Kenai River

Renovations underway at Eagle Rock boat launch

Renovations underway at Eagle Rock boat launch

Boats entering the Kenai River this summer from Eagle Rock boat launch will have a wider ramp into the water, but the vehicles that bring… Continue reading

Renovations underway at Eagle Rock boat launch
A hooligan pulled from a gillnet lies on the bank of the Kenai River near the Warren Ames Bridge on Monday, May 14, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Look out for hooligan

Spring brings migratory birds, beluga whales, harbor seals and people to the banks of the Kenai seeking the same thing: hooligan. Hooligan, also called eulachon,… Continue reading

A hooligan pulled from a gillnet lies on the bank of the Kenai River near the Warren Ames Bridge on Monday, May 14, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Researcher Kim Ovitz observes a group of Cook Inlet beluga whales milling in a bend of the Kenai River by Cunningham Park on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Ovitz, a fellow in the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Sea Grant program, will be counting and recording beluga activity from public locations along the Kenai River until April 31, and is also seeking to talk with local residents about their own observations of marine mammals in the Kenai. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion) 

Researcher looks at beluga use of Kenai River

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the end date of Ovitz's observation project. Early this week Stevie Shackelford saw his first beluga… Continue reading

Researcher Kim Ovitz observes a group of Cook Inlet beluga whales milling in a bend of the Kenai River by Cunningham Park on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Ovitz, a fellow in the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Sea Grant program, will be counting and recording beluga activity from public locations along the Kenai River until April 31, and is also seeking to talk with local residents about their own observations of marine mammals in the Kenai. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion) 
In this July 24, 2016 file photo, a guide boat motors upstream on the Kenai River near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Rashah McChesney, file)

River users question turbidity finding on Kenai

Editor's note: This article has been edited to clarify that the turbidity exceedances for the Kenai River were not contiguous but rather were spread throughout… Continue reading

In this July 24, 2016 file photo, a guide boat motors upstream on the Kenai River near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Rashah McChesney, file)
The Kenai River flows by the newly restored riverbank of Dow Island on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. A group of four property owners banded together this spring to install the extensive project to protect the bank of the island in the Kenai River from rapid erosion. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Hearing officer orders fines, removal of rock in Dow Island gravel case

A state hearing officer has decided that the two men accused of illegally dumping gravel in the Kenai River this summer have to remove the… Continue reading

The Kenai River flows by the newly restored riverbank of Dow Island on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. A group of four property owners banded together this spring to install the extensive project to protect the bank of the island in the Kenai River from rapid erosion. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
This map shades in red the 7.5 miles of the Kenai River upstream of the Warren Ames Bridge that the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation seeks to classify as an impaired water body because of its high turbity, or levels of suspended sediment. (Courtesy the Kenai Peninsula Borough)

State, feds to determine next steps after turbidity report

The state must now address the fact that excessive motor boat traffic in July has made a section of the lower Kenai River too muddy.… Continue reading

This map shades in red the 7.5 miles of the Kenai River upstream of the Warren Ames Bridge that the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation seeks to classify as an impaired water body because of its high turbity, or levels of suspended sediment. (Courtesy the Kenai Peninsula Borough)
In this April 2017 photo, the Sterling HIghway crosses the Kenai River and runs through the community of Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

DEC: Kenai River turbidity exceeds standards

The water of the Kenai River is turbid to be classified as an impaired water body, according to a draft water quality report from the… Continue reading

In this April 2017 photo, the Sterling HIghway crosses the Kenai River and runs through the community of Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
The Kenai River flows by the newly restored riverbank of Dow Island on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Borough holds hearing on Dow Island gravel violations

One of the men accused of illegally placing gravel in the Kenai River says he did so because he believed it to be an emergency,… Continue reading

The Kenai River flows by the newly restored riverbank of Dow Island on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
The Kenai River flows by the newly restored riverbank of Dow Island on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. A group of four property owners banded together this spring to install the extensive project to protect the bank of the island in the Kenai River from rapid erosion. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Hearings on Dow Island habitat violation case pushed back

A court case against three men who are accused of illegally dumping gravel in the Kenai River this summer is stretching out into the fall… Continue reading

The Kenai River flows by the newly restored riverbank of Dow Island on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. A group of four property owners banded together this spring to install the extensive project to protect the bank of the island in the Kenai River from rapid erosion. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Anglers try their luck for sockeye salmon on the Kenai River near the Russian River confluence in this June 2016 photo on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Fish and Game looks to simplify sportfishing regs

Sportfishing regulations in Alaska are complicated and sometimes confuse anglers, but the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is taking steps to make them clearer.… Continue reading

Anglers try their luck for sockeye salmon on the Kenai River near the Russian River confluence in this June 2016 photo on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation is planning to widen the launch ramp at the state-owned Eagle Rock boat launch, seen here on Monday Oct. 16, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Work at the site — which also includes dredging the area around the ramp and adding a floating dock and barriers to protect the surrounding wetland — will take place during the winter and next spring. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

State to renovate Eagle Rock boat launch

By next July the state-owned Eagle Rock boat launch on the Kenai Spur Highway will have a wider ramp with dredged launch space, a floating… Continue reading

