Anchorage Waterways Council

The mission of the AWC is to protect, restore, and enhance the waterways, wetlands, and associated uplands of Anchorage.

What's Up

Renew or Donate here

Subscribe or Unsubscribe from our e-Newsletter Streamline

Hot Items

AWC Calendar

ADN "Next time you flush" by Julia O'Malley 1/17/10

ADN "Business is booming for Anchorage E-Waste Recycler" 1/17/10

Explore our creeks and monitoring sites with Google Earth Virtual Tours!

RAINGARDENS AND OTHER METHODS TO DEAL WITH FALL RAINS

SAVE THE DATE!

AWC-MOA Creek Clean-up and Celebration
Saturday, May 8, 9-2

AWC Receives Second Grant from Patagonia!

Just before the Christmas holidays, we received our second grant from Patagonia, which has a wonderful environmental program that contributes to worthy causes worldwide. Our first Patagonia grant allowed us to focus on local issues in Anchorage and to teach two classes for citizens to observe, report, and possibly mitigate issues affecting our creeks.

The new grant will focus on bringing together creek neighbors, similar to a Neighborhood Watch, in order to make observations on concerns and changes involving our waterways. We have found that a neighbor-to-neighbor approach is very effective and spreads creek stewardship quickly. Thanks, Patagonia!

Anyone interested in forming a neighborhood group to watch over a creek can contact Cherie Northon at cherie@anchoragecreeks.org.

Change at the Anchorage Waterways Council

After assessing its organizational needs, the Anchorage Waterways Council (AWC) has chosen to co-locate with the Alaska Center for the Environment (ACE), effective immediately. This change will allow AWC resources to be more efficiently focused on supporting our programs and fulfilling our organizational mission. We are genuinely excited about the opportunity to share space and ideas with a similarly-minded, dynamic, grassroots organization such as ACE.

Please note that while our physical address has changed, our mailing address and main telephone number have not. Please continue to mail all correspondence to:

Anchorage Waterways Council
P.O. Box 241774
Anchorage, AK 99524-1774

Our new physical address is:

Anchorage Waterways Council
807 G St., Suite 100
Anchorage, AK 99501

Please call (907) 27-CREEK (907-272-7335) for general information and all questions regarding our Citizen's Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) or email monitoring@anchoragecreeks.org.

For information regarding our Adopt-A-Stream/Creeks as Classrooms programs, please call Cherie Northon, Environmental Education Director, at (907) 561-4627 or email her at cherie@anchoragecreeks.org.

If you want to notify AWC of a creek concern, please use the "Citizen Reporting" link at the top of this page or call the general number.

We have a general email address also, awc@anchoragecreeks.org. Additional information is always available on this website, www.anchoragecreeks.org.

As we enter an exciting new chapter of our history, we would like to thank our membership and community partners for making possible what we do every day. It is because of you that we are able to make a difference in our communities and creeks. To all of you, to ACE, and to those who believe in good stewardship of our environment, we thank you.

Air Force Squadron Joins Forces with AWC to Attack Creek Trash

More comfortable in F-22 Raptors speeding through the air, part of the 525^th Aircraft Maintenance Unit Squadron from Elmendorf was on a new mission Saturday, November 7. Recently returned from deployment, they were trekking up Chester Creek, east of Muldoon, to tackle unsightly and detrimental debris deposited in one of Anchorage’s salmon-bearing creeks. Earlier in the week, Cherie Northon and SSgt Gregory Manning did a reconnaissance where they didn’t have to look any farther than the culvert under Muldoon at DeBarr to find a full-size refrigerator and a tire in the creek. Not only was there concern about the potential chemicals, such as Freon, that could be leaking into the creek, but the refrigerator could easily become a major impediment in the culvert’s upstream end causing flooding during spring break-up as well as blockage of fish passage. Helping to keep the refrigerator company was an assortment of tires, beer bottles, disposable diapers, tents, clothing, reclining upholstered chairs, dryers, and other trash both in the creek and along the bank.

Traditionally Anchorage Waterways Council has its annual Creek Cleanup in May. So why now and how has this unusual partnership come about? SSgt Manning says that the squadron, affectionately known as the “Bulldogs”, has recently returned from deployment and is a proud squadron that has a lot of pride in their work ethics and their way of life, and community involvement is a small portion of what they do in enriching their community ties. Returned only a month, they wanted to hit the ground running and show that the value of our military extends well beyond the gates of the base. Welcome back, and on behalf of Anchorage creeks, we are pleased that you chose to adopt this creek as a project.

