OUR VISION
We believe the Copper River watershed can have a vibrant, healthy future.
Have you heard?
The Copper River Watershed Project is in search of a seasonal, Cordova-based Invasive Plant Technician.
The Invasive Plant Technician will assist CRWP:
- Accurately track field data in Survey123
- Manually treat terrestrial invasive plants (dead-head, pull, and mow)
- Assist with pre-season ordering of program supplies
- Maintain and repair tools/field equipment
- Participate in community outreach events
We are making exciting progress with our fishing web recycling program! Last season we sent a full shipping container of nets from our watershed to be recycled and repurposed. This year, when you recycle aluminum cans in Cordova, you are supporting CRWP’s Fishing Web Recycling Program!! Revenue earned from recycled cans is reinvested into the recycling program for Cordova’s fishing nets!
Salmon Jam will be rockin’ this summer July 14 – 15, 2023 with Blackwater Railroad headlining!
Get ready to boogie, and join us for fresh salmon, live music, kids’ events, and a weekend jam-packed with FUN in Cordova, Alaska !
We are very excited that teacher Jennifer Hodges and her class the Kenny Lake Hawks were featured on NPR March 4, 2023, along with CRWP and our Salmon in the Classroom program!!
This program gets kids up-close and hands-on with the lifecycle of salmon in our watershed, supporting the next generation of stewards in the Copper River watershed.
Way to go, Jennifer Hodges and Kenny Lake Hawks!!
CRWP represented the Copper River at the International Year of the Salmon (IYS) Symposium!
Our Program Director, Kate Morse, attended the conference with Tommy Sheridan, Alaska’s commissioner on the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, who connected with teacher Jennifer Hodges 3-5 grade Kenny Lake classes via Zoom from one of IYS high seas research cruises back in April 2022.
Jennifer and her husband Brian Hodges helped to produce a short video presentation that explains our salmon-themed education programs and demonstrates the impact they have on her students – the goal was to inspire other researchers at the symposium to connect with youth. The video was intended to be made available via an online portal, but was so well-received that it was shows on the big screen to all participants at the symposium.
Thank you for making our Adopt-a-Fry Fundraiser a success!! Your generous donations helped us unlock $5,000 in matching funds that will allow us to continue to bring salmon to the classroom, and support the next generation of watershed stewardship.
Many thanks to our generous donors, including Wilson Construction, who matched $5,000 of your donations this holiday season to support our watershed-education programs!!
Our Programs Making a Difference
We have completed a variety of habitat restoration & monitoring projects throughout the Copper River watershed to improve fish passage, re-vegetate and stabilize habitats for spawning and rearing salmon, assess water quality and identify salmon habitat for listing in the Alaska Department of Fish & Game’s Andaromous Waters Catalog.
CRWP programs take science learning outside for kids from grades K – 12. We lead field trips and classroom sessions on aquatic habitat, stormwater pollution, the salmon lifecycle, and watershed science. Students also participate in raising salmon fry from eggs in a classroom tank and releasing the fry come spring.
As part of our mission to ensure the continued health of our watershed communities, CRWP works to promote recycling throughout the Copper River area. We strive to maintain sustainable practices in our own operations, and want to encourage others to do so as well.
CRWP oversees Cooperative Weed Management Areas in Cordova and the Copper Basin to coordinate public and private resources to effectively treat high priority invasive plant species. Learn more about these cooperative efforts as well as to learn more about the high priority invasive plant species in the region.
It's World Ocean Day! The Copper River spills its volume of silt water and life into the ocean, and our salmon return from those deep waters. It is a lifecycle that supports not only fish but an entire watershed of animals, humans, plants, and birds.
"World Ocean Day rallies the world for ocean and climate action on 8 June and throughout the year. Together, we effectively engage the public, inform policymakers, and unite the world to protect and restore our shared ocean and create a stable climate."
Visit worldoceanday.org to learn how you can get involved. And closer to home, consider volunteering with upcoming CRWP Net Recycling events, river clean-ups, or Invasive Species Knockdowns in the Copper River watershed.
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copperriver.org
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Photo 1 by Milo Burcham
#WorldOceanDay #copperriverwatershed #salmonhabitat #shorebirds #wildfoods #healthyhabitats
CRWP Watershed Stewardship Manager Chris Iannazzone is attending the 2023 Youth Environmental Summit in Gakona, June 6-8, to facilitate plant identification and invasive species outreach with the youth.
Yesterday was the kickoff, and a beautiful day to share and learn about the watershed and the thread that connects us all - the Copper River!
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To learn more click link in bio and select Invasive Plant Management Program!
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#InvasivePlantManagement #invasivespeciesawareness #invasivespecies #invasiveplants #youthenvironmentalsummit #Gakona
Chris Iannazzone, our Watershed Stewardship Program Manager, is visiting known invasive species infestation sites in the Copper Basin.
The CRWP truck and camper in the photo is at the junction of Edgerton and old Edgerton at a materials site as well as snow plow storage. We give these sites high priority due to the amount of materials being moved around, getting the invasive plants closer to their source!
Photos 3 & 4 are invasive species Chris found in this location:
Bird vetch (vicia cracca) and White sweetclover (Melilotus albus).
Scan this QR code to report any sightings of invasives throughout the watershed!
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Click link in bio and select Invasive Plant Management Program to learn more!
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#invasivespecies #invasiveplants #invasiveplantremoval #InvasivePlantManagement #copperriverwatershed #CopperBasin
Today is World Environment Day - the biggest international day of outreach for the environment. The theme around the world this year is #BeatPlasticPollution. It's a reminder that using less and recycling more matters.
