OUR VISION
We believe the Copper River watershed can have a vibrant, healthy future.
What a day in the outdoor watershed office!
We were thrilled to be joined by thirty-five 5th graders and their two teachers for salmon-fun out the road in Cordova! On a gorgeous sunny day we worked with our partners at Prince William Sound Science Center and Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation and super volunteer Ken Hodges to guide students through a variety of activities that brought to life classroom lessons on watersheds and salmon spawning habitat, and collected salmon eggs to place in their classroom tanks.
"My heart soared to hear them define riffles and pools and explain all the reasons bankside vegetation is so important to salmon habitat (in case you don`t know, it provides shade, keeps banks intact and reduces erosion, leaf litter feeds the insects that feed the fish, and when the trees fall into the stream, they create habitat!). We were all in awe of the abundant spawning activity going on in the stream, too, including in our new culverts on the main stem of 18-Mile stream, home to coho salmon and coastal cutthroat trout! The eggs they helped collect have now been placed in the tank at the school and the students are eager to take on the role of caring for the eggs and monitoring the tank. Thanks to Alaska Department of Fish & Game for permitting this amazing educational opportunity." —Kate Morse, CRWP Executive Director
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Click our bio link to find out more on our Salmon in the Classroom Program!
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📷 Photos 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9 Kate Morse/CRWP & Photos 3, 4, 8 Amanda Jackson/CRWP - Cordova 5th Grade students field trip at 18-Mile stream culvert collecting salmon eggs and learning about salmon habitat.
#CordovaAlaska #SalmonintheClassroom #salmoneduation #salmonhabitat #fieldtrip pwssc
Last summer, youth participated in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor Center Plant Program Intro Day. They researched invasive species and designed Wanted Posters with our Watershed Stewardship Program Manager, Amanda Jackson. We got a kick out of this one:
✍️ The handwriting reads:
🌾 Common Name: foxtail barley
🔬 Scientific Name: Hordeum jubatum L.
🗻 Description: Terrestrial
📏 Size: 30.5-60 cm tall
🍥 Color: Pinkish, red, green
🐰 Other Characteristics: Fluffy, soft, harry
🚶♂️ Spreads by: Human activity
👮 Crimes: Can cause damage to mouth, eyes, and skin of animals. Host for viruses. Accumulates high amounts of salts in its leaves and roots reducing the salinity of the soil.
🌏 May be located at: Western North America
🤷♀️ To be returned to: Western North America
🏆 Reward: A free burger. A free trip whenever you would like + five million dollars.
😆
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Click our bio link to find more on Invasive Species in the Copper River watershed.
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#InvasivePlantManagement #foxtailbarley #invasivespecies #copperriverwatershed
Every day is Indigenous People`s Day in the Copper River watershed. We are grateful to live and work in partnership with the Eyak, Ahtna, Sugpiaq and Tlingit People who have lived here since the beginning of human time. `Awa’ahdah and Tsin’aen for stewarding this watershed with deep wisdom and knowledge.
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Thank you to SalmonState for sharing this Native lands map https://native-land.ca/
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#IndigenousPeoplesDay #Eyak #Ahtna #Sugpiaq #Tlingit #copperriverwatershed
Our Watershed Stewardship Manager Amanda Jackson was out about in the Copper Basin last month and snapped some photos of fall colors and fungi. These plants and mushrooms were not harvested - just pretty to look at. Our watershed is a kaleidoscope of colors when the angle of light shifts, and the days get shorter!
CopperRiver.org
📷 Amanda Jackson/CRWP - Fall colors and fungi on a walk in the Copper Basin.
#CopperBasin #FallColors #copperriverwatershed
✨ CRWP Board of Directors Spotlight - Nelly Hand ✨
We are grateful to our Board Members who volunteer their time to help guide our nonprofit organization.
Nelly Hand is the Vice President of CRWP`s Board of Directors, and also an Owner & Founder of Drifters Fish, a small team of sustainable fishermen bringing wild-caught Alaska salmon to dinner tables. Nelly grew up in a fishing family and spent summers throughout high school and college working on the family boat in Alaska.
