OUR VISION
We believe the Copper River watershed can have a vibrant, healthy future.
Today is Women and Girls in Science Day! And we have a lot to celebrate at CRWP!
On our powerhouse team of women, many are trained in science, working to solve watershed issues related to fish passage, and resource management. In a watershed that depends on salmon, cold water matters, and science helps monitor stream temperatures for spawning. GIS data and tracking help map spawning beds and culvert removal projects. Data collection on native plants for seed harvesting and invasive species for removal areas helps keep our habitats strong.
On staff at CRWP: Kirsti Jurica, Hydrology & Watershed Restoration scientist; Ashley Taylor, GIS & Data Specialist; Kate Morse, Executive Director and watershed champion; Amy Scudder, trained in the art and science of partnerships; Darcy Saiget, a fish biologist working on watershed restoration; Colleen Merrick, Climate Change Coordinator; Alexis Cooper making the fine science of accounting look easy; Kim Casavan managing all things operations. This team works hard on Watershed Education, Fish Passage, Native Seed Collection, and Invasive Species Management projects.
Here`s to the women and girls in science creating solutions for better world!
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Learn more about International Day of Women and Girls in Science here: https://www.womeninscienceday.org/
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Learn more about the CRWP team at https://copperriver.org/about-us/staff/
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📷 CRWP Staff / Photo 1 - Colleen Merrick, Amanda Jackson, Tenley Nelson (CRWP Board Member), Alexis Cooper, Lakota McRoberts replanting native plants along the banks of Little Tonsina project site.
Photo 2 - In the field with NFPP students. Photo 3 - Glennallen Middle School students studying aquatic species through the Salmon in the Classroom program. Photo 4 Nelly Hand - GIS Specialist Ashley Taylor mapping salmon spawning beds in Eyak Lake, Cordova.
#InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience #womeninscience #girlsinscience #empoweringwomen #WeLoveOurTeam
Addendum #2 is now available for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-funded Little Tonsina ATV Trail Reroute & Aquatic Habitat Restoration Project. This addendum provides clarifications in response to follow-up questions received during proposal development and references additional supporting materials.
👉🏼 DEADLINE for proposal submissions is 5:00 PM Alaska Time on February 16, 2026.
Full details on our website at https://copperriver.org/.../culverts-are-the-culprits/
📷 CRWP - Upstream of project site.
#fishpassage #CopperBasin #copperriverwatershed #habitatrestoration
Love to eat salmon? Didn`t have a chance to catch your own? Shop senasea_seafoods for sustainably harvested wild Copper River salmon!
Copper River sockeye is as good as salmon gets. Why?
The Copper River is a long, cold, glacially fed river with mineral-rich waters. The arduous upstream swim requires enormous exertion, and the salmon have to rely on huge reserves of built-up fat for fuel and insulation. This extra high Omega-3 fat content gives the salmon its rich, moist, and delicious flavor.
Sena Sea will donate 8% of your purchase to the Copper River Watershed Project to help restore salmon habitat and clear the way for salmon to freely migrate into spawning streams.
Use this link to buy fish: https://www.senasea.com/r?id=4jha3n
CopperRiver.org
#sustainablefishing #wildsalmon #buyfish #copperriver
CORDOVA - Next Week the Cordova Science Gathering is happening, featuring workshops on salmon, landslides, kelp, subsistence, and much more during this 3-day event!
If you can`t attend the entire event, consider checking out the salmon-themed workshops: "Salmon Research in a Changing System" Thursday evening at 6:30pm-8:00pm; "The Copper River Salmon 2125 Project" Friday morning at 9:00am-10:30am; "NVE 25 Years of Salmon Data Collection" Friday morning at 10:30-12:00pm.
🗓️ WHEN: February 12-14, 2026
📍 WHERE: The Cordova Center
#CordovaScienceGathering #CordovaAlaska #salmon #artandscience #copperriverwatershed #CopperRiver
World Wetlands Day (Feb. 2) happened this week and we have a lot to celebrate in the Copper River watershed, home to 700,000 acres of the largest contiguous wetland on the Pacific Coast – the Copper River Delta.
Millions of shorebirds use the Delta each year, including the largest population of nesting Trumpeter Swans, Short-billed Dowitchers, Least Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, Wilson’s Snipes, Red-necked Phalaropes, Spotted Sandpipers, and Semipalmated Plovers. It`s an important nesting area for Dusky Canada geese and supports large runs of Pacific salmon, including prized Chinook and sockeye.
Formed by six glacial river systems, the nutrient-rich habitat ranges from tidal mudflats to willow and alder thickets, surrounded by the peaks of the Chugach Mountains. A lot of life happens in this extraordinary place!
📷 Photo 1, 4, 6 Michelle McAfee/CRWP - Copper River Delta. Photos 2 (Sandpiper), 3 (Black Oystercatcher) 5 (Trumpeter Swans) on the Delta by Milo Burcham.
#WorldWetlandsDay #CopperRiverDelta #shorebirds #alaskawetlands #copperriverwatershed
Join the CRWP Team!
The Copper River Watershed Project is hiring Plant Program Field Technicians – 2 positions in Cordova, and 2 positions in Glennallen. These are field-based positions through our plant programs, and will include invasive plant management and native seed harvesting. On-the-job training will be provided for plant identification, surveying, and data collection methods.
Positions are up to 40 hours/week Monday - Friday with flexible start and end dates from mid-April through early September, 2026.
For information on how to apply, tap our bio link and select the Join the CRWP Team button.
