National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Assessment of Coastal Water Resources and Watershed Conditions Kenai Fjords National Park Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/WRD/NRR—2010/192 ON THE COVER Top left: Bear Glacier; top right: Holgate Glacier; bottom left: Nature center at Exit Glacier area; bottom right: Aialik Cape. Photographs by S. Nagorski. ______________________________________________________________________________ Assessment of Coastal Water Resources and Watershed Conditions Kenai Fjords National Park Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/WRD/NRR—2010/192 Sonia Nagorski, Eran Hood, and Sanjay Pyare Environmental Science Program University of Alaska Southeast Juneau, AK 99801 Ginny Eckert School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences University of Alaska Fairbanks Juneau, AK 99801 This report was prepared under Task Order J9W88050014 of the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (agreement CA90880008). May 2010 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado The Natural Resource Publication series addresses natural resource topics that are of interest and applicability to a broad readership in the National Park Service and to others in the management of natural resources, including the scientific community, the public, and the NPS conservation and environmental constituencies. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the audience, and is designed and published in a professional manner. The Natural Resource Technical Reports series is used to disseminate the peer-reviewed results of scientific studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service’s mission. The reports provide contributors with a forum for displaying comprehensive data that are often deleted from journals because of page limitations. Current examples of such reports include the results of research that addresses natural resource management issues; natural resource inventory and monitoring activities; resource assessment reports; scientific literature reviews; and peer reviewed proceedings of technical workshops, conferences, or symposia. Views and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect policies of the National Park Service. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. Printed copies of reports in these series may be produced in a limited quantity and they are only available as long as the supply lasts. This report is also available from the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/NRPM), or by sending a request to the address on the back cover. Please cite this publication as: Nagorski, S., E. Hood, G. Eckert, and S. Pyare. 2010. Assessment of coastal water resources and watershed conditions: Kenai Fjords National Park. Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/WRD/NRR—2010/192. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 186/102086, May 2010 ii Contents Figures............................................................................................................................................ vi Tables .............................................................................................................................................. x Appendixes ................................................................................................................................... xii Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................... xxii Commonly Used Abbreviations ................................................................................................. xxiii 1. Purpose and Scope ...................................................................................................................... 1 2. Park Description and History ...................................................................................................... 1 2.1. Setting ............................................................................................................................... 1 2.1.1. Geographic Setting ................................................................................................... 1 2.1.2. Human Utilization ..................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Hydrologic Information .................................................................................................... 6 2.2.1. Oceanographic Setting .............................................................................................. 6 2.2.2. Climatic Setting ......................................................................................................... 9 2.2.3. Streams and Streamflow ......................................................................................... 11 2.2.4. Lakes and Ponds ..................................................................................................... 18 2.2.5 Groundwater ............................................................................................................ 18 2.2.6. Snow, Ice, and Glaciers .......................................................................................... 19 2.3. Biological Resources ...................................................................................................... 25 2.3.1. Marine Biological Resources .................................................................................. 25 2.3.2. Freshwater Biological Resources ........................................................................... 58 2.3.3. Uplands ................................................................................................................... 62 3. Water Resources Assessment ................................................................................................... 67 3.1. Water Quality ................................................................................................................. 67 iii 3.1.1. Intertidal and Marine .............................................................................................. 67 3.1.2. Freshwater .............................................................................................................. 75 3.1.3. Water Quality Impairments and Effects on Biological Resources .......................... 85 3.2. Availability of Geographic Datasets .............................................................................. 85 4. Threats to Water Resources ...................................................................................................... 86 4.1. Sources of Past, Current, and Potential Future Pollutants .............................................. 86 4.1.1. Oceanographic Sources .......................................................................................... 86 4.1.2. Atmospheric Sources of Pollution ........................................................................... 95 4.2. Climate Change .............................................................................................................. 98 4.3. Physical Hazards: Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Tsunamis ................................................ 105 4.3.1.Volcanic Activity .................................................................................................... 105 4.3.2. Coastal Change: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Subsidence, and Uplift ...................... 107 4.4. Visitor Impacts ............................................................................................................. 111 4.4.1. Visitor Boat Traffic ............................................................................................... 112 4.4.2. Backcountry Camping ........................................................................................... 113 4.4.3. Hiking .................................................................................................................... 113 4.4.4. Public Use Cabins................................................................................................. 114 4.4.5. Development on Native-Owned Lands .................................................................. 114 4.5. Historic Mine Sites ....................................................................................................... 114 4.6. Exit Glacier Area Flooding .......................................................................................... 115 4.7. Nuka River Diversion ................................................................................................... 117 4.8. Exotic Species .............................................................................................................. 118 4.9. Insect Outbreaks and Disease Concerns ....................................................................... 120 4.10. Harmful Algal Blooms ............................................................................................... 121 5. Condition overview and recommendations ............................................................................ 123 iv 5.1 Condition Overview .....................................................................................................