Trout Unlimited’s work to restore a damaged salmon river in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is featured in the January issue of Pacific Fishing magazine.

Sitkoh River, Chichagof Island, Tongass National Forest

TU partnered with the Forest Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Sitka Conservation Society last summer to rehabilitate the Sitkoh River on Chichagof Island. The river – an important producer of pink and coho salmon, steelhead, Dolly Varden, and cutthroat trout – lost much of its spawning and rearing capacity back in the 1970s when loggers removed old-growth trees growing along the banks. Those trees provided bank stability, shade and nutrients to the river, all essential ingredients for young fish.

Workers use heavy equipment to restore Sitkoh River

The restoration work last summer involved recreating the river’s natural habitat conditions so that the Sitkoh’s fish populations can rebound. Read more.