Partnership Spotlight: The Eyak Corporation

By Kate Morse

Teamwork makes the dream work! We want to shout out an outstanding partner in our efforts to work towards a barrier-free watershed — The Eyak Corporation! As a major landowner on the Copper River Delta, they have invested time and energy and expanded their capacity to help take on the management of grant funds and important contracts that are working to keep the largest wetland on the Pacific Coast of North America intact and functioning. These investments help support more resilient roadways that keep the Eyak people and the broader community of Cordova connected to fish, wildlife, and other customary and traditional resource on the Copper River Delta.

The awesome team at The Eyak Corporation (TEC) is actively stewarding funds through NOAA Restoration Center’s BIL funding to help improve fish passage by replacing culverts at multiple sites across the Copper River Delta. Local land manager for TEC, Tiffany Beedle, represented the partnership at the 154th gathering of the American Fisheries Society in Honolulu, HI, in September. The theme of this year’s gathering was “Conserving Fishes and Fishing Traditions through Knowledge Co-Production,” and we are so proud of Tiffany for showcasing our work in the Copper River Watershed to this national audience.

Next up? Two more culvert upgrades are being designed and hopefully will be installed in 2025. For more on our partnership successes, check out our fish passage restoration website here.

Thanks TEC!