Before refrigerator was removed

During refrigerator removal

After refrigerator was removed

Some of the Squadron, family, and "assistants"

Report your concerns about habitat destruction or creek degradation to AWC or to an agency.

Municipality of Anchorage Stormwater Compliance:
343-7911 or 343-8008

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation:
Division of Water
269-7599

Hazardous Spills
269-3063
800 478-9300 (after hours)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
800 424-4372 (Seattle)

Anchorage Waterways Council
272-7335

H2H--Highway to Highway UPDATE

On Nov. 3rd, Senator Johnny Ellis and Representative Berta Gardner delivered a Record of Public Opposition to the proposed alternatives for the potential Highway2Highway project to the project office. The Record consists of public comments from homeowners and citizens of the affected areas, resolutions from Community Councils and the Anchorage Assembly, and news items about the controversy.

Since news of the alternatives became widely known in late September thanks to the work of a few citizen activists, hundreds of people have spoken up, including strong resolutions from a combined 450+ people at the Campbell Park, Rogers Park, and Airport Heights Community Councils. “I will not support any route that destroys an established neighborhood,” said Sen. Ellis. “Working together, we can save our homes and quality of life. The Department of Transportation should listen to the voices of the neighborhoods and eliminate these misguided alternatives from consideration.”

The record represents a group of dedicated citizens who have worked to establish and maintain a quality of life in some of Anchorage’s most defined neighborhoods. Their comments include a number of passionate insights about traffic and transportation planning, the future of Anchorage’s neighborhoods, and the city as a whole.

Copies will also be made available to each of the community councils involved in the process.

If you are concerned about having bypasses and expressways running through your neighborhoods (or maybe even your house and yard), you should be carefully looking at the plans to connect the New Seward to the Glenn Highway. HDR (a national architecture-engineering firm with an Anchorage office) and the Alaska Department of Transportation (AKDOT) have developed a website with information about "potential" corridors to connect these two highways. Please carefully check out their website www.highway2highway.com/ and see if you or your neighborhood is affected.

There was a public comment period that ended October 30. You can still email them with comments as well as your Legislative and Assembly reps, Community Council, and Mayor Sullivan. Please look at the information and let your voice be heard. As an example, the East City Alternative suggests that highways would be sized to meet anticipated demand, there would be neighborhood connectivity improvements, etc. They do not mention that the newly proposed highway that extends International Airport Road east could be EIGHT lanes and will run through neighborhoods, the edge of Tudor Elementary, across our creeks and through wetlands.

Great Gift Ideas!

AWC has published a Map and Nature Guide for the Campbell Creek Trail

The map/guide is printed on water and tear-resistant paper--perfect for outdoors. It is 11" x 17" and folds down to easily fit into a pocket. Come by our office and pick one up for only $5, or have one shipped to you for $7. Maps are also available at REI. Please call 272-7335 or Email us at awc@anchoragecreeks.org for more information or to place an order. All proceeds go toward protecting our creeks.

Give yourself or a friend one of these beautiful posters
and help Little Campbell Creek at the same time.

GIFT MEMBERSHIPS!

Help us rehabilitate Little Campbell Creek by purchasing one of our posters. These 11" x 17'' posters show how spectacular an urban creek can look when development is done responsibly. Come by our office and pick one up for only $5, or have one shipped to you for $10. Please call 272-7335 or email us at awc@anchoragecreeks.org for more information or to place an order. All proceeds go toward protecting Little Campbell Creek.

You can also buy a membership or give a donation on behalf of someone. They will receive a postcard from us telling them the donation amount and who it is from. Please give us a call or send us an email if you are interested in giving an AWC membership this holiday season.

Protecting Our Creeks

The most basic step in caring for our creeks is something that everyone can do. While you travel throughout our city take notice of the many creeks and look for anything that “doesn’t seem right”. Use your instincts, these can include a creek that normally runs clear and is now running cloudy, a pipe dumping nasty water into a creek, clearing of vegetation right next to the creek, or a development project with muddy water entering the creek. If it looks nasty and not good for fish, then it probably isn’t.

You can let us know about these issues in two ways:

CALL 272-7335 or GO TO the Citizen Reporting Tab on this site and submit a form (can be anonymous)

Check out our "Taking Action on Community Issues" link to see examples of our successes.

What We Do

What's Up