Tongass National Forest

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Healthy Streams Make Healthy Fish

Watersheds on Prince of Wales Island contain lakes, streams and rivers, all of which come alive when the rain begins. On the northern portion of the island, streams flow underground through unique karst and caves sysytems, reappearing sometimes many miles away. Many of the surface waterways on this island are home to fish and aquatic bugs, all of which are important to the health and value of a watershed. Keeping these waters clean and flowing along natural drainage pathways means the fish that live in these systems will remain healthy.

Did you know:

• Prince of Wales Island has over 9000 miles of stream and 46,000 acres of lakes where anadromous and resident fish live.
• Sediment in streams can inhibit a fishes ability to breath because fine sediment, also know as turbidity, can clog the gills of fish.
• Salmon use redds, or piles of stream gravels, to bury their eggs. Walking or driving over these redds can cause harm to the eggs and can affect the number of healthy fish that return several years later.

The map below shows the vicinity of the North Thorne watershed, one of the many watersheds on Prince of Wales Island. In the map to the right: Blue and Red indicate streams where fish live. The smaller streams provide nutrients to the blue and red streams.

USDA Forest Service - Tongass National Forest Accessibility Statement
Last Modified: July 11, 2007