Electrical Power for Valdez and the Copper River Basin-1981

alder, salmonberry, blueberry, and devilsclub. The steep wallsabove Allison Lake and upper Allison Creek support alpine tundra.Tall shrub thickets dominated by alder and some balsam. poplar' occurin the area of lower Allison Creek. The riparian area above thelake supports mainly willow thickets.The fresh and saltwaters of the Prince William Sound area support anumber of valuable fish species which are of great· economicimportanceto the local economy. The short. coastal streams (approximately700) are important for salmon production. Salmon usage ofthese small streams is so widespread that, unlike other areas ofAlaska, no single stream or small group of streams plays a dominantrole in salmon production. In addition, the island-bay complex ofthe Sound, provides thousands of miles of shoreline. distributed in afiord system particularly suited to early-stage rearing of juvenilesalmon. .The Prince William Sound area has been a rather consistent salmonproducer since 1960. The average total salmon catch of 4.6 millionfish represents approximately 10 percent of the statewide salmonharvest (Table I). The economy of the Prince William Sound area islargely dependent on the commercial salmon fisheries (Table II).The sport fisheries in the Prince William Sound area are also importantto the economy and are primarily centered around the communities ofCordova, Valdez, and Whittier.· the area supports an expandingmarine fishery which is concentrated in Valdez Arm near the city ofValdez.Sport fishing is an important tourist attraction for Valdez and amajor source of summer recreation for local residents. Saltwatersalmon fishing is popular, with coho salmon being the most soughtafter species. Pink and chum salmon are also caught in large numbers,and a few chinook are occasionally landed. Dolly Varden, halibut,rockfish, dungeness crab, and butter clams are also harvested in thesaltwater fishery. Freshwater fishing activity is minor in theValdez area. Salmon fishing is prohibited in all streams draininginto Valdez Bay, and trout habitat and populations are limited.No fish are known to occur in Allison Lake,but fish do inhabit thelower 0.5 mile of Allison Greek. Fish migration above this point isblocked by high water velocity and the steep gradient of the stream.The weir in Allison Creek is also a partial barrier to fish migration.Dolly Varden and sculpin are resident in the creek, while spawningpopulations of adult pink and chum salmon seasonally occur in thesummer and fall. Egg development of salmon occurs through thewinter months until out-migration of fry in early spring.Salmon escapement estimates are limited and the available datacollected between 1960 and 1971 by the Alaska Department of Fish andGame (ADF&G) are given in Table III. It is apparent that escapementcounts on Allison Creek were not conducted on a regular basis;however, numbers of chum salmon counted in 1963 exceeded 2600 and7