Duck Creek Greenway #1 Traditional Cache
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Nano sized camo'd cache. Bring own pen or pencil. Initials and date only. Please place the cache back exactly like you found it. Cool area. Waterfowl and red-winged blackbirds were common this spring and summer. FTF honors go to ncbiscuit from Durham, NC with ohjoy! and Ovid's owner in company. We're honored to have you discover this cache first!
Duck Creek Greenway Nancy Street Wetland. In the 1700’s, glacial outwash streams flowed over this land depositing gravel and sediment along their paths. Duck Creek is a remnant of these streams, although today groundwater and surface runoff provide the water supply. In the 1950’s, the growing city of Juneau required gravel to support development in the Mendenhall Valley. Removal of gravel from this land exposed natural iron deposits in the soil and created a large pit that filled with groundwater. Ground water carries iron to the surface where it reacts with oxygen to form orange-colored precipitate called iron floc. It can be seen at the base of plants in the wetlands throughout Duck Creek. This chemical process removes dissolved oxygen from the water, reducing the amount of oxygen available for the aquatic organisms. The iron floc clogs gravel beds that would otherwise provide spawning habitat for fish. In 2005, the City and Borough of Juneau Engineer Department began enhancing the Nancy Street wetland to improve habitat for fish and wildlife. Constructions of the Thunder Mountain high school supplied 6,000 truckloads of soil that were used to create shallows and deep water wetlands. Also, islands were shaped with large rocks and logs to provide resting places for waterfowl. Volunteers planted willows, cottonwoods and emergent wetland species such as Sitka Sedge and Small Leaf Bulrush. The emergent plants pulled iron floc in their root systems, reduce iron transport in Duck Creek, and provide food and protection for cut-throat trout, Coho salmon, mallards, herons and many other wildlife species. (Info from signs posted at the wetlands viewing platform.)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fubhyqa'g unir gb trg bss gur genvy. Yrg lbhe svatref qb gur frnepuvat.