of Fairbanks
the river is strongly braided, characterized by unstable, unvegetated gravel
bars and multiple channels; downstream of Fairbanks the river meanders
across the floodplain with one or more major channels and stable, vegetated
islands.
A 1992 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) map identifies that
the project area is within Flood Zone A, a special flood hazard area inundated
by 100-year flood events. Major, destructive flooding of the Tanana River
may occur every 50 to 100 years. The project area is located on the riverside
of a flood control levee, protected by a series of groins extending from the
levee to the shoreline of the Tanana River. The Tanana River floods annually
and often inundates the project area, but the groins restrict floodwater from
flowing over the project site and eroding the landscape.
FNSB - Department of Parks and Recreation
TANANA LAKES MASTER PLAN 3-1