We live in one of the most amazing watersheds on the planet. From the delta to the headwaters, our environment supports migratory birds, salmon runs, large carnivores and the large grazers they hunt, and humans through subsistence fishing and hunting, gathering berries, and growing food. That is worth celebrating!
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copperriver.org
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Photo of Copper River Basin by Kate Morse.
#WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2023 #copperriverwatershed #Alaska
The 3rd Annual Gakona Trifesta is coming July 22!!
This pedal, paddle, and running race explore three rivers in the Copper River watershed! This race is an opportunity to experience our rivers and the awesome community of Gakona with others who love the outdoors in a little friendly competition. To kick off the event, there will be a registration pre-party at the Gakona Lodge with live music on Friday night, July 21st.
WHEN: Saturday, July 22nd, 10:30 am check-in, race starts at 11 am
WHERE: Gakona Lodge
Registration: $25 for adults / $15 for minors. All proceeds go to support CRWP.
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https://copperriver.networkforgood.com/events/54411-gakona-trifesta
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#Gakona #trifesta #pedalpaddlerun #race #fundraiser #SummerFunRun
It's salmon fishing season on the Copper River!!
If you can't get out to catch your own, consider buying fish from @senasea_seafoods. 8% of your purchase is donated back to CRWP to support our watershed stewardship efforts. It matters how the fish you buy is caught.
"Because Copper River Fishermen truly believe that their fish are special and the very best, they treat them that way- with the respect they deserve. The Copper River fishery is slower-paced than other salmon fisheries. This gives fishermen more time to handle the fish properly and cool them quickly. Rich and I take this careful handling one step further by doing the cutting and packaging ourselves." – Sena
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Click link in bio and select Shop Sena Sea!
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#sustainablefishing #copperriversalmon #shopsustainable #salmonfishing
If you're in the Copper Basin next week and are interested in edible and medicinal plants in the area, check out this mini workshop hosted by @pwsc_copperbasin and @copperrivernativeassociation
When: June 5, 5-7:30pm
Where: PWSC Glennallen
Cost: $25
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#edibleplants #medicinalplantworkshop #CopperRiverBasin #Glennallen
Cordova, bring in your nets for recycling this week!!
Our next Fishing Gear Recycling event is Wednesday, May 31 - Friday, June 2, 10am-3pm at the City of Cordova Refuse Department.
We'll take your gillnets, seine web, lead lines, and cork lines (all parts of the net must be separated to be accepted) for recycling and repurposing into useful things like knives, ballcaps, and shoes!
If you're in Cordova and can volunteer some time to help process nets, we would greatly appreciate it! Sign up on our website for a time slot.
Click link in bio and select Volunteer Signup for Fishing Gear Recycling Event.
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#fishingwebrecycling #RecyclingMatters #RecycleRepurposeReuse #CordovaAlaska
Salmon season is in full swing!
"Wild fish is seasonal, just like fruits and vegetables, and Copper River Sockeye are the first wild commercially fished salmon to spawn in the spring." –Sena
If you're not in Alaska and can't catch your own fish, Sena Sea is still offering to ship FRESH fish - but only until May 30. Beginning in June the fish will be shipped frozen.
When you buy fish from Sena Sea, 8% of the sales is donated back to CRWP in support of our Fish Habitat Restoration work.
You support sustainable fishing when you shop Sena Sea.
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Click link in bio and select Shop Sena Sea to buy fresh salmon!
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@senasea_seafoods
#sustainablefishing #wildsalmon #SockeyeSalmon #kingsalmon #copperriversalmon #copperriverwatershed
May is Native Plant Month! Come by the CRWP office and pick up FREE Native Plant seed packets. Every seed you plant helps our local native species to thrive.
Creating a native plant garden is fun and helps support the pollinators too!
Contact stewardship@copperriver.org for more questions about the native plant garden or seed packets.
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www.copperriver.org
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Photo 1 - CRWP Native seed packets / Photo 2 - Native plant garden in Cordova.
#NativePlantMonth #nativeplants #plantseeds #CordovaAlaska
The 2023 Youth Environmental Summit (YES) event in Gakona is happening June 6 - 8, 10am - 4pm!
Chris Iannazzone, our Watershed Stewardship Program Manager, will attend the summit to facilitate some invasive plant learning with the youth!
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Learn more about our Invasive Plant Management Program and download the 2023 Youth Environmental Summit registration form at:
https://copperriver.org/programs/invasive-plant-management/
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#youthenvironmentalsummit #youthprograms #GakonaAlaska #invasiveplantmanagement
The next Net Recycling event is next week, May 31 - June 2!!
We are expanding the program from a web recycling program to a gear recycling program which includes corklines, leadlines, and any sort of fishing related gear you could imagine.
We would appreciate volunteer assistance for 2.5 hour shifts on May 31, June 1 & 2, from 10 am - 3 pm. We will be working at the City of Cordova Refuse Department.
Sign up here to volunteer: https://copperriver.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/volunteer-for-the-may-31-june-2-2023-recycling-event
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And for those who want to support the program but aren’t available to volunteer, we created a fundraiser for the Recycling Program. You can buy t-shirts, hoodies, and sweatshirts with our new Net Recycle, Net Positive logo to support recycling efforts in Cordova!
https://www.bonfire.com/fundraiser-for-recycling-in-cordova/
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Thank you to our Net Recycling partners for helping make this program possible @netyourproblem @CityofCordova
#netrecycling #volunteer #recyclingmatters #fishingwebrecycling #CordovaAlaska
