OUR VISION
We believe the Copper River watershed can have a vibrant, healthy future.
Every year people and businesses sign up to decorate lamp posts on Main Street in Cordova, hosted by the cordovachamber. It`s a fun, creative way for the community to brighten up the town for the holidays!
Our Operations Manager, Kim Casavan, led the charge today to decorate the Copper River Watershed Project Lamp Post, right outside our office at 501 Main Street. Come check it out, pop in, and say hello!
Thanks to Brad Reynolds for volunteering his time to assist in the set up!
☃ We love community projects! ☃
.
CopperRiver.org
.
#LampPostDecorating #CordovaAlaska #communityproject
✨ Check out the new Eyak Lake Atlas! ✨
We are over the moon to launch a project that was a year in the making - the Eyak Lake Atlas!
Our talented GIS Specialist, Ashley Taylor, built and interactive platform containing 40 years of data on Eyak Lake in Cordova, AK, including the history, interactive maps, cultural significance, value, water quality reports, and much, much more.
The Atlas is user-friendly and downloadable for community members, partners, teachers, and students. A one-stop shop for anyone wanting to learn more about the lake and its history, with access to raw data if someone wants to dive deep. Ashley built it to consolidate data and resources using a combination of historical data and documents, along with new surveys, and all are available in various formats. Download datasets for your own investigation or explore the StoryMap to discover the past, present, and possible future of Eyak Lake.
.
Read the full story and find the Eyak Lake Atlas portal here: https://copperriver.org/2024/11/26/eyak-lake-atlas/
.
📷 Courtesy of Ashley Taylor - Screenshots of the new Eyak Lake Atlas!
#EyakLake #CordovaAlaska #EyakLakeAtlas #newdatabase #interactivemaps #historicaldata
🐟 Adopt-a-Fry starts next week on Giving Tuesday!! 🐟
We`re having some fun this year with Adopt-a-Fry! If you`re not already signed up for our newsletter, tap the link below to take the Adopt-a-Fry journey with us starting next week! https://copperriver.org/news-events/email-signup/
.
And if you`re in the mood to give early to support stewardship in the Copper River watershed, visit:
https://copperriver.org/donate/
.
📷 CRWP - Kenny Lake student in the field during the 2022 Salmon in the Classroom program.
#fallfundraiser #adoptafry #salmonintheclassroom #copperriverwatershed #watershededucation #watershedstewardship
Save-the-Date!!
🦆 You`re invited to our Wild Food Feast in Cordova! 🐟
Join us for this fun potluck event and bring a dish made with love and ingredients from the watershed!
Gather with us and celebrate the heart of subsistence living, sharing food, stories, and the spirit of community and sustainability. Whether you`re attending Board of Fish or simply looking to connect — all are welcome!
🍷 BYOS (Bring Your Own Spirits) 🍾
WHEN: Tuesday, December 10, 2024
WHERE: Pioneer Igloo - Cordova, AK
WHY: A Watershed Community Feast!
.
CopperRiver.org
.
#CordovaAlaska #WildFoodFeast #WildFoods #localfoods #communityevent #copperriverwatershed
🐟 Keep Your Eyes Peeled - Adopt-a-Fry is Coming Soon!! 🐟
One of our favorite stewardship programs is Salmon in the Classroom, which gets youth outside into the watershed to learn about salmon habitat. They help harvest salmon eggs, take them back to the classroom, and place them in classroom tanks.
Students care for the tank environment and raise the eggs throughout the winter. In the spring the kids will climb into waders, head back out into the watershed, and release the Fry - a.k.a. baby salmon - back into their local streams.
You can adopt one of these little Fry for $25, and give the future stewards of the Copper River watershed hands-on opportunities to experience the lifecycle of salmon and the habitat they thrive in.
Stay-tuned for Adopt-a-Fry fun coming soon!!
.
https://copperriver.org/donate/
.
#FallFundraiser #AdoptaFry #SalmonintheClassroom #copperriverwatershed #watershededucation
🎉 Congratulations Amanda Jackson, for being nominated and voted onto the AKISP Board of Directors!! 🎉
Amanda Jackson, our Stewardship Program Manager, presented at the Alaska Invasive Species Partnership Workshop (AKISP) to share CRWP`s outreach activities for invasive plant management efforts that occurred throughout the watershed this past year. She engaged with many statewide partners she has gotten to know since she joined CRWP last November.
Many partners mentioned they felt inspired by Amanda`s presentation and will be incorporating events into their field seasons! Several new collaborations and up-and-coming projects through shared knowledge will be in the works.
Amanda was also nominated and voted in to join the AKISP Board of Directors where she will serve a two-year term that allows for more opportunities to connect with Tribal, State, Nonprofit, and Federal entities across Alaska that are monitoring and managing non-native species. Amanda is looking forward to working with fellow weed warriors and gaining action traction across the state together in the name of invasive species!
.
CopperRiver.org
.
📷 Danielle Verna - CRWP Stewardship Program Manager Amanda Jackson presenting at the AKISP Workshop in Fairbanks last week.
#akisp #boardofdirectors #invasivespeciesawareness #copperriverwatershed
Happy GIS Day!
GIS (Geographical Information Systems) maps our watershed, identifies stream temperature monitoring sites, monitors salmon spawning beds, tracks culverts that need to be replaced, and identifies where in the watershed new culverts have been installed. There are endless applications for GIS in stewardship work!