The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation is planning to widen the launch ramp at the state-owned Eagle Rock boat launch, seen here on Monday Oct. 16, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Work at the site — which also includes dredging the area around the ramp and adding a floating dock and barriers to protect the surrounding wetland — will take place during the winter and next spring. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Tagging experiment offers evidence that setnet-caught kings survive

Editor's note: This article has been clarified that a king salmon did not gill in Brent Johnson's selective harvest module and to correct a misspelling… Continue reading

A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Body found on beach identified as Kurt Keltner

The Alaska State Medical Examiner has confirmed the identity of a body found on the north Kenai beach last week as Kurt Keltner. Keltner, who… Continue reading

The Kenai River flows by the newly restored riverbank of Dow Island on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. A group of four property owners banded together this spring to install the extensive project to protect the bank of the island in the Kenai River from rapid erosion. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

2 charged after illegal gravel dumping in Kenai River

Two men are facing charges after dumping gravel in the Kenai River related to an erosion problem on Dow Island. The state has levied charges… Continue reading

The Kenai River flows by the newly restored riverbank of Dow Island on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. A group of four property owners banded together this spring to install the extensive project to protect the bank of the island in the Kenai River from rapid erosion. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Slower glacier melt contributes to lower Kenai River level

Lower high-altitude snowpack, a cooler summer and more cloud cover may have contributed to a lower water level on the Kenai River. Kenai Peninsula residents,… Continue reading

Raindrops disturb the surface of the Kenai River as it riffles over a rock near Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Man charged with illegally guiding on Kenai River

A Soldotna-area man is facing charges relating to operating as a commercial sportfishing guide on the Kenai River without the proper permitting and licenses. Alaska… Continue reading

Raindrops disturb the surface of the Kenai River as it riffles over a rock near Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
In this photo submitted to Fish for the Future, a young angler holds up the king salmon he caught and released. Fish for the Future, a program begun by two central Kenai Peninsula guides, offers prizes for people who submit photographs of king salmon they caught and released on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers in June and July as a way to encourage people to release fish and conserve the fishery over time. (Photo courtesy Fish for the Future)

‘Fish for the Future’ program seeks to encourage catch and release for kings

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Mark Wackler's name. Nearly every day this summer, someone has posted a photo… Continue reading

In this photo submitted to Fish for the Future, a young angler holds up the king salmon he caught and released. Fish for the Future, a program begun by two central Kenai Peninsula guides, offers prizes for people who submit photographs of king salmon they caught and released on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers in June and July as a way to encourage people to release fish and conserve the fishery over time. (Photo courtesy Fish for the Future)
A dipnetter reaches to retrieve a sockeye salmon caught in her net on the Kenai Beach on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Tuesday was the second day of the Kenai River personal-use dipnet fishery, which will remain open until July 31. The fishery was relatively quiet Tuesday, with a dipnetter hauling in a fish every once in awhile, and unlike many July weekends, there was plenty of room in the water for more participants. Sockeye salmon have been relatively slow to enter the Kenai this year, with about 94,885 past the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s sonar as of Monday, significantly less than in 2016 but ahead of years like 2013, 2012 and 2011, according to Fish and Game data. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Police prepared for safe dipnet season

As business and traffic ramps up in Kenai as thousands of dipnetters arrive from all over the state, members of the Kenai Police Department find… Continue reading

A dipnetter reaches to retrieve a sockeye salmon caught in her net on the Kenai Beach on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Tuesday was the second day of the Kenai River personal-use dipnet fishery, which will remain open until July 31. The fishery was relatively quiet Tuesday, with a dipnetter hauling in a fish every once in awhile, and unlike many July weekends, there was plenty of room in the water for more participants. Sockeye salmon have been relatively slow to enter the Kenai this year, with about 94,885 past the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s sonar as of Monday, significantly less than in 2016 but ahead of years like 2013, 2012 and 2011, according to Fish and Game data. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
This section of a property ownership map shows some of Cook Inlet Region Incorporated’s lands along the Kenai River near Soldotna, with surface ownership depicted in dark red. CIRI has erected signs this year letting the public know where its privately owned lands are and asking people not to use them to fish without a permit, which is available for free through the corporation. (Courtesy Cook Inlet Region Incorporated)

CIRI steps up enforcement on Kenai River lands

Kenai River anglers will have to keep an eye out for private property this year as Cook Inlet Region Incorporated steps up its efforts to… Continue reading

This section of a property ownership map shows some of Cook Inlet Region Incorporated’s lands along the Kenai River near Soldotna, with surface ownership depicted in dark red. CIRI has erected signs this year letting the public know where its privately owned lands are and asking people not to use them to fish without a permit, which is available for free through the corporation. (Courtesy Cook Inlet Region Incorporated)
Musicians play on the stage of Soldotna Creek Park during last year’s Kenai River Festival on June 10, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai River Fest continues rich traditions, creates new ones

Coming into its 27th year, the annual Kenai River Festival in Soldotna has more than come into its own. Set to take place Friday through… Continue reading

Musicians play on the stage of Soldotna Creek Park during last year’s Kenai River Festival on June 10, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)