Fairbanks Fish & Wildlife Field Office
Habitat Restoration

Twenty-three Mile Slough at Old Valdez Trail
Fish Passage Project Completed in August 2003

Twenty-Three Mile Slough is an anadromous stream from its confluence with Piledriver Slough upstream to the Tanana River. Chum salmon were common in 23-Mile slough before urbanization fragmented the fish habitat. This slough also provided habitat for Arctic grayling, longnose suckers, humpback whitefish and round whitefish. The quality and quantity of favorable fish spawning and rearing habitat had declined because of several factors, including blocked passage due to culverts, low-water crossings and beaver dams. A flood-control dam at Tanana River has changed hydraulics in the slough; now it is primarily fed by ground water.

The Old Valdez Trail parallels most of 23-Mile Slough and crosses it in several places. The Old Valdez Trail Bridge provided a crossing near Sawmill Creek Road in the 1960’s but was removed in the 1980’s due to safety concerns. Property owners used a low-water crossing that impacted fish in the slough. Using funds from The Fish Passage program, a new bridge was built to allow fish passage and improve fish habitat.

Last updated: August 1, 2008