We are lucky to have Ashley Taylor, our GIS Specialist, on staff to help give us a bird`s-eye view of the watershed and the stewardship work we are doing. Ashley has a Master’s degree in GIS and Web Map Programming and 9 years of environmental fieldwork experience. She works in the Fish Passage and Restoration Program as the GIS and Data Specialist.
To see how we are using GIS at CRWP, visit the Culvert Mapper:
https://copperriver.org/programs/fish-habitat-restoration/restoration/culverts-are-the-culprits/
Temperature Monitoring Network map:
https://copperriver.org/programs/fish-habitat-restoration/monitoring/temperature-monitoring-network/
.
Map by Ashley Taylor - Communities in the Copper River watershed.
📷 Michelle McAfee/CRWP - Ashley Taylor mapping salmon spawning beds in Eyak Lake.
#gisday2024 #gis #copperriverwatershed
CRWP sent four staff members to the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference in New Mexico last week to learn and upgrade skills, discover fresh ideas, and meet new people who are doing great work in the nonprofit world. Professional development is an important part of growth as an organization, and a great way to learn what others are doing in this sector to thrive.
Kate Morse, Alexis Cooper, Kim Casavan, and Michelle McAfee came home fired up to implement new ideas and concepts that will help our organization succeed now and in a future full of change.
.
Learn more about our staff at https://copperriver.org/about-us/staff/
.
#NonprofitStorytellingConference #professionaldevelopment
Save-the-Date!! Thursday, December 5th, the Prince William Sound Science Center staff will host a watch party of the December 5th Science Night event for the Cordova community!
The event will be 5:30-8:00pm and feature the following four talks related to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) region:
► John Moran, a Research Fisheries Biologist from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center will give a presentation titled “Large Whale Entanglement Response in Alaska “a Team Effort.””
► Kristina Arsenault, a Marine Transportation System Specialist (Cyber) from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit in Valdez will be giving a talk on cybersecurity.
► Andy Schroeder, a co-founder of Ocean Plastics Recovery Project will be giving a talk on marine debris cleanup.
► Barbara Callahan, Senior Director of Response and Preparedness Services at the International Bird Rescue will give a presentation titled “Oiled Wildlife Response and Innovation since the Exxon Valdez.”
#CordovaAlaska #watchparty #sciencetalk
The Copper River drains a 24,000 square-mile area to the Copper River Delta, then into the Gulf of Alaska. The Delta is one of the largest wetlands where millions of migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway come to nest every spring. It is a sanctuary between the marine environment and the coastal rainforest of the North Gulf Coast and the only known nesting site for the dusky Canada goose.
This is critical habitat - for nesting birds and spawning salmon. For subsistence and commercial fishing. It is a top priority for our fish passage work and a place worthy of great respect and effort to keep it thriving.
Come see the Delta for yourself - and the millions of birds who nest here in the spring during the Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival, May 1-4, 2025.
.
Find more information at https://www.coppershorebird.com
.
📷 CRWP - The Copper River Delta.
CRWP is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from qualified organizations for invasive plant management and outreach projects across Alaska. Funds will be available for non-federal organizations for the 2025 field season.
Those eligible to propose projects and compete for available funds include all non-federal organizations. This includes but is not limited to, CWMAs, SWCDs, TCDs, non-profits, local communities, and Alaska Native organizations.
All eligible organizations must be able to identify terrestrial infestations not located on federal lands.
.
Find more information at https://copperriver.org/programs/invasive-plant-management/ak-invasive-plant-mini-grant-program/
.
📷 Amanda Jackson/CRWP - White sweet clover weed pull on the Gulkana River summer 2024.
Fall means fundraising at CRWP, and there are many ways to support stewardship work in the Copper River watershed.
-Become a CRWP Member!
-Donate any amount directly on our website.
-Volunteer for cleanups and programs.
-Participate in events.
-Share our posts and newsletters with your people - help get the word out!
Thank you to all of our partners, donors, and volunteers for helping CRWP create a barrier-free thriving watershed for fish and people.
🔹Donate to CRWP at https://copperriver.org/donate/
🔸Subscribe to our newsletter at https://copperriver.org/news-events/email-signup/
Have you heard?
We’re excited to host this fun potluck event and you’re invited! Bring a dish made with love and ingredients from the watershed!
Gather with us and celebrate the heart of subsistence living, sharing food, stories, and the spirit of community and sustainability. Whether you’re attending Board of Fish or simply looking to connect — all are welcome!
BYOS (Bring Your Own Spirits) 
WHEN: Tuesday, December 10, 2024, 6pm-8pm (doors open at 5:30pm).
WHERE: Pioneer Igloo – Cordova, AK
WHY: A Watershed Community Feast!
$20 per person (kids 5 and under are free) or FREE if you bring a dish!
CRWP is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from qualified organizations for invasive plant management and outreach projects across Alaska. Funds will be available for non-federal organizations for the 2025 field season.
Those eligible to propose projects and compete for available funds include all non-federal organizations. This includes, but is not limited to, CWMAs, SWCDs, TCDs, non-profits, local communities, and Alaska Native organizations.
All eligible organizations must be able to identify terrestrial infestations not located on federal lands.
Proposal Submittal Deadline: All proposals are due Friday, December 20th, 2024 by 5:00pm Alaska Time Zone.
Our Programs Making a Difference
