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Title:	Akutan Harbor Project : delineation of wetlands on Akutan Island, Alaska
Authors:	Wakeley, James S., 1950- Noble, Chris V. Bishop, Michael J.
Keywords:	Wetland mapping--Alaska Akutan Island (Alaska)
Publisher:	Environmental Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Series/Report no.:	ERDC ; TN-WRAP-01-07
Abstract:	Background: The work described in this technical note was done at the request of the Regulatory Branch and the Planning Division of the U. S. Army Engineer District, Alaska, as part of a feasibility study for the potential development of a harbor on Akutan Island in the Aleutian Island chain. Akutan Bay is a steep-sided, glacially scoured, natural inlet on the eastern end of the island (Figure 1). The village of Akutan and a major seafood-processing plant cling to the narrow fringe of level ground at the edge of the fjord. Ocean going container ships use moorings in the deep water of the bay as they wait to load the frozen catch and transport it to markets throughout the Pacific. But the bay has no natural harbor for the smaller fishing vessels that unload at the facility’s dock. The proposed project would excavate a harbor basin in the broad alluvial plain at the head of the bay and would fill and grade adjacent uplands and wetlands to create level areas suitable for harbor-side facilities and associated infrastructure. In assessing the potential environmental impacts of the project, the Alaska District was concerned not only about direct impacts to wetlands due to excavation and filling, but also with the potential for more extensive indirect impacts due to changes in flow patterns and salinity of groundwater across the site. The project area was bounded on the north and south by streams that supported anadromous salmon runs and were a particular focus of the District and the resource agencies.
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/11681/3553
Appears in Collections:	Technical Note