Restoration Begins on Alaska's Lost Coast

CAPE YAKATAGA, AK— Times are changing at Yakataga.

The road is closed, the saws are silenced, the loggers gone back Outside here on Alaska's wildest coast. The roar of log trucks, steady for the last thirty years working Alaska's biggest timber sale, is replaced with the roar of the surf. The economy of extract-and-export is being replaced with the restoration economy. Balance is being restored.

"Nobody's ever planted trees here before," remarks 27-year resident Lahoma Leishman, whose hot coffee and banana bread warm our small crew of volunteers after a morning of planting trees along streambanks. We are here for Cascadia's Lost Coast Restoration Project, a citizen monitoring and hands-on restoration effort initiated by Yakataga artist Jen-Ann Kirchmeier. 

For nine days we've walked the closed-out roads, surveying streambanks, and planting in the highest priority ones, like Charley Creek, the Leishmans' source of water and a locally significant salmon stream. In total we planted 157 spruce and 147 willows on streambanks of all the salmon streams over the first two miles of road. This technique is designed to accelerate natural restoration of ecosystem function using simple hand methods—a sort of homeopathic approach to healing. We've now set up over 100 photo-point monitoring witness posts, for long-term monitoring.

Another top priority was to ground-truth the logging company road closeout.  Basically, the 100 miles of old logging road are having all culverts and bridges removed. When done right, this is the single most important step forward to restoration of logged-over wildlands. When done carelessly however it can ruin streambanks and cause significant long-term harm. 

We are happy to report that this work was done very well. This is no doubt caused by the extraordinary efforts the State of Alaska has taken to regularly inspect and issue permits for the work. Last year we noticed on the first sections that while work done when State inspectors were present looked wonderful, work done the day after they departed was rushed and was damaging salmon streams. State inspectors reacted quickly, and this year have ensured that every mile of closed road has been physically inspected. 

The road from Icy Bay to the Yakataga is now irrevocably closed. Furthermore, Alaska Mental Health Trust has closed all access to their lands near Icy Bay to the public. Traditional Access to the vast public lands remains, but is made very difficult by the terrain. Just the way I like it. 

With roads closed and logging jobs done, you might think the handful of hardcore Yakatagans would be despondent, but this is not the case. To the contrary, the export economy never gave these people much but hassle, and its departure has opened space to pursue alternatives. Talk at the Cape is of ecotourism, hunting and subsistence. There has been a virtual boom of toxic cleanup jobs of old military and mining junk too, which is good fast cash for residents. 

The restoration economy is coming alive. 

Special thanks to Marion Weber, Jen-Ann Kirchmeier, Harder Foundation, Titcomb Foundation, and the Eyak Preservation Council, without whose generous support this effort would not have been possible.

The work continues. For project documents and more information, check at www.lostcoastrestoration.org.