Secretary Salazar Presents Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership with Partners in Conservation Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today presented a Partners in Conservation Award to the Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership for its work in promoting the sustainability of wild salmon populations. It was one of 26 national awards to individuals and organizations presented at a ceremony at Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C. to honor “those who achieve natural resource goals in collaboration and partnership with others.”

The 26 Partners in Conservation Awards recognize conservation achievements resulting from the cooperation and participation of a total of 600 individuals and organizations including landowners; citizens' groups; private sector and nongovernmental organizations; and federal, state, local, and/or tribal governments.

“The Partners in Conservation Awards demonstrate that our greatest conservation legacies often emerge when stakeholders, agencies, and citizens from a wide range of backgrounds come together to address shared challenges,” the Secretary said.

“The Alaska Salmon partnership's record of accomplishment in preserving fish and wildlife habitat is nothing short of extraordinary,” he noted. “Since 2001, more than 70 diverse partners from tribal, state, federal and private entities have come together to conserve and protect 94,000 acres of habitat including rivers that are prime spawning grounds for salmon and other fish.”

The partnership's most recent success was a permanent conservation agreement protecting 21,000 acres of the Agulowak River and surrounding watershed inside Wood-Tikchik State Park. The river provides spawning habitat for 200,000 sockeye salmon and passage for another 1.2 million sockeye and other fish to spawning grounds further up in other drainages of the river.

“These 26 awards recognize the dedicated efforts of thousands of people from all walks of life, from across our nation– and from across our borders with Canada and Mexico,” Salazar noted. “They celebrate partnerships that conserve and restore our nation's treasured landscapes and watersheds, partnerships that engage Native American communities, and partnerships that engage youth.”

More than 70 individuals and organizational partners shared in the award.

Individuals

Bobby Andrew, Chairman, Board of Directors, Aleknagik Natives Corporation

John DeLapp, Regional Coordinator, Conservation Partnerships, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Glenn Elison, Alaska State Director, The Conservation Fund

April Ferguson, Vice President, Briston Bay Native Corporation

Sue Flensburg, Environmental Services Manager, Bristol Bay Native Association

Carol Fries, Resource Management Specialist, Alaska Department of Natural Resources

Randy Hagenstein, Executive Director, The Nature Conservancy-Alaska

Tom Hawkins, retired Chief Operating Officer, Bristol Bay Native Corporation

John Henshaw, USDA Forest Service Forest Legacy Program

Bud Hobson, Owner, Tikchik Narrows Lodge

Dan Hourihan, Park Ranger (retired), Wood Tikchik State Park

Paul Jackson, formerly the Nature Conservancy-Alaska

Tiel Smith, Land Manager, Bristol Bay Native Corporation

Tim Troll, Executive Director, Nushagak-Mulchatna/Wood-Tikchik Land Trust

Fred Nishimura, Business Manager, Aleknagik Native Corporation

Hjalmar Olsen, President and Board Chairman, Bristol Bay Native Corporation

Ward Jones, Chairman, Board of Directors Nushagak-Mulchatna/Wood-Tikchik Land Trust Board

Russell Nelson, former Director of Operations for Choggiung LTD

Alice Ruby, former Director of Operations for Choggiung LTD

Michael Roy, Ecological Services Supervisor, USFWS Pacific Region

Native Organizations

Aleknagik Natives Limited

Becharof Corporation

Bristol Bay Native Association

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

Choggiung Limited

Togiak Natives Limited-

Non-profit Organizations

Alaska Professional Hunters Association

Curyung Tribal Council

Nushagak-Mulchatna Watershed Council

Nushagak-Mulchatna/Wood-Tikchik Land Trust Board

The Conservation Fund

The Nature Conservancy

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Trout Unlimited

Wildlife Forever

Foundations

Alaska Conservation Foundation

Brainerd Foundation

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Donner Foundation

Mead Foundation

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Oak Foundation

Vital Ground Foundation

Dallas Ecological Foundation

Business and Corporations

Alaska Big Game Hunting

Alaska Sportsman's Lodge

Alpen Outdoor

Bear Bay Lodge

Cascade Designs

Cavner and Julian Inc.

Charles C. Brandt Construction Co.

Columbia Sportswear

ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc.

Crystal Creek Lodge

Dallas Safari Club

Enchanted Lake Lodge

ExxonMobil

Fish Alaska Magazine

FlyMasters of Indianapolis

Gander Mountain

General Communications Inc.

Katmai Guide Service

Katmai Fishing Adventures

Kodiak Sportsman's Lodge

Orvis

Outdoor Research

Pelican

Pure Fishing

Rapala (Normark Corporation)

Rapids Camp Lodge

Robert Glenn Ketchum Photography

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Sage

Sierra Designs

Texsport

Tikchik Narrows Lodge

State Agencies

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation
Wood-Tikchik State Park

Federal Agencies

USFWS Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge

NPS Aniakchak National Park and Preserve

USFWS Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

NPS Katmai National Park and Preserve

USFWS National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Program

USFWS Togiak National Wildlife Refuge

USFWS Anchorage Fish and Wildlife Field Office

USFWS Region 7 Coastal Program

USFWS Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge

USDA Forest Service – Forest Legacy Program

NPS Lake Clark National Park and Preserve