Fishwheels at Nenana

Here are two fish wheels on the bank of the Tanana River just outside Nenana, ready to be put in the water. Fishwheels, which can often be seen along Interior Alaska rivers, actually were developed in the Lower 48 in the late 1800s. They began appearing in Alaskan waters about the time of the Klondike and Alaska gold rushes. The wheels are so efficient at harvesting salmon that the states of Oregon and Washington banned them in the early 1900s. Their use in Alaska is  regulated by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.