This year’s Salmon Love Haiku Contest kicks off May 1-15 with a new theme: salmon habitat—the places and spaces where salmon live.
Check out all the details on The Salmon Project’s website at: http://www.salmonproject.org/salmon-love/salmon-habitat-haiku-contest-may-1-15
Icefield-to-Ocean Linkages across the Northern Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest Ecosystem
Alaska’s coastal glaciers are among the most rapidly changing on the planet. They’re also, as U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Climate Science Center communications lead Kristin Timm says, “more than just ice.” Glacial runoff drives ocean currents and supports the habitats of the salmon that local fishermen rely on. In the recent paper, Icefield-to-Ocean Linkages across the Northern Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest Ecosystem, published in the journal BioScience and led by Shad O’Neel, also from the Alaska Science Center, synthesizes what scientists currently know about the physical, chemical and biological connections that link high elevation icefields and glaciers, streams, temperate rainforest, and the ocean. Authors discuss impacts of changing climate impacts noting that “rates of glacier mass loss in the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest are among the highest on Earth, and changes in glacier volume and extent will affect the flow regime and chemistry of coastal rivers, as well as the nearshore marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Alaska”. You can check out a pdf of the article here. Also, Timm collaborated with glaciologists and ecologists at the center to design this poster, which illustrates the impact of ice fields on both people and the environment. As a special note this poster From Icefield To Ocean won the People’s Choice award for Posters & Graphics at the 2015 Vizzies!
Two river restoration oriented courses taking place in Juneau next week – check out the registration and course details below.
Chinook Salmon of Northern Southeast Alaska: Status, Management, and Research
Thursday April 2, 2015 6:30-9:00 pm Juneau Arts and Culture Center
Hosted by The Territorial Sportsmen, with featured speakers from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
Join us for a free symposium about king salmon and fishery management in our region. Presentations will include:
•Chinook Salmon Research Initiative
•Stock assessment, with emphasis on Taku and Chilkat Rivers
•Chinook salmon life history in the marine environment
•Chinook salmon management in Northern Southeast Alaska–an outlook to the 2015 season.
Plan on attending and register for the third international workshop on flow and water level conservation for fish, wildlife, ecological processes and uses: “Protecting Rivers and Lakes in the Face of Uncertainty“.
The April 28-30, 2015 workshop/conference will be hosted by the Instream Flow Council (IFC) at the Red Lion Jantzen Beach Hotel, Portland, OR and is open to all water use stakeholders and interests.
See links below to access program and related information:
– Program: http://www.instreamflowcouncil.org/flow-2015/flow-2015-program/
– Link to Online Registration for Attendees: http://www.instreamflowcouncil.org/flow-2015/event-registration/
– Link to Hotel Reservation Conference Rates: https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=11366820
– Link to Call for Posters: http://www.instreamflowcouncil.org/flow-2015/flow-2015flow-2015-call-for-posters/
– Link to Conference Overview- all categories: http://www.instreamflowcouncil.org/flow-2015/
– Link to Speaker Profiles: http://www.instreamflowcouncil.org/flow-2015/flow-2015-speaker-profiles/
– Becoming a Sponsor and/or Exhibitor Online Processing (online processing confirmation can take 24 to 72 hours): http://www.instreamflowcouncil.org/flow-2015/flow2015-sponsors-and-exhibitors/
– Instream Flow Council (IFC) Overview http://www.instreamflowcouncil.org/about/
Two river restoration oriented courses taking place in Juneau this spring – check out the registration and course details below.
Using beaver to restore streams is rapidly gaining acceptance as a cost-effective technique to improve aquatic habitat, especially for salmonids. Regulatory and institutional obstacles are being reduced or removed as scientific advances continue to demonstrate that beaver can restore stream habitat far more effectively, and at a much lower cost, than many traditional stream restoration approaches.
Join us for an intensive 1-day workshop symposium for the beta release of a state-of-the-science manual regarding the use of beaver to restore streams. Work shops are taking place across the western US and they will be interactive with the audience as we walk through the manual describing its use to facilitate the restoration of streams. We will provide assessment tools for determining how, where, and when to use beaver in stream restoration. Also included will be a discussion of the regulatory process and how to maximize the probability of successfully obtaining permits.
These workshops will be offered for a nominal fee through a partnership with US Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, and Portland State University, Environmental Professional Program.
