A perfect storm of thousands of salmon, dipnets and Alaskans is gathering at the mouth of the Kenai River.
Can the slender green strands of delicate grass along the sand dunes there survive the onslaught?
At 7 p.m. Thursday, a 36-hour commercial fishing closure began just as the second run of red salmon to the Kenai was building. Some 50,000 fish were counted entering the Kenai on Wednesday, nearly a third of the season total so far.
Dipnetters have heard.
"We're expecting a LOT of people," Lt. Kim Wannamaker of the Kenai Police Department said Thursday.
"The reports that I'm hearing is that the fish are in," added Kenai Parks and Recreation director Bob Frates. "The parking lot is full, and they just opened the overflow parking on Spruce Street."
Kenai dipnetting opened last week and runs through July 31 from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, for Alaskans only, downstream of the Warren Ames Bridge.
For the first time this year, dipnetters will encounter 10,000 linear feet of new, galvanized chain installed in two strands between 500 tall, wooden fence posts, designed to prevent anglers from tromping delicate sand dunes.
At the dunes' foundation is a coarse grass, known alternately as dune grass, dune rye or beach wild rye. The plant grows a tightly knit root structure that anchors loose sand around it. Without healthy grass, the dunes would erode, blown away by wind or washed away in storm tides.
Without them, biologists say, the river mouth would widen to eventually become a big mud cake.
"The dunes ... are a unique resource," Frates said. "They represent one of the few remaining unaltered natural dunes environments in the Northwest. We need to be proactive in protecting them."
Since 1996, the popular Kenai River red salmon personal-use dipnet harvest has grown 128 percent to 234,109 fish landed last year by some 24,000 permit holders. More permit holders means more boots and vehicles on the beach -- and a bigger threat to the dunes.
Funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service grants paid for the fencing, which was erected by city employees, Frates said.
"It's going real well so far," he said. "Some people are using the chains as a clothes line, but mainly people have been very respectful of the dunes once they realized there was a problem."
The Kenai City Council decided to fence off the area to keep out all-terrain vehicles and four-wheel drives -- which reportedly caused the most destruction -- as well as foot traffic. Heavier vehicles crush the plants, destroying roots and hampering recovery prospects.
Vehicular traffic is not permitted on the beach to the left of the Spruce Street access point, but it is allowed to the right.
"The grass is pretty beaten down now," Frates said. "But wild beach rye is very adaptable and quick to recover, given the chance."
Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
Kenai River dipnetting highlights
When: Open 6 a.m.-11 p.m. daily through July 31
Who: Alaskans only. A sport fishing license and personal-use permit, available from license vendors, required.
Limits: 25 salmon per permit plus 10 more for each household member. Only one of the 25 may be a king.
Handling catch: Immediately record your catch on your permit. Tail lobes must be removed before bagging and before leaving the beach.
Further details: Pages 16-18 of sport fishing regulation booklet.
Online: www.adfg.state.ak.us/special/special_fisheries/personal_use.php or www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/region2/PersonalUse/index.cfmKenai River dipnetting highlights
By MIKE CAMPBELL
mcampbell@adn.com
Alaska Dispatch Publishing