Anchor River

Ever heard of the Anchor River before? I've never been there. Didn't even know there was an Anchor River. According to the milepost, the Anchor River Road is 1.6 miles long. One of the shortest roads in Alaska.

Although the Anchor River is often lost in the excitement over the Kenai River to the north and Kachemak Bay to the south, those who live along it are well aware of what it offers—its fisheries, wildlife, scenic beauty, and seasonal moods. Fortunately, in recent years interest in and appreciation for the Anchor River and its surroundings have been growing. As a result, much new information is becoming available, such as the information below, that can help us increase our understanding of the river and its environments and to convince others of the River’s significance. This compilation of Anchor River facts can be used as a tool to help those who live and play along the Anchor River to share their excitement for the River, so that proper attention is given to the long-term preservation of its special features.

The Anchor River Itself:

The Anchor River supports four species of Pacific salmon: king (chinook), coho (silver), sockeye (red), and pink, as well as anadromous Dolly Varden and rainbow trout (steelhead). A small number of resident rainbow trout inhabit the upper reaches of the river. King and coho are the most abundant salmon species. Anadromous Dolly Varden is the most abundant species in the Anchor River.

The Anchor River is one of the best road-accessible, wild-stocked, steelhead trout streams left in the United States.

By the time the Anchor River reaches the USGS gaging station in Anchor Point, it has drained 224 square miles of watershed, or 143,360 acres. (15) The river’s mainstem channel is about 27 miles long; the mainstem slope drops about 51 feet per mile before reaching sea level at Cook Inlet.

At the Anchor Point gaging station, the Anchor River’s discharge (volume of flow per time) averages 298 cubic feet per second (cfs). The highest peak discharge so far recorded at that station was 11,000 cfs on November 30, 1983; the lowest was 28 cfs on July 28, 1953.

The Anchor River has five main named tributaries. To the north, these are the North Fork and its main tributary, Chakok Creek. To the south, these are Beaver and Twitter Creeks and Twitter Creek’s main tributary, Bridge Creek. (The 35-acre Bridge Creek reservoir is the City of Homer’s main water source.) Anchor River is also fed by numerous unnamed tributaries.

Melting snow, rain, and groundwater inflow drive the hydrologic system of the Anchor River and determine the timing of peak flows.

In Anchor Point, mean annual snowfall is 80 inches on the Anchor River.

Well next time I'm down there, I might pay a visit to the Anchor River. Seems like Kachemak Bay can be a good fishing spot.

You can pretend to care but you can't pretend to be there.

I'm out like all the fresh water tributaries of the Anchor River.

Ming

Ever heard of Simply Ming? Ming is currently the host and executive producer of the public television cooking show, SIMPLY MING, currently in its sixth season. Ming was raised in Dayton , Ohio , where he spent hours cooking alongside his mother and father at their family-owned restaurant, Mandarin Kitchen. His love of cooking (and eating!) great food was forged in these early years, while also gaining valuable experience in front and back of the house.

Ming once said on his show, " If you can't find Tofu in your town,..Move."

I'm out.

Western Arctic Caribou

Alaska's largest caribou herd, the Western Arctic Caribou herd, has grown to at least 490,000 animals, according to a survey recently completed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

This vast herd ranges over a 140,000 square-mile area bounded by the Arctic Ocean, the lower Yukon River and the trans-Alaska pipeline. About 40 communities and 13,000 people are located within the range of the herd. For the indigenous people of these communities, the herd is both a vital link to their cultural heritage and a staple of their diet.

There is also growing use of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd by resident and nonresident hunters living outside the herd's range. These caribou are an important source of income for commercial operators that provide services to these hunters.

Its a tough sell to predict a caribou herd, its movement and population. None of these things really are concrete, so Woodford and Dau do the best they can to give us an update on the largest caribou herd in the state.

Who know what's happened since. You can read the Critical Evaluation of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Cooperative Management Plan and see how complex this is. The herd even fluctuates so much with unknown weather patterns effecting its winter range that it could also crash like it did in 1976.

1970: Herd numbered 243,000
1976: Declined to 75,000
1996: Peaked at 463,000

You can download the plan at the ADF&G site.

Thats it, I'm out like caribou population predictions.

Beer

Seen at the Golden Eagle last week.

"Remember beer has food value, but food has no beer value."

I'm out like food.

Nuiqsut

Hey, here's to the month of June!!!! It happened so quickly, because this year, May was like two weeks long. As I've been digging out an outhouse hole, its been a learning process. First I got the auger stuck, then I had to dig out the auger. By that time, I had an outhouse hole!

I do have a very nice tank though. Its an old 100 gallon water tank, I was using for hauling water in my little truck. Its gonna do well.

Went to the Greg Brown concert last weekend at the loon. One of my favorite lines from Greg came from the song about Jesus and Elvis. It went something like this.

"Jesus took some water and said, wine would be better yet. Elvis pulled out his guitar and got all the women wet."

Inspiring lyrics and funny story lines. Here's to Chris...you know who you are...who couldn't believe I had a blog as Super Smooth ANDY-G. Here you go Chris, you owe me a drink at the Golden Eagle.

I've never been to Nuiqsut, but I like their little post office photo. Nuiqsut is located on the west bank of the Nechelik Channel of the Colville River Delta, about 35 miles from the Beaufort Sea coast, 60 miles west of Prudhoe Bay, 380 miles north of Fairbanks. In other words, its on the North Slope, Alaska.

I must give it to Detroit for beating up on the Penguins so far. At this rate, the Penguins will sign off like I do.

I'm out....or the Penguins are out.