EYAK LAKE RESTORATION
Introduction to the 2009 - 2010 Eyak Lake Restoration.
Cordova's Million Dollar Eyak Lake
The Copper River Watershed Project continues to focus attention and the funds of four agencies to restore fish habitat in Eyak Lake. Eyak Lake is home to ten fish species, including sockeye, coho, and pink salmon, cutthroat trout, and Dolly Varden.
In 1981 Eyak Lake was recommended to be designated an “Area Meriting Special Attention” by the Alaska Coastal Policy Council because of the lake’s diverse wildlife, scenic beauty, and economic value to the fishing town of Cordova, AK.
In 2009 the Copper River Watershed Project was awarded over a million dollar grant to the CRWP from NOAA, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for economic stimulus, making this the million-dollar grant to restore our million-dollar lake. Other funding sources include: USFWS, NFWF, and the Alaska Coastal Management Program.
Goals for Eyak Lake Restoration
One goal is to restore lake circulation by excavating two sections of fill placed into the lake: one at the causeway connecting Mavis Island to the Copper River highway and the second being a spit off of Power Creek Road. The second goal is to restore fish passage under roadways by replacing three culverts at Eccles Creek and Whiskey Creek with embedded culverts to simulate natural stream conditions. The third restoration goal is to restore lake spawning habitat by relocating Cordova’s public boat ramp away from a sockeye spawning bed and the local airstrip to a location more favorable with the area's prevailing easterly winds.
Long-term goals include continuing prioritizing future restoration projects, educating the community and youth on water quality and protection of spawning, rearing, and overwintering habitats, implementing new technologies that will better filter storm water runoff, and working with the City of Cordova and Eyak Lake Planning Team on protecting Eyak Lake's diverse aquatic habitat for Cordova's future.
