The 18th Annual Mat-Su Salmon Science & Conservation Symposium was held on November 20th and 21st, 2025, at the Palmer Community Center Depot, and it was a tremendous success! Sincere thanks to everyone who joined us for two days of knowledge sharing ,collaborative discussion, and strategic planning. The Symposium is always good place to connect with colleagues and friends, both old and new. The energy and commitment around this year’s theme, “Reflecting on the Past, Looking to the Future,” underscored the importance of working together to sustain Mat-Su salmon and the communities that depend on them-particularly as the Partnership celebrates its 20th year of collaborative conservation!
Highlights from the Symposium. The event featured a wide range of critical topics, including:
- Keynote Address: Rick Thoman, Climate Specialist with the International Arctic Research Center, whose talk Mat-Su’s Changing Environment: Connecting the Past, Present and Future set the stage for following presentations and planning discussions.
- Key Topics: Sessions covered vital subjects such as the impacts of thermal stress on salmon, the integration of traditional knowledge in stewardship, fish health, aquatic invasive species management, strategic conservation tools and watershed planning for the Susitna River system.
- Science & Policy: Sessions explored bridging science and community decision-making with a special data transfer focus featuring Leslie Jones of the Alaska Geospatial Information Office.
- Community & Art: The event featured a poster session, an evening social, and a special art display from Palmer High School students, creatively complementing the science.
- Strategic Action: Day Two launched the next update of the Partnership’s Strategic Action Plan, focusing on future priorities.
Find Symposium presentations below, with more Resources Coming Soon! We are currently compiling session recordings. Please check back here in the coming weeks for access to these resources shared at the Symposium. In the meantime, find presentation slide decks below, as well as the original Symposium booklet, which includes the agenda, abstracts, keynote bio, and attendee list is available here for your reference: Symposium booklet (PDF)
Symposium Presentations *Click the presentation title below to download the slide deck.
Thursday, January 20th, 2025
Keynote Address: Mat-Su’s Changing Environment: Connecting the Past, Present and Future • Rick Thoman, Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness
How Warm is Too Warm? Growth Impacts of Thermal Stress on Juvenile Chinook and Coho Salmon in the Deshka River • John Hermus (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
Restoring Moose Creek: A Tribal Effort to Bring Salmon Home • Andrea James and Jessica Winnestaffer (Chickaloon Village Traditional Council)
Bridging Knowledge Systems: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Salmon Research in Chickaloon • Ben Americus and Cody Henrikson (Chickaloon Village Traditional Council)
Stream Temperature Monitoring in the Matanuska River Watershed • Kendra Zamzow (Chickaloon Village Traditional Council)
Plants for Salmon: Knik Tribe’s Native Plant Nursery and Restoration Efforts • Cody Beus (Knik Tribe)
Updates from the Mat-Su Salmon Partnership • Jessica Speed (Trout Unlimited)
Anadromous Waters Prioritization for the Matanuska-Susitna Basin • Erin Larson (Alaska Center for Conservation Science, University of Alaska Anchorage)
Tyonek Tribal Conservation District’s 2025 Anadromous Fish Surveys • Andrew Wizik (Tyonek Tribal Conservation District)
Lethal Levels of 6PPD-Quinone in Anchorage Waterways • Brian DiMento (University of Alaska Anchorage)
Beluga, Eulachon, and Salmon • Bill Bechtol (Bechtol Research)
Undermining the Inlet: How the Johnson Tract Mine Threatens Cook Inlet’s Connected Ecosystems • Cooper Freeman (Center for Biological Diversity)
Watershed Planning Watershed Planning Kick-Off • Margaret Stern (Susitna River Coalition)
Friday, January 21st, 2025
Overview of ADF&G’s Statewide Fish Health Regulatory Program with Select Diagnostic Cases from the Mat-Su Region • Jayde Ferguson (Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
ADNR Elodea Control Project Updates for Alaska 2025– The State of Elodea, at a Decision Point: Challenges, Choices, and the Road Forward • Cody Jacobson (Alaska Department of Natural Resources)
Out of Sight, Out of Mind? The Unrealized Devastation from Invasive Northern Pike • Parker Bradley (Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
Pike in Cook Inlet? Preliminary Results from Salinity Trials, Cook Inlet Salinity Monitoring • Brennan Watson (Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
Prioritizing Invasive Dreissenid Mussel Monitoring with Web Mapping Tools • Marcus Geist (University of Alaska Anchorage)
Ensuring Passage for Fish in the Mat-Su Borough • Mike Campfield (Mat-Su Borough)
Mat-Su Borough Fish & Wildlife Commission • Andy Couch (Mat-Su Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission
Connecting the Landscape: Advancing Mapping, Data Access and Stewardship Across Alaska • Leslie Jones, PhD (Geospatial Information Officer, State of Alaska, Alaska Geospatial Office)
Identifying Strategies for Moving Local Science into Community and Agency Decision Making: How are We Doing? • Sue Mauger (Cook Inletkeeper, Partnership Science and Data Committee)
Thank you to our sponsors and supporters!
