By Jessica Edwards
Citing a radio-tagging study of spawning sockeye conducted last
summer, Fish and Game biologists are expressing concern about a proposed hydroelectric
project at Connelly Lake in the upper Chilkoot River Valley.
The study found about 21 percent of the run spawns in the upper
river above the lake, biologist Randy Bachman told the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve
Advisory Council last week.
“The upper river is very, very important to Chilkoot Lake
sockeye,” Bachman said in an interview. While the proposed project might prove sound,
Bachman said, “We’ve got to be careful.”
Of 232 spawning sockeyes tagged over two years, 48 spawned in
inlet streams feeding Chilkoot Lake and 171 spawned in the lake itself. Transmitter
locations showed lake spawners were most highly concentrated on the west and northwest
lakeshore.
Bachman said the hydro project, proposed by local utility Alaska
Power and Telephone at Connelly Lake about three miles north of the lake, was unique in
its proximity to sockeye rearing. “I’m not aware of any hydro project in
Southeast placed in a large, sockeye-producing system.”
That means there aren’t comparative studies Fish and Game
could draw on to determine potential impacts of a large hydro project on sockeye stocks,
he said.
AP&T regional manager Stan Selmer said in January king
salmon runs in Pullen Creek in Skagway, downstream from Dewey Lake hydro, had gained
strength in recent years.
But sockeye are particularly sensitive to environmental change,
Bachman said, because of their long rearing time in fresh water and their reliance on the
lake environment.
Among concerns Bachman cited are increased glacial flow coming
from Connelly Lake in winter months through the proposed project’s dam and penstock,
which might impact rearing fish, and increased turbidity in inlet streams and Chilkoot
Lake from development and construction. Turbidity is a clouded water condition that can be
caused by sedimentation.
Bachman said recent studies of Chilkoot Lake sockeye showed a
direct relationship between turbidity levels and sockeye production.
The Fish and Game study specifically correlated warmer air
temperatures, increased glacial melt, and increased turbidity with decreased food sources
and lower sockeye returns per spawning fish.
Bachman said the Chilkoot was famous for wildly fluctuating runs
based on variable summer temperatures, but said adding sources of turbidity to the
pristine watershed would negatively affect the run.
“The concern I have is increased turbidity in the lake
through construction,” said Bachman. “Sockeye are one of the most sensitive
species and most subject to environmental change.”
Chilkoot Lake sockeye stocks comprise 30 to 40 percent of Lynn
Canal sockeye, which Bachman said contributed about $1 million to the area’s
commercial fishery.
Commercial processor Clyde Bell said the Chilkoot sockeye
fishery wasn’t worth risking. “That run out there is definitely diminished”
compared to previous years,” Bell said, naming beavers as a possible culprit.
“Preferably we’d find some other location… We need to be trying to enhance
and protect that run, not endanger it.”
Bell said the borough needed additional, clean sources of power
but faulted AP&T for applying for only one permit to develop hydro project when other
locations in Haines and Skagway could be viable.
Besides posing potential dangers to the sockeye run, Bell said,
the community was liable to put up a fight over a hydro project in Chilkoot River
corridor. “It’s going to be a community battle.
“We need a rational approach that will provide clean
hydropower while protecting our salmon.”
Chilkoot Indian Association administrator Greg Stuckey said
while the tribe supports AP&T’s grant application for permitting Connelly Lake,
judgment on the project’s merit would await studies proving it was safer for fish.
“If they
propose a project that will harm fish, it will be a no-go,” he said. Tribal members
rely on the fishery for subsistence food and income, he said.
The CIA also has concerns about potential impacts to
archaeological sites at Chilkoot, Stuckey said.
AP&T expects a decision on a $988,000 grant request to the
state energy authority by March. The money would fund initial design of the 12-megawatt
project, estimated to cost $34 million.