OUR VISION
We believe the Copper River watershed can have a vibrant, healthy future.
When you #PickClickGive this year, consider choosing the Copper River Watershed Project. Your gift supports hands-on stewardship and creates opportunities for youth and adults to explore, study, and experience the region through watershed education programs. With one click, you can help sustain the Copper River watershed now and in the future for people and fish.
PFD applications are open until March 31st at: https://pfd.alaska.gov/
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CopperRiver.org
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#pfd #stewardship #copperriverwatershed
COPPER BASIN - We are recruiting people who love the Copper River and want it to have a thriving and healthy future. Fish, hunt, or recreate in the Copper River watershed? Have ideas for how to keep our way of life sustained for the future? JOIN OUR BOARD!!
Our Board of Directors is a fun group of people representing a range of experiences and expertise while sharing a love for the watershed and the way of life here. We are seeking new interested candidates who are willing to share knowledge, experience, and time with our organization and help lead us into the future.
For more information, contact Executive Director Kate Morse, kate@copperriver.org and/or the current chair of our Board of Directors, Matt Piche, mattjpiche@gmail.com.
→ Must be a resident of a community in the Copper River watershed. ←
Inquiry Deadline: January 31, 2025
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https://copperriver.org/about-us/staff-board/
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#copperriverwatershed #BoardofDirectors #CopperBasin
Amanda Jackson checked in this morning from the copperbasin300 behind the scenes at Sourdough Checkpoint where the majority of the mushers were resting and the dogs were having meals in their straw beds.
Pictured is Chloe Beatty, rookie to the CB300, and Matthew Failor catching up with the checkpoint leaders as they make their way in for a rest.
Also pictured is the squidacreskennel crew happily doing their part in cleaning up after the dogs! Weed-free straw is supplied for warmth, naps, and essentially restrooms for the dogs. It is required of the teams to clean up after their sled departure at each checkpoint. A huge thank you to all handlers from every team who takes action and ensures the task is taken care of!
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Learn more about our Invasive Plant Management Program at https://copperriver.org/programs/invasive-plant-management/
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📷 1 & 2 Amanda Jackson/CRWP - Chloe Beatty and Matthew Failor with Sourdough Checkpoint leaders. 3-6 Amanda Jackson/CRWP - Squid Acres Kennel crew cleaning up and collecting straw used by the dogs at the checkpoint.
#cb300 #alaskasleddograce #copperbasin
Incoming paws! Our Watershed Stewardship Program Manager and CB300 Media Specialist Amanda Jackson, is on the ground at multiple checkpoints this weekend with the Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race!
She shared some photos from the Tolsona Lodge Checkpoint where most all of the teams arrived around the same time. The mushers took a quick break before heading off to Lake Louise Lodge Checkpoint. The dogs took a light snooze on their straw beds and were ready to hit the trail again!
The copperbasin300 is bringing in Alaska-sourced weed-free inspected straw to use throughout the race route for bedding down sled dogs. Straw is a vector for the spread of invasive plant seeds. Invasive seeds have the viability to survive through colder temperatures and even benefit from the scarification process which is a freezing and thawing cycle. The invasive seeds germinate after they thaw, and settle into their new homes. Acquiring straw grown in Alaska rather than sourcing out of the state reduces the risk of invasive plant seeds coming in from other places and invading our watershed. Ensuring production farming fields are inspected for weeds by inspectors such as Salcha-Delta Soil and Water Conservation District, will prevent the further spread of invasive plant seeds via vectors such as paws, feet, tires, water, and more!
Thank you CB300, for acquiring locally sourced straw to keep the Copper Basin sled dog beds warm and for being proactive in our Copper River Watershed Project initiative to protect our watershed by using preventive measures when it comes to the spread of invasive species.
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Learn by tapping our bio link and selecting the Invasive Plant Management button!
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📷 1 courtesy of Whitney McLaren. 2-5 Amanda Jackson/CRWP - Amanda with teams at Tolsona Lodge Checkpoint.
