Community-Driven Monitoring in Alaska

The peatlands that cover nearly 20% of Alaska’s southern Kenai Lowlands support resident and anadromous fish, such as salmon, provide habitat for wildlife, promote clean ground and surface water, and store lots of carbon. However, the state’s warmer, drier weather is putting these important resources at risk. That’s why the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve is working with community members to develop a long-term peatland monitoring protocol to protect local peatlands and understand changes over time.

Data collected on changes in hydrology, vegetation, and carbon fluctuations will help researchers and decision makers to make informed decisions about efforts to conserve and restore peatlands, according to Lindsey Flagstad, vegetation and wetland ecologist at the Alaska Center for Conservation Science at the University of Alaska Anchorage. 

“It’s also an opportunity to raise community awareness about the importance of peatlands and the work the Research Reserve is doing to help preserve them—like the Kachemak Sponge project and research to assess if beaver dam-like structures can help restore peatland hydrology,” says Flagstad. “Both of these projects are happily gaining some traction.”

Feedback from local organizations such as Homer Soil and Water Conservation District and Alaska Wildlife Alliance, as well as other environmental groups and scientific institutions, ensured that the protocol is both scientifically robust and practically applicable. As a result, the new monitoring protocol offers a structured yet accessible approach to assess peatland health, one that allows scientists and community members to choose a level of monitoring that is tailored to both their objectives and expertise. 

“The extensive community feedback we received on the protocol gives me more confidence that the protocol will be useful for a wide audience,” says Spencer Johnson, ecology technician at the Research Reserve and lead author on the protocols.

Peat cores showing the carbon-rich soil in a peatland. This peat layer can extend 20-30 feet deep in some cases.

Data collected through the protocol will support several local initiatives, including an interagency working group made up of citizens, biologists, and land managers who are exploring the role beavers play in restoring and maintaining hydrologic function in the landscape. Beavers help maintain wetland ecosystems by creating dams that help retain water; data collected through the protocol can help identify when beaver dam analogs (aka human-built beaver dams) and potential beaver reintroduction will have the biggest impact. Further, the Research Reserve may use the protocol to collect data to develop a carbon stock map for the region, thereby contributing to a larger initiative across Alaska and providing a pathway for peatlands to be included in global greenhouse gas accounting. Finally, the City of Homer and Kachemak Heritage Land Trust could use the protocol as a prioritization tool to help decide where to protect land and potentially, to evaluate the effectiveness of wetland restoration efforts. 

“As a warmer, drier climate continues to impact Alaska’s peatlands, initiatives like this—where science, community participation, and conservation efforts intersect—will be critical in ensuring their resilience,” says Rebecca Roth, executive director of the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association. “Like all Reserves across our System, the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve is promoting community awareness and involvement, providing the tools for policy change, and setting the stage for a healthier future for their state’s coastal areas.”