In September 2012 I began a float on the Susitna River that would ultimately take me down its entire 310 mile length, though broken up into three legs over the course of a year--and ultimately covering 400 miles. This was the first and only known traverse of the river's entire length. The river makes an amazing journey that begins high on the glaciated flanks of the Alaska Range traveling through bare rock and ice to expansive treeless tundra to dense boreal forest through several significant canyons and ultimately ends in the Gulf of Alaska via Cook Inlet.
I made this journey because a project to dam the Susitna River at that time had Alaska state backing with significant studies funded and taking place. With the possibility of such a large wild river being altered for the rest of my lifetime and beyond, I wanted to witness firsthand what might be lost. Though the dam and reservoir will exist only on a small portion of the river, the effects will extend well beyond, if only in destroying the continuity of a wild river.
This journey has become a part of my aspiration to cross Alaska from Anchorage to the Arctic Ocean.
See one of the following for more:
I made this journey because a project to dam the Susitna River at that time had Alaska state backing with significant studies funded and taking place. With the possibility of such a large wild river being altered for the rest of my lifetime and beyond, I wanted to witness firsthand what might be lost. Though the dam and reservoir will exist only on a small portion of the river, the effects will extend well beyond, if only in destroying the continuity of a wild river.
This journey has become a part of my aspiration to cross Alaska from Anchorage to the Arctic Ocean.
See one of the following for more:
- Susitna River: From Glaciers to the Sea Article (Better written and more recently revised than Ground Truth Trekking website)
- Susitna River Fairbanks News-Miner Op-Ed | Feb 27, 2016 | Fairbanks News-Miner | Author Chris Dunn | A published op-ed based on a prior expedition focused on a proposed dam on Alaska’s Susitna River.
- Susitna River Talkeetna KTNA Article on Presentation
- Susitna River: From Glaciers to the Sea Stanford NPDP (National Performance of Dams Program)
- Susitna River: From Glaciers to the Sea Ground Truth Trekking Website | 2012-2013 | Ground Truth Trekking | Author + Photographer Chris Dunn | A photojournalism expedition following the entire length of Alaska's Susitna River (a 400-mile independent journey) inspired by the then proposed Susitna River Dam.
Susitna River: From Glaciers to the Sea PowerPoint Presentation (with additional material, including focus on Alaska energy)
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Notice the drastic changes in the Susitna Glacier in 42 years.
1) Post, Austin. 1970. Susitna Glacier: From the Glacier Photograph Collection. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media.
2) Wolken, G. 2012. Courtesy of Alaska Energy Authority. Digital Media.
1) Post, Austin. 1970. Susitna Glacier: From the Glacier Photograph Collection. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media.
2) Wolken, G. 2012. Courtesy of Alaska Energy Authority. Digital Media.