Brilliant green vegetation hugs a small creek bed. Rays of sunlight filter through the leaves and strike the water.

Pacific Salmon Resiliency

Habitat Rehabilitation and Restoration

BLM-managed public lands in the upper Yukon River portion of Alaska have been the focus of applied research and the application of new techniques regarding stream reclamation since 2013. Many stream reclamation focused demonstration projects have been implemented over the last ten years and serve as outdoor classrooms for agency staff, industry stakeholders, and the public. The BLM also developed several resources to improve project success across the region including the publication of an interagency Stream Design Guide and Stream Reclamation Basics brochure. Despite these successes, significant habitat rehabilitation opportunities remain. 

 The BLM continues to refine stream rehabilitation techniques while improving riverscape health through targeted restoration work across the BLM Restoration Landscapes (Restoration Landscapes | Bureau of Land Management) in the upper Yukon River region. The bureau’s expanded work within other areas of Gravel to Gravel (Norton Sound, Yukon, and Kuskokwim regions) begins in 2025. Details about these projects below. 

A person in an orange reflective vest and white hard hat directs heavy equipment operator along stream bank.
Placing vegetation mats, as displayed here, creates "instant" streambanks along a newly constructed section of stream previously impacted from mining. BLM photo

Wade Creek Watershed 

Wade Creek is a tributary of the Walker Fork in the Fortymile Wild and Scenic River corridor and has a rich history of placer mining dating back to the mid-1800s. It is accessible by the Taylor Highway and visitors to the area can enjoy spectacular vistas overlooking tributaries of the Fortymile River and learn about the region’s mining history at the Tok Visitor Center and in the community of Chicken. Wade Creek and other streams of the Fortymile watershed support sport fisheries for Arctic grayling and provide diverse boating opportunities (Fortymile Wild and Scenic River | Bureau of Land Management).    

Evidence of current and historic placer mining in the Wade Creek watershed can be seen by visitors and anglers traveling through the area. Large creek sections are on closed federal claims, which can no longer be mined due to their location within the Fortymile Wild and Scenic River unit. Even so, decades after mining ceased, these areas remain degraded. 

Numerous sections of Wade Creek have been treated to improve habitat conditions since 2015. Restoration efforts along Wade Creek are challenging due to mix of existing (recorded) and closed federal mining claims and constraints imposed by the Taylor Highway which parallels the creek along the valley bottom. 

All BLM-funded habitat enhancement projects have improved stream function except one project that failed during a high-water event three years after construction. That failure added to the bureau’s knowledge, and paired with other project success is a basic tenet of adaptive management and has refined our restoration techniques over time.  

 Wade Creek’s degraded conditions contribute to repeated closures and routine maintenance to the Taylor Highway. More restoration work will improve stream functions within the watershed will reduce impacts to existing highway infrastructure at Mile Post 86.  

We are continuing our work to rehabilitate habitats on closed federal claims within the Wade Creek watershed and expand outreach to the many visitors traveling the Taylor Highway.  Starting in 2025, the BLM will be developing a strategic and stepwise approach to restoration. Reducing erosion and sediment inputs to the stream from historic mine tailings in the upper watershed will be a near term focus. Long term efforts will focus on rehabilitating instream habitats and improving floodplain revegetation. A comprehensive long-term monitoring program will assess the effectiveness of restoration within the watershed. The Taylor Highway parallels Wade Creek for most of its length, so the BLM is working with stakeholders to develop information kiosks that will help tell the mining history of the area, as well as the challenges associated with restoring stream and floodplain conditions. 

 
Before and after photos of Wade Creek in Alaska.
A before and after comparison of habitat enhancement at Wade Creek. The image on the left is before work began in 2018. The image on the right shows increased vegetation and improved floodplain connectivity six years after rehabilitation work was completed. BLM photos

Nome Creek Watershed 

Nome Creek supports a popular grayling fishery in the White Mountains National Recreation Area and is a major tributary of the Beaver Creek Wild and Scenic River. This area often sees high levels of visitation due to the nearby BLM designated campgrounds (Ophir Creek and Mt. Prindle), and recreation opportunities, such as hiking, gold-panning, and boating (White Mountains National Recreation Area | Bureau of Land Management).     

Like Wade Creek, Nome Creek has a rich history of placer mining and is the focus of several habitat improvement projects. Much of the past work is summarized in BLM Open File Report 113 (BLM 2007). Much like Wade Creek, this project seeks to continue the stabilization of closed federal claims and abandoned mine lands in the watershed and address stream alignment issues which contribute to erosion of the Nome Creek Road and risks to the bridge crossing. Unlike Wade Creek, Nome Creek has limited infrastructure in the valley and no remaining Federal mining claims.   