This summer, Nelly joined our GIS Specialist Ashley Taylor, on Eyak Lake in Cordova to map spawning beds, and shared her experience:
"In late August, I went out with Ashley to survey another section of the lake - Middle Arm. Right away, as we launched our boats, you could smell the fish in the lake - the ones that had spawned and were decomposing, leaving their nutrients behind to feed the trees that grew along the border. We paddled across and into Middle Arm, and as we rounded the corner into that finger of the lake, the waters started to simmer with a thick mass of deeply red spawning salmon swimming slowly in the shallows. It was so powerful to see how many were back there, just a wild ribbon of red bodies that had made it this far - all the way through the ocean and back to their home waters. It’s a really beautiful thing to get to witness a healthy salmon cycle. After a summer on the water, harvesting wild fish - I’m so grateful to get to see a healthy return of fish continuing their rhythms on Eyak Lake." —Nelly Hand, Drifter`s Fish
Aside from the time and energy Nelly gives to CRWP`s Board of Directors, Drifter`s Fish also donates 1% of their proceeds back to CRWP to support our stewardship work in the watershed!
Thank you Nelly and Drifter`s Fish!
https://driftersfish.com
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Learn more about CRWP`s Board of Directors at https://copperriver.org/about-us/staff-board/
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📷 Nelly Hand - Photo 1 - Nelly Hand. Photos 2 & 3 - Nelly & Ashley at Middle Arm on Eyak Lake mapping spawning beds.
#BoardofDirectors #EyakLake #CordovaAlaska #nonprofitvolunteer #fisherwoman
Just In: for those that missed out on Adult Salmon Jam Merch this year, we`ve got you covered with a restock order!
We have a small selection of Crew Neck Sweatshirts, Zip-Up Hoodies + T-shirts. We still have gear for the little ones too, T-shirts and Crew Neck Sweatshirts. Stop by the CRWP Gift Shop and grab your new Salmon Jam merch!
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CopperRiver.org
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#SalmonJam #CordovaAlaska #merch #hoodies
On September 27th, Cordova Girl Scout Troop 148 led a clean-up day at Eyak Lake to remove large piles of rusty nails from pallet burning on Sunset Beach, which borders important salmon spawning beds. The Troop garnered support from CRWP, U.S. Forest Service , Alaska Commercial Company , and Peterson`s Welding, with a donated a fire ring to contain beach fires, and funds to help them create an informational sign with their artwork and design.
The Girl Scouts set out to complete their Outdoor Journey and were inspired to Take Action with this project to protect spawning habitat and bring awareness to the problem of nails accumulating on Sunset Beach. The project expanded into the clean-up effort that resulted in them earning their Bronze Award.
Clean-up day gave us perfect fall weather. The group started at Nirvana Park to do a clean-up sweep, moved to Skaters Cabin for another clean-up sweep, and ended the day at Sunset Beach where the Girl Scouts worked away picking up any debris and many, many pounds of rusted nails (over 10 gallons of nails!). The girls were proud to install the sign they created and the beautiful custom fire pit generously donated by Peterson`s Welding. The troop ended the clean-up effort with s’mores, donated by Alaska Commercial Company, cooked over a celebratory fire and received their pins and badges for their work on this project.
We invite you to help us continue to maintain this beach and shorefront to protect the salmon eggs and alevin rearing just offshore of this beach in the gravel.
We are full of smiles and hope to have our young stewards care about protecting salmon spawning habitat and doing something to make a difference. Thank you again to the troop leaders and supportive parents, U.S. Forest Service, Alaska Commercial Company, and Peterson`s Welding for helping make this happen!
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Click our bio link to find more on the Girl Scout Clean-Up Project.
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📷 Kim Casavan/CRWP - Girl Scout Troop and supporting partners cleaning up Sunset Beach on Eyak Lake during a beautiful fall day.
#CordovaAlaska #EyakLake #cleanup #beachcleanup
Yes, it rains a lot in Cordova. And that`s why we have such an amazing array of wild mushrooms available!
This beautiful Chicken-of-Woods was along a trail outside Cordova a few weeks back when our Operation Manager, Kim Casavan went for a hike. Harvesting wild foods in the region, whether fish or fungi, are part of what makes life here so good.
Happy Harvesting!
