The 15th Annual Mat-Su Salmon Science and Conservation Symposium, held on November 14th and 15th at the Palmer Depot, in Palmer, AK – was excellent!
After two years of successfully hosting the Mat-Su Salmon Symposium on Zoom, it was energizing to see face-to-face, the well over 80 individuals who attended each day. This year’s Symposium included over 30 oral and poster presentations, representing the diverse areas of expertise held by members of the Mat-Su Salmon Partnership (Partnership). Topics broadly included identifying and addressing potential threats to salmon habitat, proposed development and management plan changes in the Susitna River drainage, moving science to conservation outcomes, aquatic invasive species, and restoring salmon habitat and accessibility.
Among the highlights of the 15th annual symposium was virtual keynote speaker Dr. Jonathan Moore from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Moore shared emerging science on climate change and other human impacts to salmon, and opportunities for salmon stewardship and climate resilience.
Additionally, we partnered with the Palmer Arts Council to host a special salmon themed art display from students at Palmer Highschool and evening social featuring a reading by local poet Kenni Psenak Linden. Read Ubiquitous Salty Communion here.
The Symposium closed on November 15th, with presentations and a panel discussion to assist partners in learning more about emerging funding opportunities through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. As always, the 2-day forum is an excellent opportunity for an exchange of information and ideas about salmon science and conservation!
Find Agenda here, and Symposium booklet with presentation abstracts here.
Breakout group notes from the Moving Science to Conservation Outcomes: Cold Water refugia session, are here. Please get in touch if you would like to be involved in continued conversations on this topic – and are not already on our email list.
Click here to view presentations on YouTube.
Keynote Speaker
Jonathan Moore is a Professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, and holds the Liber Ero Research Chair of Coastal Science and Management. He received his PhD from University of Washington and has researched salmon and their watersheds, from Alaska to California to British Columbia. He studies freshwater biodiversity, watersheds, and global change.
In his presentation, Dr. Moore shared emerging science on climate change and other human impacts to salmon, and opportunities for salmon stewardship and climate resilience. In this era of rapid global change, there is a need and opportunity for the proactive stewardship of rapidly changing salmon systems to help them cope and adapt to climate change
Click the presentation title below to download the slide deck.
Day 1:
Salmon Futures: Stewardship of Salmon Systems in an Era of Rapid Change – check back soon for an audio recording of the keynote talk!
Winter Stream Monitoring in the Matanuska Watershed
Identifying Heat Stress in Pacific salmon Using Skeletal Muscle Tissue
Phytoremediation at Road-Stream Crossings
Farmland Conservation: Interactions to Improve Salmon Habitat
Mat-Su Borough Fish & Wildlife Commission Update
3 Things to Watch: An Update on Important Issues in the Susitna Drainage
Salmon and Trout Ecology and Habitat of the Susitna Basin Recreation Rivers
Day 2:
Updates from the Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership
Traditional Dena’ina use of the Deshka River
Indigenous Salmon Harvest in Mat-Su
Anadromous Waters and Elodea Surveys in the Remote Western Mat-Su Borough
Impacts of Introduced Alaska Blackfish
2022 Fish Passage Construction in the Mat-Su Borough
ADF&G Fish Passage Program Update
Thank you to our Symposium supporters!: Mat-Su Borough, National Fish Habitat Partnership, City of Palmer, The Alaska Center, Feather and Flour, Trout Unlimited Alaska, Great Land Trust, Knik Tribal Council, Palmer Arts Council, Palmer Soil and Water Conservation District, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cook Inletkeeper and Simon Fraser University.