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#cb300 #alaskadossledrace #copperbasin #mushing
And they`re off!!! The CB300 dogsled race started at 10am this morning!
Every year in January, the toughest 300-mile dog sledding race in rural Glennallen, Alaska is traveled by over 400 dogs, 35 mushers, and 100’s of family or fan-based volunteers attending this great journey for support. The Copper Basin 300 (CB300) is an annual race that takes place within the Copper River watershed along trails that cross lakes, rivers, and streams.
The 3-day race is only possible by volunteers who devote their race weekend to overseeing the teams at 7 different checkpoints spread across the 300-mile trail. Before each team reaches a checkpoint, volunteers set out weed-free straw beds that provide a place of rest for the mushers and their team of dogs. With the large amount of human foot and paw traffic, there is an unknown spread of invasive plant seeds that may or may not be present from hay fields that produce straw for dog races. The visiting invasives to the Copper River Basin could potentially infest the Copper River Watershed. Through donations from CRWP, the CB300 board strives to acquire weed-free straw every year to ensure preventative methods have been implemented. We are grateful for the partnership CRWP and CB300 have maintained in the name of invasive species!
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The race began today, Saturday, January 11th at 10am! We’ll post updates and photos from CRWP’s Amanda Jackson via checkpoint check-ins, and you can find play-by-play race updates for CB300 on copperbasin300.
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THANK YOU Whitney McLaren for sharing your beautiful photos with us. Find more of Whitney’s work wmphotographyakdogs.
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CopperRiver.org
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#cb300 #copperbasin #dogsledrace
Do you fish, hunt, or recreate in the Copper River watershed?
Do you have ideas for how to keep our way of life sustained for future generations?
Do you love the Copper River and want it to have a thriving and healthy future?
Join the Board of Directors for the Copper River Watershed Project! We are recruiting people to fill a seat in the Copper Basin and in Cordova. Our Board of Directors is a fun group of people representing a range of experiences and expertise while sharing a love for the watershed and the way of life here. We are seeking new interested candidates who are willing to share knowledge, experience, and time with our organization and help lead us into the future.
For more information, contact Executive Director Kate Morse, kate@copperriver.org and/or the current chair of our Board of Directors, Matt Piche, mattjpiche@gmail.com.
→ Must be a resident of a community in the Copper River watershed. ←
Inquiry Deadline: January 31, 2025
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https://copperriver.org/about-us/staff-board/
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#copperriverwatershed #BoardofDirectors #CordovaAlaska #CopperBasin
A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who donated to our Year-End Fundraising Campaigns! Whether you gave to Adopt-a-Fry, 12 Days of Culverts, or just because, your donations help continue the work of fish habitat restoration, salmon tank education, youth initiatives, stream temperature monitoring, and many other programs and projects to keep the Copper River watershed thriving.
We`re excited to get boots on the ground, hands in the water, and students in the field in 2025!
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CopperRiver.org
The Little Tonsina Bridge was featured in a national publication for usfws, presenting the impacts of BIL funding.
You can view and download the PDF here:
https://www.fws.gov/media/healthy-rivers-communities-and-economies-0
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CopperRiver.org
#LittleTonsinaBridge #fishpassage #BILfunding #salmonhabitatrestoration #copperriverwatershed
🎄 On the twelfth day of Christmas, we were so happy that another fish habitat stream was restored and now runs free. 🎄
The COP 33 project replaced an old culvert that was restricting stream flow, especially during high water events on the Copper River Delta. The new, much larger culvert, simulates natural stream flow, and has material and gravel on the floor of the culvert to replicate a stream bed. This makes it easy for baby and juvenile fish to swim through - no problem! The COP 33 culvert opens up 3.2 stream miles and 12.0 upstream lake acres with support from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, and was completed in 2023.
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Donate to help fish passage projects like this continue in the Copper River watershed. Tap our bio link and select the Donate to CRWP button!
