This month, we are focusing on the incredible partnerships that are catalyzing the future of salmon conservation in Alaska through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments and projects that are healing the broader ecosystem and serving Alaska’s people and wildlife.
More than 100 Tribes steward Alaska’s Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Norton Sound region — which is a massive geographic area covering over 400 thousand square miles. But, in recent years, these communities and the ecosystems they depend upon have suffered. Climate change is impacting the Arctic four times faster than other parts of North America and subsistence salmon fishing closures are becoming a more common experience. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Gravel to Gravel Keystone Initiative was established to enhance the resilience of the region’s ecosystems and communities through transformational federal, philanthropic, and other investments.
On this episode, we chat with Amber Vaska, the executive director of the Tanana Chiefs Conference and Kevin Whitworth, from the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, to talk about ways the Gravel to Gravel Keystone Initiative is helping promote critical conservation for people, salmon and the land.
vhttps://www.fws.gov/natures-infrastructure-podcast
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the oldest federal conservation agency, tracing its lineage back to 1871, and the only agency in the federal government whose primary responsibility is management of fish and wildlife for the American public. The Service helps ensure a healthy environment for people by providing opportunities for Americans to enjoy the outdoors and our shared natural heritage.
We manage the National Wildlife Refuge System with more than 560 National Wildlife Refuges as well as small wetlands and other special management areas encompassing more than 150 million acres. Under the Fisheries program we also operate over 70 National Fish Hatcheries and 65 fishery resource offices. The Ecological Services program has 86 field stations across all 50 states.
The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitat is on non-federal lands. Voluntary habitat protection and restoration programs like the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the Coastal Program and other partnership programs are the primary ways we deliver habitat conservation on public and private lands.
The Service employs approximately 9,000 people at facilities across the U.S. The Service is a decentralized organization with a headquarters office in Washington, D.C., with regional and field offices across the country. Our organizational chart shows structure and also provides information on senior management.