Beaver Creek is one of the Kenai River’s most important tributaries, flowing south from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge under the Kenai Spur Highway, to where it meets the main stem at river mile 10. In addition to being a highly productive salmon stream, groundwater from near Beaver Creek supplies the City of Kenai’s municipal wells. Given the unique importance of Beaver Creek for people, fish, and wildlife, we wanted to understand how changing climate conditions could alter this landscape in the future.
From 2022 – 2024, KWF worked with scientists from the US Geological Survey to assess future “Hydro-Climate” scenarios for Beaver Creek. The final report published this month is a deep trove of fascinating results. To highlight just a few:
- Summer streamflow of Beaver Creek is 64% groundwater
- Total streamflow in Beaver Creek was 60% higher in 2022 – 2024 compared to 1968 – 1978
- Water temperatures are warming and will continue to warm in the future, but groundwater inputs are essential to helping keep temperatures cooler
Example figure from Leaf et. al 2024, highlighting hydro-climate models for Beaver Creek, Alaska.
The full report is available for download on the USGS website. We look forward to hearing from the community to discuss further details of this work, and what it means for management and conservation.
Thanks to everyone who made this work possible, and a special shout out to USGS’s Meg Haserodt, former KWF intern-turned-staff (2009, 2011 – 2012), for reaching out to make this project happen! To see what a day of fieldwork on this project is like, check out this short YouTube video from 2024 KWF intern Row Dirks!
