Student Research Reports

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The Cripple Creek restoration project was implemented with the intention to restore flow into the original Cripple Creek channel and prioritize the restoration of Chinook salmon habitat. After six years of research and construction, the newly established flow within the original creek-bed washed out the spillways during the spring melt in 2021, resulting in a failure to restore the original creek’s flow. Engineering plans are currently in motion to reevaluate the project and implement new and improved infrastructure to the drain. As this is the first project of its nature in the subarctic to install a potential dam to focus on fish habitat and passage, documentation and analysis of this project is crucial to future projects within Alaska. By using GLOBE Observer Landcover App to document the extent of land disturbance and the fall 2021 freeze-up process that occurred within this project , we aim to improve future projects by analyzing contributing factors and preventing the same mistakes. In studying the original failure and eventual success of the Cripple Creek restoration project, we can implement the successful measures in other fish-centered hydrology restoration projects across the Arctic and subarctic.