Stream Watch

Making a Difference

Stream Watch started in 1994 when concerned citizens and anglers joined together to protect the Russian and Kenai Rivers and the world famous salmon runs and trout these rivers support.

When Stream Watch began, vital riverside habitat that supports fish, insects, birds, and mammals was threatened by trampling as tens of thousands of visitors flocked to fish the abundant salmon runs in Kenai Peninsula rivers. Trampled riverbanks degrade water quality, destabilize river banks, and cause erosion. Stream Watch volunteers stepped in with support from Chugach National Forest and US Fish and Wildlife Service to provide education and stewardship in order to protect the health of the areas rivers.

Through 25 years of successful efforts by program volunteers and partners, Stream Watch expanded across the Kenai Peninsula.

What We Do

The Stream Watch mission is to assist land management agencies with hands-on river restoration projects and peer-to-peer education on the Kenai Peninsula. Stream Watch volunteers sustain healthy rivers through EDUCATION, RESTORATION, and PROTECTION.

Volunteers EDUCATE thousands of anglers every summer on how to decrease their impacts on our rivers.

With the installation of fencing projects, bank stabilization, and elevated boardwalks, volunteers RESTORE damaged river banks.

With education and restoration efforts, volunteers PROTECT and generate salmon habitat.

Administration

Stream Watch is administered in a partnership between Chugach National Forest and Kenai Watershed Forum. The program receives oversight from a steering committee that includes partners from the local, state, and federal agencies.

The Kenai Watershed Forum is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining the health of Kenai Peninsula watersheds in Alaska. KWF is recognized as the regional watershed organization of the peninsula and works to successfully identify and address the needs of the region by providing high quality education, restoration, and research programs.

Established in 1905, the Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Forest Service manages public lands in national forests and grasslands which covers over 193 million acres. Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the Forest Service, summed up the mission of the Forest Service— "to provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run."

Partners

The following agencies partner with the Stream Watch program as volunteers leverage agency efforts at extreme high use fishing sites across the peninsula.