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Project Profile: Detect Invasive Aquatics to Improve Salmon Habitat

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Denali National Park & Preserve, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park,

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Invasive Species | FY24 $250,000

Large green and red salmon swimming along river weeds and the rocky river floor.
A salmon in Alaska swimming up river.

NPS Photo

The National Park Service (NPS) will improve salmon habitat in the Yukon-Kuskokwim watershed by detecting invasive plants. NPS staff will survey high-priority rivers and lakes for invasive Elodea spp. Alaska parks have dedicated little effort for this injurious invasive species, despite that known populations of Elodea found in adjacent waterbodies used to access parks by boat and float plane. An NPS crew will conduct searches of waterbodies for early detection of Elodea in parks, and additional funding will be directed towards treatment of nearby waterbodies that are used to access parks.

Why? Elodea is easily spread between waterbodies, and once established is very difficult to eradicate. Elodea proliferates rapidly in affected waterbodies, leading to negative effects on native species including salmon.

What else? The project will allow for NPS staff and youth interns to travel to and survey bodies of water across the region. Number of lakes surveyed per year and use of GIS to document presence/absence of Elodea will be documented for project success.

Learn More About This Project

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  • Preventing Elodea Colonization of Salmon Habitat

    • Sites: Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Region 11, Denali National Park & Preserve, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Katmai National Park & Preserve,
    A thick mat of elodea.

    Alaska has one of the most productive salmon fisheries in the world but an invasive plant threatens the quality of lakes for salmon spawning. Funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) have energized early detection efforts to find and prevent the spread of non-native Elodea to freshwater salmon habitat.

  • Denali National Park & Preserve

    Proactive, early detection could protect Alaska’s lakes from invasive elodea

    Three people facing away from the camera, a looming mountain in the distance

    The National Park Service is surveying remote lakes in Alaska to detect invasive elodea early and prevent the aquatic plant from spreading, altering fragile ecosystems and iconic landscapes, and changing the nature of the parks.

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Last updated: November 14, 2024