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CopperRiver.org
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#chickenofthewoods #wildmushrooms #CordovaAlaska #wildfoods #rainyclimate
Save-the-Date! November 12th-14th, the University of Alaska Fairbanks / Cooperative Extension Service will host the Invasive Species Workshop at Pike`s Landing in Fairbanks.
Our Watershed Stewardship Program Manager, Amanda Jackson, has been working hard in the Copper Basin to remove invasive plants and replant native species, and will give a presentation at the workshop.
Learn more at https://alaskainvasives.org/?page_id=134
#invasivespeciesworkshop
CORDOVA - ♻️ Do you know about the aluminum recycling program? ♻️
When you recycle cans in Cordova, the proceeds go to support our fishing gear recycling program! It’s a win-win for Cordova and keeps reusable and recyclable materials out of our landfill. What "CAN" you recycle?
—Aluminum Cans
—Soda & Beer Cans
—Aluminum Can Lids
Bring your aluminum cans to the Baler on Whitshead Road, or look for recycling receptacles around town, like outside the CRWP office, if you only have a few cans.
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Click our bio link for more on our recycling program.
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#RecyclingMatters #Reuse #repurpose #CordovaAlaska #recyclingprogram
On September 9th, the Chugach Alaska Corporation hosted a bench dedication ceremony at the Little Tonsina bridge site, honoring colleague and friend, David Phillips. An informational sign was also placed and dedicated at the site showing the connection, partnership, and complexity of the watershed system with guidance from Ahtna’s traditional ecological knowledge.
After the ceremony, CRWP Staff members Alexis Cooper, Amanda Jackson, Colleen Merrick, and CRWP Board Member Tenley Nelson, joined youth from the Native Village of Tazlina , Copper River Native Association , and Native Village of Kluti-Kaah in collaboration and co-stewardship to replant the banks of the Little Tonsina project site.
Several native species of sedges, shrubs, and trees were provided by the Alaska Soil and Water Conservation District. Nearly 210 sedges, 200 bulbs of mature vetch root-wads, and 500 one-inch plugs of dwarf fireweed and sweet vetch were planted to restore vegetation, allowing roots to hold the bank together and act as a nature-based solution. We hope they will grow and spread throughout the project site.
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Click our bio to find more on the Little Tonsina Restoration Project.
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📷 1-2 & 4-10 Colleen Merrick/CRWP-CRNA. Replanting effort along the banks of the Little Tonsina Bridge Restoration site. Photo #3 by Michael Levshakoff - Bench Dedication Ceremony by Chugach Alaska Corporation.
#LittleTonsina #replantingnativeplants #salmonhabitatrestoration #CopperBasin #copperriverwatershed Alaska Department of Natural Resources
This is the last weekend to buy a Kviek beer at Copper River Brewing and donate to salmon habitat restoration work while you enjoy your brew!
When you drop into the Brewery in Downtown Cordova and purchase a glass of Kviek beer, $1 from each purchase will be donated to CRWP in support of fish habitat restoration projects that open up more upstream habitat by removing barriers, allowing more area for spawning. Which means more fish to catch when they grow up strong and healthy. 🐟 🐟 🐟
Thank you Copper River Brewing for running this special during the month of September!
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Click our bio link to find more on our Fish Habitat Restoration projects.
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#sportfishing #CordovaAlaska #copperriverbrewing #goodbeer #salmonhabitatrestoration
Have you heard?
Kate has been an integral part of CRWP since 2008, when she began as a part-time staff member after earning her master’s in public administration from the University of Oregon, with a focus on managing watershed landscapes.
She is taking on the Executive Director role during a period of significant growth in our organization. With sixteen dedicated years working in the watershed, her deep understanding of the region’s challenges and opportunities will help lead CRWP into its next chapter.
The U.S. Forest Service recruited youth from across the state to contribute up to 10,000 Alaskan ornaments to be displayed on the Capital Christmas Tree. In October, a Sitka Spruce will be harvested from the Tongass National Forest that will symbolize the cherished lands, people, and the great state of Alaska in Washington, D.C., on the west lawn, where it will be installed and decorated.
What started as a Small Fry event during Salmon Jam in Cordova grew to welcome several different groups of kids from the region to decorate the wooden small fry ornaments.
Our Programs Making a Difference
