Located on Alaska's Kodiak Island, the Coplee International Corporation Ranch is home to cattle and horses as well as the island's world famous Kodiak Brown Bears. The ranch is also home to salmon that make up a large portion of the Kodiak bears' diet.

Recognizing that the salmon spawning habitat in and around Lake Rose Tead was being impacted by grazing livestock, the ranch worked with the Farm Service Agency through the Conservation Reserve Program to install Riparian Buffers along 14 miles of lake shore and stream banks. These protective Riparian Buffers have improved water quality by decreasing the amount of sediment and organic matter entering streams. Fences have been installed to exclude livestock from the Riparian Buffers.

Thousands of trees were planted to provide cover and bank stabilization and to protect spawning beds used by King Salmon, Red Salmon, and Silver Salmon. Besides the water quality benefits, the Riparian Buffers are important as travel corridors for bears, deer, and other wildlife. Bald eagles are commonly seen in the area feeding on the abundant salmon.

These conservation practices will continue to benefit the water quality and wildlife habitat of the area as trees and shrubs flourish in the protected Riparian Buffers.

Coplee ranch, located on Alaska's Kodiak Island, installed CRP riparian buffers.

Fourteen miles of riparian buffers on Kodiak Island improve water quality by decreasing sediment and organic matter entering streams.

CRP riparian buffers protect spawning beds used by King, Red, and Silver salmon.