Wood River Lake System
- Description
-
The School of Aquatic & Fishery
Sciences maintains field stations on three of the five lakes that
form the Wood River system, just inland from Bristol Bay in the Nushagak
drainage. Much of this lake system and two of the three camps are in
the Wood-Tikchik state park. The lakes are, in order of drainage, Lake
Kulik, Lake Mikchalk, Lake Beverly, Lake Nerka (a sixth lake Little
Togiak drains into Lake Nerka), and Lake Aleknagik .
- Location
- Southwestern Alaska.
- Contact
- Ray Hilborn, Professor, 206-543-3587, rayh@u.washington.edu,
or Sharon Frucci, Administrator, 206-543-4270, sfrucci@u.washington.edu,
School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences.
- Acreage
- The lake system surface area is 105,000 acres.
- Buildings
-
Lake Kulik : four-person shelter, one room, good condition.
Lake Nerka : log cabin, three-room panabode bunkhouse, a second three-room
panabode bunkhouse, 10' x 12' panabode lab, generator shed, two-bedroom
panabode house with kitchen.
Lake Aleknagik : two-room frame house, two-room scow (dock building)
containng a tool and storage shop, 20’x50’ wet lab and classroom,
three-room panabode bunkhouse, three-bedroom house.
- Equipment
-
Lake Aleknagik, site of main laboratory for Wood River field stations:
rudimentary equipment for fisheries biological studies, 7 aluminum boats,
a 2000 Dodge 4-wheel drive pickup, and a 1995 Chevy Suburban.
- Housing
-
Lake Kulik: four-person shelter, one room; Lake Nerka: housing for
up to 12 people; Lake Aleknagik : housing sufficient to support 15 people.
- Owner
- Lake Kulik, Lake Nerka: leased from State of Alaska.
Lake Aleknagik: UW.
- Support
- Research grants and contracts and general operating
funds.
- Recent Usage
- Research: The primary use of all these field stations is gathering data
and maintaining long-term (60 years) to examine the factors leading to
production and sustainability of the pacific salmon populations. The production
and sustainability are determined to a large measure by the interaction
between physical factors and biotic factors. Data collection programs which
monitor climate, primary and secondary productivity of the ecosystem, spawner
distribution and variability as well as age structure for sockeye salmon
populations is collected annually. Collecting fish by beach-seining and
tow netting, and the tagging work provides a way of estimating the impact
of climate and biotic factors on growth and survival of salmon and other
species, as well as providing indices of abundance and thus productivity
of the ecosystem. Monitoring the long term health of the ecosystem and
how it responds to changes requires sampling of the individuals to determine
their abundance and physical condition. The majority of the work and data
collected at these field stations is used by undergraduate and graduate
students to complete degree programs that lead to productive involvement
in fisheries ecology and resource management both in research and industry.
- Usage Fee
- Negotiable.
- Condition
- Good.
- Communication
-
Lake Aleknagik : telephone 907-842-5380, high-speed satellite internet
service, fax 907-842-4214.
- Access
- Lake Kulik and Lake Nerka: boat and float
plane. Lake Aleknagik: By road or air from Dillingham
(24 miles).
- Unique Environment
-
Accessibility to Wood River, Agulawok River, Agulapak River, Wind River
and the Peace River; abundance of flora & fauna.
Lake Nerka: lake, mountains; tundra, birch, alder, spruce; salmon,
trout, char, grayling, brown and black bear, moose, caribou, wolves,
wolverine, mink, fox, rabbit, bald and golden eagle, Merlin, nesting
area for many birds.
Lake Aleknagik: Wood River, beach, lake, mountains; alder, tundra, birch,
spruce; salmon, trout, char, brown and black bear, moose, caribou, rabbit,
eagle.
- Faculty/Staff
-
Ray Hilborn, Tom Quinn, Daniel Schindler (faculty), Chris Boatright,
Tom Rogers (staff), School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences.
