Ahtna Elder Katie John took her case to the Supreme Court to fight for the right for her people to continue to access customary and traditional resources. In doing so, she established a subsistence priority for all rural Alaskans. This required navigating new and confusing legal systems and traveling far from the place she was fighting to protect. She was dedicated to her people and the land, stood her ground and won.

In her honor, we are committed to working with the Ahtna people, including Katie John`s home community of Mentasta Lake, to help ensure their voices and concerns are heard and that our interactions with the watershed reflect the traditions and respect they have held for these lands and resources for thousands of years.

On Katie John Day, we pause and remember — and honor — a true watershed champion.

📷 Photo 1: Michelle McAfee/CRWP - The braided upper Copper River, near Mentasta, 2023. Photo 2: Shae Bowman/CRWP - Mentasta Lake, 2023.

#KatieJohnDay ...

CRWP Staff members Kate Morse and Kirsti Jurica participated in a field trip this week for the Coastal Ecology for Teachers course hosted by the pwsc_cordova. The course emphasizes place-based education and are exploring Cordova for a week. Kate and Kirsti conducted a lesson on aquatic ecology, focusing on invertebrate monitoring, highlighting the significance of data collection and presented effective teaching strategies for educators.

And just for fun, Kate dressed the teachers up as invertebrates to learn about the anatomy and adaptations they have for feeding and breathing. 🐛
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CopperRiver.org
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📷 Kirsti Jurica/CRWP - Teachers in the field learning about invertebrates, and dressing up as an invertebrate.
#Cordova #teachertraining #CoastalEcology #PrinceWilliamSound #invertebrates pwsc_alaska ...

Rachel Ryan, the new Copper Basin Plant Program Technician, Amanda Jackson, and Bryan Marquardt from Bureau of Land Management had a great time teaching the Upstream Learning homeschool community students how to wade in the water for macroinvertebrates and closely identify them!

The students also released the Coho salmon they raised in a classroom tank for the last three and a half months in the Upstream Learning tutoring facility. Some parents even got to join in on the fun on this warm afternoon at Junction Lake!

We love hosting and engaging all ages of youth and adults in stewardship activities and sharing the magic of the Salmon in the Classroom program.
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Find more details on the Salmon in the Classroom program at https://copperriver.org/programs/watershed-education/salmon-in-the-classroom-2/
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📷 Laurie Blair/CRSD - Upstream Learning students identifying macroinvertebrates and releasing Coho salmon they raised in a classroom tank.
#SalmonintheClassroom #CopperBasin #CopperRiver #copperriverwatershed #AlaskaYouth #SalmonFry
#macroinvertebrates mypubliclands ...

Last Friday in Cordova, Mt. Eccles Elementary 5th Graders had a beautiful day to release salmon fry into their new habitat!

Students scooped baby fish up in plastic cups, counted how many they had, and reported the number to one of the teachers before Mrs. Gretchen spread the students out along the water bank. Ms. Kate from the Prince William Sound Science Center counted to 3 and the students released the fry they raised this winter in classroom tanks. Some of the baby salmon were named, like Bartholemew, Jerald, and many others, and the kids watched their babies swim away into wild waters.

The students then participated in an activity where they created a salmon lifecycle bracelet using different colored beads. Each bead color represented a part of the salmon lifecycle. Once the students were done with the activity, they found a spot to sit down and write their own story of the salmon lifecycle implementing as much science from this activity as they could.

🐟 THIS is Salmon in the Classroom in action! 💖
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Find more information on this incredible program by clicking our bio link and selecting the Salmon in the Classroom button!
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📷 Kim Casavan/CRWP - Cordova Elementary students release baby fish they raised in classroom tanks, into local wild waterway.
#SalmonintheClassroom #youthprogram #SalmonFry #kidsoutside ...

We`d like to congratulate and celebrate Samaya and Liz, our wonderful interns this year, as they graduate high school and move onto the next adventures in life! It`s been a joy having them both in the office, helping out with stewardship work, student programs, and events.

✨The future is bright for you, Samaya and Liz, and on behalf of the team at CRWP, we can`t wait to see what future holds for you both.

Congratulations and Happy Graduation! 🎉 🎓

Check out Liz Heidbrink`s Environmental Science Project by clicking our bio link and selecting the project button.
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CopperRiver.org
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📷 CRWP / Photo 1: Samaya manually removing Orange hawkweed in Cordova. Photo 2: Liz urging everyone to recycle aluminum cans in Cordova! Photo 3: Liz and Samaya helping with the Wish Board during our Spring Annual Meeting.
#CordovaGraduates ...

🗻 CORDOVA - We`re two weeks away from Fishing Web Recycling event! Bring your old fishing web and gear to the Baler on Whitshed Rd on May 28th-29th, 10am-3pm for recycling!

♻️ Recycling used fishing web keeps it out of the landfill and turns it into useful products like shoes, hats, knives, and other items.

🐟 Web has to be free of cork lines, weed lines, lead lines, purse lines, chafe gear and hangings - those can be recycled separately.

🥫 Don`t forget you can recycle aluminum cans anytime! Aluminum cans are accepted for recycling behind AC and at the Baler on Whitshed Rd. The money raised from recycling aluminum cans goes towards making the net recycling program possible. It`s a win-win!!
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Find more information about our recycling program at https://copperriver.org/programs/recycling/
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#recyclingmatters #recycle #fishingwebrecycling #repurpose #CordovaAlaska ...