3.0 Affected Environment - Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority

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Knik Arm Crossing DraftFinal EIS Affected Environment Anchorage The Anchorage portion of the Study Area contains a single anadromous fish stream, Ship Creek (ADF&G No. 247-50-10060) (Figure 3.56). Ship Creek runs approximately 29 miles from its headwaters at Ship Lake in Chugach State Park and drains approximately 123 square miles. The Ship Creek estuary extends from the stream mouth to approximately river mile 0.7, where a dam prevents further tidal influence. According to ADF&G (2005b), four species of Pacific salmon are present in Ship Creek: chinook, coho, chum, and pink (Table 3-30). As a result, Ship Creek is EFH for these four Pacific salmon species. However, only chinook and coho salmon are documented to use the creek for rearing of young. Only chinook are documented to use the creek for spawning, but spawning by pink and coho is likely. Spawning by chum is also possible. Table 3-30. Essential fish habitat designations in the Anchorage portion of the Study Area Salmon species Egg and larvae (freshwater a ) Juvenile (freshwater a ) Juvenile (estuarine b) Spawning (freshwater only a ) Chinook salmon • • • • Chum salmon • Coho salmon • • • c Pink salmon • • c Sockeye salmon • a ADF&G, 2005 b KABATA, 2005x c Matt Miller, Fisheries Biologist, ADF&G, phone conversation with John Burnett, October 19, 2005 Each year, eggs from both chinook and coho adults are harvested by ADF&G and used for hatchery production of smolts, which are subsequently released into Ship Creek. As a result, both stocks are enhanced in large part, if not completely, by ADF&G hatchery plantings. Coho and chinook smolt out-migrate in the spring. Chinook adults are present in Ship Creek from late May through mid-July, while coho adults are present from mid-July through September. Harvests of pink and chum salmon from Ship Creek are much smaller than those of either chinook or coho. These species are expected to inhabit the Creek in small numbers, with little-to-no successful reproduction. 52 52 Personal communication, Matt Miller, Fisheries Biologist, ADF&G, phone conversation with John Burnett, October 19, 2005 3-200 12/18/07
Knik Arm Crossing DraftFinal EIS Affected Environment 3.8.8.2.2 Anadromous fish The Mat-Su There are no anadromous fish streams crossed or adjacent to the Mat-Su portion of the proposed KAC project; therefore, no anadromous fish are expected within this portion of the Study Area. Knik Arm The 2004 and 2005 shoreline and mid-channel sampling collected both juveniles and adults of all five Pacific salmon species. Juvenile salmon numbers peak within Knik Arm from May into August, depending on species, and juvenile salmon use both nearshore and mid-channel habitats in Knik Arm during out-migration to marine feeding areas in lower Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Alaska (Moulton 1997; KABATA 2005b, Pentec 2005). Adult salmon migrate through Knik Arm between May and September to reach spawning grounds in more than a dozen anadromous streams that empty into Knik Arm (KABATA 2005b). The Essential Fish Habitat Assessment (Appendix F) provides additional information on the life history and habitat requirements of anadromous salmonids in Knik Arm as well as their distribution in the vicinity of the Study Area. Longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) and eulachon are seasonally common in Knik Arm. Longfin smelt were the second and third most abundant species caught during the 2004 and 2005 Knik Arm fish and benthos study (KABATA 2005b). Longfin smelt were observed throughout the summer in the lower and middle portions of Knik Arm, with peak abundances in October 2004 and June 2005. Eulachon move through Knik Arm in early spring (April and May) to spawn in area streams. No eulachon were observed from July through November 2004 or 2005. More discussion of eulachon can be found in The Essential Fish Habitat Assessment (Appendix F). Two species of anadromous sticklebacks (threespine and ninespine; Gasterosteus aculeatus and Pungitius pungitius, respectively) are seasonally common in Knik Arm. Threespine stickleback has been the most abundant species overall in all systematic sampling programs conducted north of the Foreland Islands in Lower Cook Inlet (FHWA and ADOT&PF 1983; Moulton 1997; KABATA 2005b; Pentec 2005). In Knik Arm, densities peaked in June and July with recruitment of large numbers of very small (0.5 to 1.0 inch) young-of-the-year fish (KABATA 2005b; Pentec 2005). Presence of these small fish in offshore as well as nearshore sampling suggests that they, like smaller juvenile salmonids, are being passively transported by strong currents. Subadult Bering cisco (Coregonus laurettae), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma) were also occasionally taken in beach seine sampling in and near the Study Area (KABATA 2005b). Anchorage Anadromous fish within the Anchorage portion of the Study Area include Dolly Varden char and four Pacific salmon species discussed in the EFH section, above. 12/18/07 3-201
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3.0 Affected Environment - Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority

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