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CopperRiver.org
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#fishpassage #copperriverwatershed
🎄 On the eleventh day of Christmas, culverts contributed to a flood one spring, and Glennallen was a soggy scene. 🎄
On Moose Creek there were 2 large culverts that couldn’t convey all the spring melt, and during this flood event, 2 more culverts were added. The flood impacted the town of Glennallen and surrounding areas causing damage to homes and businesses in the spring of 2023. This is the next big crossing we are tackling with the project just now getting underway. This project will open 11.5 upstream miles and 310 upstream lake acres of Arctic Grayling and Rainbow Trout rearing habitat. Stay tuned in 2025 for updates on this important fish passage project!
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You can help solve more culvert issues in the Copper River region by donating to support fish passage projects! Tap our bio link and select the Donate to CRWP button!
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CopperRiver.org
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#fishpassage #copperriverwatershed
🎄 On the tenth day of Christmas, this culvert was camouflaged in green and there was no water flowing at all in this stream.
This culvert is in the Sheridan River Floodplain on the Copper River Delta. A NEW culvert replaced the old one and was completed in 2024, opening up .8 upstream miles and 12 upstream lake acres of Coho salmon rearing habitat with support and infrastructure from Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council and u.s.forestservice. The new culvert is so new we don`t even have a photo of it yet to show you!
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There are more culverts like this in the greater watershed. Donate to help continue fish passage work in the Copper River watershed. Tap our bio link and poke the Donate to CRWP button!
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CopperRiver.org
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#fishpassage #copperriverwatershed
🎄 On the ninth day of Christmas, the fish were so relieved when a new culvert allowed the water to flow free. 🎄
The COP 1 culvert project on the Copper River Delta was Completed in 2023! The new culvert opened up 1.5 stream miles of Coho and Dolly Varden rearing habitat with support from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. The new culvert so much better - and bigger! The culvert is installed deep enough that material is laid inside the pipe to simulate a stream bed. New culverts are designed to simulate a natural stream so the fish don`t even realize they are in a culvert!
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You can make fish happy too, by donating to continue fish passage work in the Copper RIver watershed. Tap our bio link and select the Donate to CRWP button!
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CopperRiver.org
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#fishpassage #copperriverwatershed
Have you heard?
Join Our Board of Directors!
Do you fish, hunt, or recreate in the Copper River watershed?
Do you have ideas for how to keep our way of life sustained for future generations?
Do you love the Copper River and want it to have a thriving and healthy future?
We are recruiting people to fill a seat in the Copper Basin and in Cordova. Our Board of Directors is a fun group of people representing a range of experiences and expertise while sharing a love for the watershed and the way of life here. We are seeking new interested candidates who are willing to share knowledge, experience, and time with our organization and help lead us into the future.
Submission Deadline: January 31, 2025
We are hiring for 6 different seasonal positions for our plant management programs between the times of May – September of 2025!
Play an active part in two of CRWP’s major plant programs, invasive plant management and native seed harvesting! Invasive plant management efforts include conducting surveys, recording data, and implementing manual and mechanical control treatments for terrestrial invasive plants. We are hiring for 2 full-time and 1 intern positions in both Copper Basin and Cordova. The internship is a paid position.
Find more details for Copper Basin and Cordova here.
The Copper River Watershed Project is requesting proposals for the Eyak Lake Weir project. The work is for construction services to remove and replace the existing sheet pile weir and reconstruct the stream channel at the outlet of Eyak Lake.
The Eyak Lake weir is located at approximately milepost 5.7 on the Copper River Highway, east of the City of Cordova, AK. The weir is located approximately 300 feet upstream of the Copper River Highway bridge (Mari Smith Jones Bridge) over the Eyak River. The weir was constructed in 1972 to re-establish the water surface elevation in Eyak Lake following the 1964 ‘Good Friday’ earthquake.
The deadline for question submission is January 10th, and proposals are due by 5 pm on January 29th.
Email partnership@copperriver.org for more information.
Our Programs Making a Difference