Initial work began in 2023 with over 1,000 feet of stream channel restored to enhance habitats for Arctic grayling using a combination of proven techniques and experimental methods such as random boulder cluster and log placement. The project included channel realignment to reduce impacts to the road and bridge supports. Work to restore both stream and floodplain conditions using a variety of various methods began in 2024 and will continue into the future. Like Wade Creek, the BLM developed a comprehensive monitoring program to assess the effectiveness of restoration along the 8-miles of stream planned for treatment.  

Before and after shots of creek.
Left Image: Lower Nome Creek section prior to realignment and restoration. Extensive bank erosion and limited pool habitat dominated this section of stream. Right Image: Lower Nome Creek section after realignment to improve flow through the bridge span and improve the quality of pool habitats and bank stability.
Before and after photos of Nome Creek.
Left Image: Lower section of Nome Creek prior to realignment and restoration. Shallow stream conditions with limited habitat for Arctic grayling. Right Image: Lower section of Nome Creek one month after restoration. Increased pool abundance and vegetated streambanks to improve habitat for grayling. BLM photos.

Harrison Creek Watershed 

Harrison Creek is a major tributary to the Birch Creek National Wild and Scenic River and is partially located in the Steese National Conservation Area. It was extensively placer-mined for gold starting in the late 1890s and contains a mixture of existing (recorded) and closed federal mining claims.  

In 2001, BLM initiated restoration efforts in the Harrison Creek watershed but only completed restoration work on 1.5 miles of stream due to limited funding. The 2016 Steese Resource Management Plan identified Harrison Creek as a High Priority Restoration Watershed noting that biological and physical processes and functions do not reflect natural conditions because of past and long-term human-caused land disturbances.   

The Harrison Creek project continues restoration of approximately 10-miles of placer-mined stream channel on abandoned mine lands within the watershed. Starting in 2024, BLM initiated a multi-year project to assess conditions and begin development of a restoration treatment strategy.   

A photo of south fork of the Harrison Creek.
View of Harrison Creek within the Steese National Conservation Area. The remnants of it mining past remain evident with piles of unvegetated mine tailing, eroding streambanks, and shallow riffle dominated habitats extending for many miles. BLM photo

Salmon River Watershed

The Salmon River drains to Kuskokwim Bay in Southwest Alaska and is accessible by road from the community of Platinum. All five species of Pacific Salmon use this watershed and a USFWS weir has operated at the mouth of the river since 2023. Chum, pink, and sockeye salmon return in the 1000s and peak run timing occurs in late July to early August for all species except for coho, which return in late August.  

The Salmon River drainage has been mined nearly continuously since 1927 when hand mining operations began in the shallow gravels of Salmon River tributaries. In 1934, a new operator shipped equipment and supplies necessary to set up a complete and self-sufficient modern mining camp to Goodnews Bay.  Early in 1935 the Goodnews Bay Mining Company was incorporated, consolidating and acquiring title to over 150 claims. A dredge was purchased in 1937, which allowed the mining of deep reserves of platinum and considerably more ground.  

Tailings were discharged from the dredge by a 140-foot-long stacker, which created formidable tailing piles. During World War II, when most gold mining operations were shut down, but the platinum mined by the Goodnews Bay Mining Company was listed as critical and the mine was one of few that continued to operate through the war.  

 

Photo of Salmon River's dry bed.
The scope and scale of mine tailings encroaching on the Salmon River is immense. This image shows not only the tailings but also an intermittent section of the river which limits fish passage seasonally. A BLM fish biologist can be seen in the distant background collecting data. BLM photo.

The Goodnews Bay platinum mine produced about 650,000 ounces of platinum. The dredge and dragline created about 44 million cubic yards of tailings and waste rock; the magnitude of which is difficult to comprehend. The 44 million cubic yards of tailings would cover the area of a football field over 27,000 feet deep, exceeding the vertical height of Mt. McKinley! 

Photo from inside the cockpit of a helicopter overflying dry riverbed
BLM photo taken from a helicopter flying above the Salmon River towards the bay. The extensive mine tailings constraining the stream and old mining equipment are easily visible on the landscape.

The extensive tailings in the Salmon River watershed block salmon migrations in the mainstem during summer low flows and permanently block access to some tributaries. According to the USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), the drainage network comprises 59 miles of streams. Currently, during the summer months, fish only have access to approximately 7 miles of stream habitat. Observations along the intermittent sections of stream found blocked adult migrations to spawning areas and mortality of rearing juveniles. 

In collaboration with partners, the BLM and USFWS are planning a multi-year effort to close key data gaps necessary to develop a restoration plan that improves watershed conditions and provides salmon and other fish species full access to spawning and rearing habitats.   

Image composition of dried stream bed with another zoomed image looking at a dead salmon fry in a pool.
Images from a dewatered section of the Salmon River during the spring of 2019. Isolated puddles of water stranded juvenile salmon and resident fish leading to their demise as water levels continued to diminish.