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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Much like the Chena
River snaking through the heart of downtown Fairbanks, a passion for
the outdoors flows through the veins of the park rangers at the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District's Chena River Lakes Flood
Control Project. The two are contributing members of a team
overseeing 20,000 acres of multipurpose public land.
Jacob
Kresel, senior park ranger and natural resource specialist, and Cole
Van Beusekom, park ranger, are easy to recognize with their forest
green uniforms, “Smokey bear” hats and Corps castle belt buckles.
The opportunity to work at the Chena Project in North Pole is a
fulfilling vocation for both.
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May 15, 2015 - The Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project is the most northern flood risk mitigation operation within the Corps and is responsible for protecting Fairbanks, North Pole and Fort Wainwright from high-water on the Chena River. The key components of the project includes Moose Creek Dam, an eight-mile-long earthen dam, four large flood gates and a 3,000 acre grassy floodway. Since its completion, the dam has been operated successfully 22 times most recently in the summer of 2014. From left to right is Reyna Volsky, project assistant; Jacob Kresel, senior park ranger; Cole Van Beusekom, park ranger; Charles Abbott, dam equipment repairer; and Tim Feavel, project manager.
(Courtesy photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
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“I have always loved being outside and in the woods. I
grew up on a nice chunk of land in Elk Mound, Wisconsin,”
Kresel, 27, said. “It seemed like becoming a park ranger for
the Corps was that access to a career where I get to be an
outdoorsman.”
Growing up in Delano, Minnesota, it
only took a short time for Van Beusekom, 25, to realize his
calling.
“I wanted to be a ranger since I was a young
lad,” he said. “My office is the wilderness.”
During
their childhoods, backwoods experiences that were filled
with boating, hiking and subsistence expeditions shaped
these two men into their current roles at the project.
Kresel said his fondest outdoor memory was a 60-mile,
six-day canoe adventure down the Flambeau River. Whereas Van
Beusekom described a two-week family canoe and camping trip
through the Superior National Forest as a rustic chapter
during his upbringing.
“These two bring a special
energy to the project which is especially enhanced by their
high interests in hunting, fishing and the outdoors,” said
Tim Feavel, Chena Project manager. “As every Alaskan knows,
it takes a special breed to thrive in the Interior and park
rangers are no exception.”
The two are equipped with
educations that translate well into their daily duties of
law enforcement and public safety patrols; community
engagements; contract management for the Corps public land;
special use permit issue and monitoring; and wildlife
habitat enhancement to name a few.
Kresel studied
conservation at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls
with an emphasis in biology, environmental studies and
outdoor education. Meanwhile, Van Beusekom earned his degree
from the University of Minnesota in recreation and resource
management.
Overall, the duo claims there is great
satisfaction from interacting with visitors using the land.
“Since I have been working here, learning how to talk to
people, whether to de-escalate a situation or answer general
questions has provided me with the greatest lessons,” Van
Beusekom said.
Furthermore, strong relations with the
visitors and members of the North Pole and Fairbanks
communities are critical to a successful mission for the
Corps and its rangers.
“Maintaining a good rapport
with the public and helping them understand how the gates
and dam operate is important,” Kresel explained. “This way,
people know what our capabilities are and what we are
mandated to do at the project.”
The Chena Project is
the most northern flood risk mitigation operation within the
Corps and is responsible for protecting Fairbanks, North
Pole and Fort Wainwright from high-water on the Chena River.
In 1979, its construction was completed for $256 million in
response to the devastating 1967 Fairbanks flood. During
that event, heavy rains swelled the Chena and Little Chena
rivers causing water to pour into downtown Fairbanks and the
outlying region. Nearly 7,000 people were displaced from
their homes and damage estimates totaled more than $80
million.
Located 20 miles east of Fairbanks, the key
components of the Chena Project includes Moose Creek Dam, an
eight-mile-long earthen dam, four large flood gates and a
3,000 acre grassy floodway. Since its completion, the dam
has been operated successfully 22 times most recently in the
summer of 2014.
Based on flood prediction and
modeling charts, it is estimated that the culmination of
these activations have resulted in a cost savings of more
than $370 million in damage prevention, said Julie Anderson,
civil engineer in the Operations Branch.
