2  Study Area

2.1 Description

Located in southcentral Alaska, the Kenai River is part of the Cook Inlet Basin and is linked to the surrounding communities through sport and commercial fishing, tourism, recreation, and the propagation of fish and wildlife (Figure 2.1). Five species of Pacific salmon flourish in the Kenai River Watershed, with sockeye (red) and Chinook (king) salmon as the primary species of interest for harvest in subsistence, sport, commercial, and personal use fisheries (Schoen et al. 2017). The Kenai River his historically produced 80% of the sockeye harvested in Cook Inlet (Dorava and Milner 2000).

Surface runoff, groundwater composition, natural minerals, aquatic plants and animals, and human activities can affect water quality in this area. Potential sources of pollution from humans include gasoline powered boat engines, agriculture, mining, street runoff, and perforated septic tanks (Glass, RL 1999; Reeves et al. 2018; EPA 2011).

2.2 Figures/maps

2.2.1 Online Map of Sample Sites

Access ArcGIS Online project map at https://arcg.is/0LXGSf

Figure 2.1: Location in Alaska of Kenai River Watershed

Figure 2.2: Location of water quality sampling sites

2.3 Sampling sites descriptions/photos

Field sampling sites described in Figure 2.2 are introduced below with a photo a coordinates for each location.

2.3.1 Tributary Sites

A brief description of each of the tributary stem field sampling sites, along with coordinates and a photo.

2.3.2 Main Stem Sites

This section will include a brief description of each of the main stem field sampling sites, along with coordinates and a photo.

Dorava, Joseph M, and Alexander M Milner. 2000. “Role of Lake Regulation on Glacier-Fed Rivers in Enhancing Salmon Productivity: The Cook Inlet Watershed, South-Central Alaska, USA.” Hydrol. Process. 14 (16-17): 3149–59. https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1085(200011/12)14:16/17<3149::aid-hyp139>3.0.co;2-y.

EPA. 2011. “Nonpoint Source Program Success Story, Alaska: Upgrading Boat Motors Reduces Hydrocarbon Pollution.” https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/ak_kenai.pdf.

Glass, RL. 1999. “Water-Quality Assessment of the Cook Inlet Basin, Alaska Summary of Data Through 1997.” https://doi.org/10.3133/wri994116.

Reeves, Mari Kathryn, Margaret Perdue, Lee Ann Munk, and Birgit Hagedorn. 2018. “Predicting Risk of Trace Element Pollution from Municipal Roads Using Site-Specific Soil Samples and Remotely Sensed Data.” Sci. Total Environ. 630 (July): 578–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.171.

Schoen, Erik R, Mark S Wipfli, E Jamie Trammell, Daniel J Rinella, Angelica L Floyd, Jess Grunblatt, Molly D McCarthy, et al. 2017. “Future of Pacific Salmon in the Face of Environmental Change: Lessons from One of the World’s Remaining Productive Salmon Regions.” Fisheries 42 (10): 538–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/03632415.2017.1374251.