Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska: water resources scoping report
Weeks D. 1999. Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska: water resources scoping report. Technical Report. NPS/NRWRD/NRTR-99/226. National Park Service. Denver
Katmai National Park and Preserve (KATM) and the Alagnak Wild River, which is managed by KATM, lie in a hydrologically complex environment in southwestern Alaska that has evolved around several volcanic and glacial events. The park includes the largest freshwater lake (228mi2), and one of the longest continuous segments of marine coast (398mi) in the national park system, including an intricate network of streams, wetlands, and smaller lakes. Healthy water resources play an important role in the success of KATM's diverse biota. The park's waters support significant sockeye salmon spawning habitat upon which the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery, the largest in the world, and the regional economy depend. The National Park Service (NPS) is aware of both widespread and local threats, which have the potential to degrade KATM's water resources. This, along with the lack of baseline water resource information, led the park to request assistance from NPS Water Resources Division (WRD), to prepare this report. This report identifies and briefly describes the natural resources at KATM, which includes the Alagnak Wild River and the surrounding area, and the significant water-related issues that park management is challenged to address. The report also summarizes the park's existing natural resources program to evaluate current staffing and projects and to identify some of the park's management needs.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Weeks, Don
- Date of Issue
- 1999-09
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- KATM , WRD
- Keywords
- Biological Resources, Geology, Groundwater, Hydrology, Management, Salmon, Soils, Surface Water, Water Quality, Water Resources, water resources scoping report, Watersheds, WRBIB