“The Chena
Project dam is there for a reason, serving a purpose along
with the floodway,” Van Beusekom said. “The dike systems are
not just earth and embankments. There is a purpose to them.”
High-water events can happen due to heavy rain or fast
melting winter snow and ice upstream. During an occurrence
that requires lowering the gates, the Corps' main objective
is to regulate the Chena River's flow to less than 12,000
cubic feet per second of water in downtown Fairbanks. On an
average day, the water typically courses through the heart
of the city at 1,000 to 3,000 cubic feet per second.
Residents may notice that the river still rises downstream,
but the chance for flooding is significantly diminished.
Depending on the severity of the event, the Chena
Project's 3,000 acres of floodway will fill as Moose Creek
Dam begins to impound water. The project is designed to
divert excess flood waters into the Tanana River to avoid
Fairbanks or slowly regulate its release through the outlet
works.
The integrity of Moose Creek Dam is critical
to avoiding property damage or worse. Therefore,
preservation of the embankment is a community effort that
requires public understanding of the destructive impacts
from all-terrain vehicles to its gravel surface and
silt-blanket, Feavel said.
With more than 165,000
visitors each year, two rangers enforcing illegal off-road
use on the dam cannot stop the problem, but can help slow it
down, Kresel said.
“We try to reduce the amount of
ATV traffic in the floodway to protect the area from damage
from the tires that may cause rutting,” Van Beusekom
explained. “Otherwise, it increases the risk of dam
failure.”
Ultimately, as part of an engineer team
that monitors and regulates river flow during high-water
events, the rangers' primary duties are to manage all public
use of the land, enforce rules, answer questions, crowd and
traffic control. Also, they help project and district staff
observe water levels, embankment and floodway conditions as
well as manipulate gate functions.
“Flood risk
management becomes the number one priority and recreation
second,” Kresel said. “However, we do not shut down
recreation during an event.”
The Chena Project offers
a myriad of recreational opportunities such as hunting,
hiking, fishing, horseback and walking trails, paved bike
paths and excellent wildlife viewing. Through a partnership
with the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Chena Lakes
Recreation Area offers a boat launch, camp sites,
cross-country trails, picnic spots, playground, non-alcohol
beach, swimming, volleyball court and restrooms.
Special use permits also are available to groups wanting to
use the land for special events. In the past, the project
has been used by groups such as historical societies, dog
trainers, mushers, snow machine races and the Bureau of Land
Management's fire service smoke jumpers.
If water
conditions are right, throughout July, salmon can be seen
swimming up the Chena River to spawn and the top of the
outlet works control structure is an excellent place to see
them. Project staff sets up displays, star tent and picnic
tables on the deck to encourage the public to view the
migration upstream, Feavel said. The Alaska Department of
Fish and Game also establishes a counting station every
year. In previous years, about 10,000 salmon have passed
through the dam on their way to their spawning grounds
through mid-August.
In the fall, the Corps issues
personal-use firewood permits to the public to take
advantage of flood debris logs bailed from the Chena River
during the flood events.
Certainly, the rangers'
strong friendship helps them achieve success during the
tense moments of a dam operation or while conducting general
oversight of the land. Growing up in the same part of the
country, sharing a love for their professions and partaking
in the occasional hunting and fishing trip together has
strengthened that bond, Kresel said.
“He is a great
role model to look up to,” Van Beusekom said. “Kresel has
been here a few more years than I have, so he is a great
resource of information about the dam and area.”
Together these rangers have driven ATVs hundreds of miles
into remote parts of the Chena Project to root out timber
poachers, squatter shacks, dumped vehicles, land
encroachments and off-road violators, Feavel said.
“We went up river on a boat patrol to check out the bear and
moose camps,” Van Beusekom explained. “We look at those to
ensure there are not residential cabins or trash left behind
on the project boundaries.”
During off-duty hours,
these rangers are united by a common interest in training
their hunting dogs. Kresel has a Brittany spaniel, Mac, and
Van Beusekom owns a German shorthaired pointer, Smokey.
Indeed, their passion for the outdoors and fulfilling
the Chena Project's mission is what drives these men.
“We are here to protect Fairbanks,” Kresel said. “An
understanding of what we do here and sharing that with other
community members is ideal. That way, we can be as helpful
as possible to the public.”
By John Budnik, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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