About the Organizations
 
Kachemak Heritage Land Trust (KHLT):  KHLT, aka “the Land Trust,” is a non-profit dedicated to preserving the natural heritage of the Kenai Peninsula for future generations. The Land Trust works with willing landowners to protect land with important conservation values, monitors and stewards land over time, and engages the community through educational programs. By protecting critical habitats, KHLT ensures the preservation of irreplaceable fish and wildlife habitats, as well as recreational lands, for the future. Since the Land Trust’s inception 35 years ago, nearly 4,000 acres have been protected on the Kenai Peninsula.
 
Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (KBNERR): KBNERR is part of the Alaska Center for Conservation Science at the University of Alaska Anchorage and is one of 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves across the country, with core programs supported through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). KBNERR does not own or manage any lands, yet the 372,000-acre boundary – the largest NERR in the System – overlaps with the Kachemak Bay State Park Critical Habitat Area and supports long-term monitoring, research, education and trainings related to the marine, nearshore, and watershed ecology of the bay. KBNERR’s mission is to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Alaska’s coastal ecosystems to ensure they remain healthy and productive. KBNERR engages with community volunteers to monitor for invasive European green crab and harmful algal blooms, offers weekly estuary walks in Beluga Slough, and engages in collaborative research efforts with the University of South Florida and Smithsonian Institution (like Fish Need Land Too!) to monitor and preserve the unique habitats in Kachemak Bay.
 
Salmon Sisters: Salmon Sisters is Homer-based company run by co-founders, fishermen, and sisters Emma and Claire, with support from their small team. Their family makes their livelihood harvesting wild fish from Alaskan waters and their company markets Alaska seafood in their local brick-and-mortar shops and their e-commerce site. By joining KHLT and KBNERR for the Fish Need Land Too event, the Salmon Sisters team explored the efforts these organizations undertake to protect future fishing grounds for generations to come and how their values align with and enhance these efforts. They were eager to learn how to engage with stewardship in their local watershed and to help educate visitors passing through their shops about the importance of healthy coastal ecosystems and how they relate to salmon, the namesake of their company.
 
About the Field Trip
 
Our field trip began at the Stariski Creek bridge along the Sterling Highway where we gathered to carpool to our first field site — an upstream channel of Stariski Creek, overlooking property owned by the Land Trust which we call “Stariski Meadows.”
 
Here, KBNERR scientists hopped in the small stream to corral baby fish using a large net called a stream seine, and then transferred them into photariums for easy viewing. We were able to see young Coho salmon, steelhead trout, and even a juvenile sculpin! By finding that baby salmon live here, it became immediately apparent that salmon require these small, inconspicuous, freshwater streams to start their lives.

KBNERR scientists taught us about how the plants, insects, minerals, and water temperature all play a role in supporting life for baby salmon and are all influenced by the surrounding land. Marie, KHLT’s Executive Director, told us about how the Land Trust came to own the property and how some parts of it were in pretty bad shape (lots of rubbish laying around) when we first took ownership.
 
After examining the juvenile salmon (and safely returning them to their stream), we proceeded up the road to the Stariski peatlands field site – another piece of the property owned and protected by the Land Trust.
 
We carefully marched into the wide open, spongey wetlands. We noticed the many tiny plants, like sundews and bog orchids, underfoot. A KBNERR technician then plunged a metal soil corer into the earth, pulling out a sample of peat. We got to touch the rich, cool, wet soil which provides a critical role in the salmon habitat. Twenty years of collaborative KBNERR watershed ecology research have revealed that nitrogen and carbon – the building blocks of nutrition for the fish we love – originate from alders and peatlands and then flow from the small headwater streams out to the estuaries and marine ecosystems.
 
That thick, cool earth rich in organic matter and carbon is called a peatland, which is a type of terrestrial wetland. Peatlands act like an insulating blanket – as water filters though, it collects important nutrients, and it keeps the groundwater that is entering streams cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Baby fish need this temperature-controlled water while they are growing up until they can brave the ocean. 
 
It’s easy to think of protecting fish populations as a water-only issue, but by examining the activity in small streams miles from the ocean, we can see the importance of land to salmon. Can you imagine what it would do to our fish population if every area that housed streams and wetlands were paved, damaged, or buried under buildings? Without enough protected land, we would lose the space and the ecosystems where juvenile fish grow up safely, jeopardizing future fishing resources.
 
Anytime we get to see baby salmon, we consider it a good day. What was special about this event was the ability to gather some of the salmon’s biggest supporters to highlight how ecological research and protection of land can directly bolster and complement the work of our fishing community.

The Essence of Land Conservation

Land conservation involves safeguarding natural areas to maintain their ecological integrity, ensuring these landscapes support wildlife, mitigate climate change, and offer recreational opportunities. This is achieved through methods such as establishing conservation easements and through land donations. Once land is in our care, it is protected forever. 
What are conservation easements and land donations? These are straightforward and entirely voluntary legal agreements. Conservation easements permanently restrict land uses to preserve its conservation values (like a scenic view or baby salmon habitat) while the landowner retains ownership. Land donations allow owners to contribute their property to Kachemak Heritage Land Trust for perpetual conservation

Both conservation easements and land donations may qualify for tax benefits. 

Why Conservation on the Kenai Peninsula is Critical

• The Kenai Peninsula is a region rich in biodiversity and natural beauty, encompassing diverse ecosystems such as coastal wetlands, forests, and mountains. This area supports a special way of life by allowing access to some of the world’s most valuable (and vulnerable) resources. And as the land supports us, we need to do the same. By caring for our home, we protect our way of life for future generations.
  
  
• Salmon are a crucial part of most Alaskans’ way of life. Whether we’re harvesting for personal stock or fishing commercially, having a healthy habitat for our salmon to spawn and survive is necessary. By protecting areas like wetlands, we can help give our fish the land they need. Yes, fish need land too!
  
  
• Along with salmon, conservation safeguards other wildlife that depend on protected habitats for survival and reproduction. Conserved lands also act as natural buffers against climate impacts and provide essential recreational opportunities.
  
  

Our Impact and Community Involvement

• Community engagement is central to our work. Through events and volunteer opportunities, we raise awareness about our conservation efforts. Your support—through donations, volunteer time, and spreading the word—helps fund land acquisitions, maintenance, and educational programs that ensure these resources thrive.
  
  

Current Project: Protecting the Anchor Point River Habitat

• We’re partnering with The Conservation Fund (TCF) to safeguard 11.6 acres along the Anchor Point River. This area is crucial for Chinook, coho, chum, and pink salmon, as well as moose, bear, and other species.
  
  
• Help us raise $47,000 to cover acquisition, overhead, and long-term management costs.
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Get Involved

Join us in preserving the Kenai Peninsula’s natural legacy.

Your support makes a lasting impact. Contact Executive Director Marie McCarty at [email protected] for more information or to get involved.