EPP233 RiverRAT: River Restoration and Analysis Tools
Course Description
The Pacific Northwest continues to be an international leader in the field of stream restoration, and as such, regulatory reviewers are often faced with novel project types that are not yet supported by industry standards. While appropriate and necessary given the state of our river systems, this does pose unique challenges when reviewers are faced with evaluating a stream restoration project.
To address this challenge, NOAA Fisheries and USFWS collaboratively commissioned research in 2008-09 to develop a Science Document and accompanying tools to support more consistent and comprehensive reviews of stream management and restoration proposals. The Science Documentsynthesizes the body of knowledge in fluvial geomorphology and river management, and presents it in a way that is accessible to a broad scientific and management audience. Accompanying theScience Document are three tools: (1) a Screening Matrix that relatively ranks risks due to project and stream response potential; (2) a Project Information Checklist to assist in evaluating whether a proposal includes all the information necessary to allow critical and thorough project evaluation; and (3) a project evaluation tool named RiverRAT that guides reviewers through the steps necessary to critically evaluate the quality of the information submitted, the goals and objectives of the project, project planning and development, project design, geomorphic-habitat-species relevance, and risks to listed species. The tools and supporting Science Document are publically available at www.restorationreview.com, and are now being commonly used for review by various state and federal agencies.
This course will provide an overview of the physical science underpinning river restoration, use of the Screening Matrix, overview of the Project Information Checklist, and in class use of RiverRATutilizing a real restoration project. This course is intended for anyone involved in the planning, design, implementation, monitoring, funding, and/or review of stream restoration or management actions.
America’s Fish and Fisheries – Shared through the Camera Lens – A 2015 AFS Film Festival
The Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership, Western Native Trout Initiative, Sitka Conservation Society, Southeast Sustainable Partnership, and The Salmon Project all invite you to submit a fishy-film to be showcased as part of America’s Fish and Fisheries – Shared through the Camera Lens a film festival taking place during the American Fisheries Society’s 145th Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon this August.
Film Submissions DUE – Thursday, March 12, 2015
Check out the film submission guidance and online submission form here
Festival films will focus in on an aspect of the connections between people and fish, the unique life cycles and habitat needs of different species, advances in fisheries science, or how resource practitioners and ordinary people are helping conserve fish and their habitats across the nation; films are anticipated that reflect the American Fisheries Society mission statement and strengthen the fisheries profession.
The film festival will take place during the American Fisheries Society’s 145th Annual Meeting over a two-day period. Films will be shown continuously during this time to allow meeting attendees to drop in to see films at their convenience. Film submitters are encouraged to attend the conference and film festival. Details on the conference can be found at http://2015.fisheries.org/.
If you have any questions regarding the film festival please contact Deborah Hart, Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership Coordinator, at coordinator@sealakafishhabitat.org.
(And a big thanks to Therese Thompson from Western Native Trout Initiative, Katrina Mueller, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Alaska Region), and Bethany Goodrich, Sitka Conservation Society/Sustainable Southeast Partnership for their help as festival organizers!)
SEAKFHP is hosting links to all the films contributed to the 1st Annual Alaska Fish Film Festival on its new webpage.
Check it out…. https://www.seakfhp.org/resources/1st-annual-alaska-fish-film-festival/
Alaska Fish Film Festival to Showcase Alaska’s Fisheries
Over 20 short films will be featured at the first annual Alaska Fish Film Festival that focus on the connections between people and salmon, the unique life cycle an
d habitat needs of different species, how ordinary people are helping conserve fish and their habitats, and more.
The films are from a variety of perspectives—from fishermen to subsistence users, researchers, volunteers, landowners, and the fish themselves.
The first showing will be hosted in Juneau by the Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership on Tuesday, October 21 at the welcoming social of the annual meeting of the Alaska Chapters of the American Fisheries Society and American Water Resources Association. A public showing will take place in Juneau following the conference and will be co-hosted by the Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School/Taku House Science Class with support from The Salmon Project on Sunday, Oct 26, from 3:30-6:30 pm at the Gold Town Nickelodeon theatre; other follow-up showings are being arranged around the state.
The festival seeks to inspire fisheries conservation, grow appreciation for and awareness of Alaska’s fisheries and the many ways in which we’re connected to fish and all the goods and services they provide – as well as grow a collection of short films that can be shared with Alaskans and beyond. An archive of the festival program and associated weblinks for the films will be made available on the SEAKFHP website at: www.seakfhp.org.
