Willow Hetrick/Turnagain Times The Lindquist and Cooney families of Moose Pass present their artwork at the Ranting Raven in Seward

By Willow Hetrick
Turnagain Times Moose Pass Correspondent

Lindquist Family Presents Artwork at Ranting Raven
Irene, Ruby, Sadie, and Neil Lindquist presented their wood block prints at the Ranting Raven in Seward Alaska. The show included prints titled: “My Dog”, “Mom’s Bees”, and “Turtle”. Artwork was debuted on Seward’s “First Friday” art walk where local galleries present new artwork and offer hors d’oeuvres and drinks. The show will be at the Ranting Raven for the entire month of July, be sure to stop by and view their artwork.

Cooney Family Presents Artwork at Ranting Raven
Iva and Hana Cooney presented their Gyotaku fish prints from fish caught in local waters! There were rainbow trout from Quartz Creek and Kenai Lake, Grayling from lakes around Moose Pass, and Yellow-eye rockfish from Resurrection Bay. The prints were on natural papers made. The show will be at the Ranting Raven for the entire month of July, be sure to stop by and view their artwork.

The Forest Service summer campground programs for the Seward Ranger District of the Chugach National Forest
“Crossing Paths with a Porcupine” is a program based on the unique traits of porcupines but also, different ways they connect to us historically and culturally.
“White Mountain Climbers” is a program focused on the abilities and qualities of mountain goats and Dall sheep that help them survive and thrive in their extreme habitat.
“Amazing Birds” is just that…birds have so many individual characteristics that set them apart from any other kind of animals.

Seward Ranger District Trail Updates
June 29: There is a contractor brushing out the south Resurrection Pass Trail from Juneau Creek Bridge to the alpine above Swan Lake. Work will be finished by July 3. Next week, the contractor will begin work brushing Crescent Creek Trail. The Forest Service advises users to be on the lookout for ATVs in the area.
June 15: Johnson Pass Trail is entirely snow free now and the trail has been cleared of fallen trees. The trail is dry from the south trailhead to Johnson Lake.
The Lost Lake Trail is clear to the lake. There are some patches of snow and some muddy spots beyond mile five. The Primrose Trail is in similar condition.
Resurrection Pass Trail is free of snow, is mostly dry, and has been cleared of fallen trees.

Moose Pass Food Bank
The Moose Pass Food Bank is located at the Moose Pass Community Church. The food bank does not have regular hours, but please call Bill or Mona Casselman at 288-5101 for assistance.

Bear Resistant Garbage Cans Available from the Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance
There are approximately 150 garbage cans remaining in 32- and 95-gallon sizes. Both sizes are $50 each. To get your BRGC, call Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance at 224-4621 or just stop by our office in the Phoenix Bldg, 909 Third Ave, top floor, south office. RBCA has recently expanded office hours to make getting a BRGC as easy as possible. The program’s goal is to “proactively prevent bear-human conflicts due to improper disposal of garbage in household, business, and recreational areas.” For more information about these high quality garbage cans and the Seward Wildlife Conservation Community Program, visit www.rbca-alaska.org.

Alaska Center for the Environment Moose Pass Workshop held on June 13, 2009
Alaska Center for the Environment staff met with concerned citizens of Moose Pass and Seward to discuss the hydroelectric projects being proposed by Homer Electric. The sites being considered are Grant Lake, Falls Creek, Crescent/Carter Lakes, Ptarmigan Lake and Victor Creek. Each of these sites are popular, scenic recreational destinations, rich in wildlife, resident and anadromous fish. Everyone who attended the workshop agreed that these locations are inappropriate for dams and roads and that the Kenai River watershed and the life it sustains is too valuable to risk for such a small output of energy.
Our discussion focused on methods and tools that citizens can use to influence the public and the decision makers. We established our goal, discussed strategy, identified who are target audiences are, created a message and walked away with a “To Do” list.
Now the hard work begins to spread the word and build our momentum. Luckily we all share one thing in common: we appreciate the Kenai River and recognize its’ worth as a source of clean wild salmon.
The bottom line is that these projects are high-impact, low- output proposals that will adversely affect the Kenai River watershed by interrupting flows and will forever change the face of these high value recreational destinations. The costs of losing fish and wildlife habitat in one of Alaska’s favorite and most productive local watersheds is too high of a price to pay for the small amount of power which will be generated as a result of these dams.
If you care about the integrity of the Kenai River watershed and are interested in getting involved in our campaign, please contact Valerie at valerie@akcenter.org. For more information about these proposed dams please visit: http://www.akcenter.org/wildland-rivers/chugach/kenai-hydro.

Open Mic Night at the Trail Lake Lodge
The First Friday of every month, the Trail Lake Lodge hosts an open mic night for local residents and visitors to get together to hear each other’s music. The next open mic night is July 7, beginning at 8pm in Moose Pass. 21 and over welcome.

Dave’s Creek Restoration Project Update
A 2,000-foot long impaired section of Dave’s Creek, just downstream of the Tern Lake outlet on the Sterling Highway, is being restored over the next two years. The aquatic habitat and riparian conditions in Dave’s Creek are poor as a result of historic road construction and other past activities that have manipulated the stream channel.
This project will move a portion of the existing channel away from the Sterling Highway to create a new channel designed to mimic natural conditions. Per the Forest Service, stream restoration work wills modify/construct the stream channel to include “pool-riffle sequences, engineered logjams, side channels, and instream log/rock structures where applicable.”
New segments of the channel will be constructed in drier sections wherever possible to minimize water quality disturbances, and water will be routed into these new channels after they are constructed.
Because the existing channel is severely entrenched, a new floodplain will have to be created adjacent to the restored channel, requiring considerable earth moving. Portions of the old channel will be filled in to create additional floodplain.
The Forest Service will conduct re-vegetation of the riparian areas and floodplains in following years. The State of Alaska requires that all in-stream restoration work is conducted between May 15 and July 15 to protect anadromous fish. The restoration program is well underway. There is heavy equipment at the Tern Lake campground.

Valerie Connor, Forest Conservation Director, ACE, contributed to this edition of Moose Passings.