📷 Maddie Tharp/CRWP - CRWP Plant Technician Serena Herschleb tackling reed canarygrass along the shores of Eyak Lake, 2025.
#CordovaAlaska #GlennallenAlaska #jobopportunities #fieldwork #invasiveplantmanagement #nativeseedharvesting #copperriverwatershed
Pollinators make 75% of the world`s flowers and 80% of the world`s crops happen by transporting pollen so the plants can reproduce. That`s a mighty big lift for a lot of little pollinators.
The Copper River Native Association (CRNA), along with WCS Arctic Beringia ( arcticwcs), @u.s.forestservice, Native American Fish & Wildlife Society (nafws_insta ), Indigenous Sentinals Network , Nenana Native Association, and University of Alaska - Fairbanks(uafairbanks) are building a collaborative network to support Alaska`s pollinators through sharing knowledge and stewardship.
You can be part of this collaborative effort and learn more about our pollinators during a 3-day workshop in May at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks, where organizations and pollinator stewards will share knowledge, observations, and priorities. Participants will create a pollinator stewardship plan for their community, Tribe, or organization and learn more about how to help Alaska`s pollinators thrive.
Scan the QR codes to learn more and to share your interests.
#pollinators #collaboration #pollinatorworkshop #alaskapollinators
Addendum #1 is now available for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-funded Little Tonsina ATV Trail Reroute & Aquatic Habitat Restoration Project. Updates include Q&A responses, the pre-proposal meeting recording, and a new proposal deadline of Feb 16, 2026.
Full details on our website. Tap our bio link and select the RFP - Little Tonsina ATV Trail Reroute button.
#fishpassage #CopperBasin #copperriverwatershed #habitatrestoration
✨ Registration for the Copper River Stewardship Program is open!
🛶 Ten youth from communities throughout the Copper River region will go on journey through the Copper River watershed, meeting with representatives from a wide range of fields perspectives along the way. They will explore and learn about our watershed while boating, rafting, hiking, and camping with new friends.
✅ Optional credit is available through your local district!
📝 Application deadline is March 31st. Applicants must currently be in 8-12 grade.
👉🏼 You can find more information and the application by tapping our bio link and selecting the Copper River Stewardship Program button!
#copperriverstewardshipprogram #youtheducation #CopperRiver #copperriverwatershed
The Cordova Elementary students are doing a great job taking care of their classroom tank!
A little alevin hatched and is wiggling around the tank - first one of 2026! 🐟
#copperriverwatershed #cordovaalaska #salmonintheclassroom
Art.
Created not by pen or paintbrush, but by glaciers carving mountains, pulverizing bedrock into glacial flour, sand, and sediment. Carried by the braided arms of the Copper River, this material fans out near the river’s mouth, where immense loads are deposited across 700,000 acres of wetlands, tidal flats, and barrier islands.
The Copper River Delta is extraordinarily rich in organic matter. Its sandbars, mudflats, and estuaries support communities of microbes, worms, mollusks, and crustaceans—along with 12 million shorebirds, five species of salmon, steelhead trout, lamprey, eulachon, whitefish, and Dolly Varden. Bears, beavers, and moose… the list is long.
All of this abundance and life happens on a great big canvas of sediment. How cool is that? The Delta = a living work of art.
📷 Photo Art by alexjosephhansen - The Copper River Delta.
#CopperRiverDelta #glacialflour #wetlands #CopperRiver #livingart
Looking to eat healthier this year? Don`t have a supply of fish in your freezer? Consider buying wild-caught fish from Sena Sea! Copper River sockeye is delicious and nutritious and can be purchased in various forms (including a super cute gift box) from their website.
When you buy fish from Sena Sea, 8% of your purchase will be donated to the Copper River Watershed Project to help clear the way for salmon by restoring fish passage in spawning streams. And you`ll be supporting a 5th generation fishing family dedicated to preserving the long-term future of salmon and the health of the Copper River.
Use this link to buy fish and have 8% of your purchase donated back to CRWP: https://www.senasea.com/r?id=4jha3n
CopperRiver.org
#buyfish #copperriver #sustainablefishing
– CLICK ON PHOTO for FULL RFP, ADDENDUM, and REFERENCE MATERIAL –
CRWP is soliciting proposals from qualified firms or teams to provide design–build services for the Little Tonsina ATV Trail Reroute, Culvert Removal, and Aquatic Habitat Restoration Project. The project is located near Richardson Highway Milepost 74 in the Little Tonsina area, and addresses a long-standing failing stream crossing, degraded aquatic habitat, and recurring ATV trail failures.
Proposals must be received no later than 5:00 PM Alaska Time on February 16, 2026.
Ten youth from communities throughout the Copper River region will go on journey through the Copper River watershed, meeting with representatives from a wide range of fields perspectives along the way. They will explore and learn about our watershed while boating, rafting, hiking, and camping with new friends.
Optional credit is available through your local district!
Application deadline is March 31st!
CRWP is hiring Plant Program Field Technicians – 2 positions in Cordova, and 2 positions in Glennallen. These are field-based positions through our plant programs, and will include invasive plant management and native seed harvesting. On-the-job training will be provided for plant identification, surveying, and data collection methods. Positions are up to 40 hours/week Monday – Friday with flexible start and end dates from mid-April through early September, 2026.
Watch our Annual Meeting Presentation to get the full update on the progress and projects of the Copper River Watershed Project.
Our Programs Making a Difference
