The native village of eklutna (NVE) proposes to continue salmon habitat assessment for the upper eklutna river above eklutna lake in the upper east fork

In 2007 and 2019, NVE performed habitat assessment of the eklutna river below the lake to the inlet, and the upper eklutna river above the lake was surveyed in 2021 22, except for the upper portions of the east fork. All five species are found in the lower portions of the river below the confluence of thunderbird creek. The 2019 study showed the habitat for salmon exists still, pending more waterflow, up to the eklutna lake DAM. Preliminary data and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) indicate all five species of salmon used the entire eklutna river for their lifecycle. TEK also indicates salmon being fished out of the upper river above the lake, though no specifics about which species were caught. NVE proposes to finish the river assessment work to the upper sections of the river for salmon spawning habitat. The work will expand upon previous work on the lower river, but use different methods to define and evaluate spawning bed potential in the upper river. NVE also proposes to continue spawning surveys, redd counts, and minnow trapping, begin collecting baseline genetic information on eklutna river salmon, and to gather more data on water inputs into the lake by measuring the discharge from the upper east and west forks. Interagency working group meetings will continue to consider the results and recommend types of fish passages that will correspond to the flow recommendation from previous projects. The data gathered in this 2 year study will be used to support ongoing advocacy efforts for the implementation of a fish passage at the existing lake DAM and to further advocate for restoration of water to the lower eklutna river.