The Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership hosted the 17th annual Mat-Su Salmon Science & Conservation Symposium on November 18th and 19th, 2024 in Palmer, Alaska! Attended by 100 people each day, this year’s symposium included a broad range of topics covered in nearly 40 oral and poster presentations related to salmon habitat, reflecting diverse areas of expertise held by our partners. A data transfer session continued discussions from previous Symposiums that speak to the challenges of ensuring that current salmon science can inform community decision making. Attendees also enjoyed a special art display from Palmer High School students. As part of the evening social, the Partnership hosted an acoustic open music jam attended by over 60 people, featuring local Palmer musician Aspenyarrow. This year’s theme, Making the Invisible Visible: Unraveling Freshwater Mysteries through Science and Storytelling, unfolded with the help of some amazing keynote presenters!
Learn more below and at the following links Flyer, Agenda and find presentation abstracts, contact information and more in the event booklet here. Find Social and Music Jam Flyer here.
Keynote speaker Jeremy Monroe of Freshwaters Illustrated shared how they work to conserve freshwater worlds through visual storytelling while Dr. Jenifer McIntyre, Washington State University and Dr. Patrick Tomco, University of Alaska Anchorage talked about stormwater contaminant 6PPD-quinone – a toxicant that leaches from vehicle tires and is linked to acute coho salmon mortality. A panel presentation followed that focused on 6PPD-quinone in the Mat-Su and what we can do about it. Learn more about the presentations and keynote speakers below.
As always, the Symposium is a forum to share the latest scientific research, restoration and conservation efforts related to salmon and their habitat in Matanuska-Susitna basin. Thank you for joining us!
Special thanks to the planning committee and generous supporters listed below for making this event possible!
More about the keynote presentations:
Founder and director, Jeremy Monroe, and award-winning natural history photographer, David Herasimtschuk of Freshwaters Illustrated presented Seeing and Sharing Freshwater Ecosystems Through a Wider Lens: Reflections from 20 Years of Educational Filmmaking. This was a recorded presentation followed by a virtual Question and Answer. Freshwaters Illustrated is a non-profit whose mission is to raise public awareness about the life, study, and conservation of freshwater ecosystems through visual media and storytelling.
Dr. Jenifer McIntyre is an Associate Professor of aquatic toxicology at Washington State University’s School of the Environment. In 2020, Dr. McIntyre and colleagues discovered a novel chemical called 6PPD-quinone leaching from vehicle tires that is one of the most acute toxicants known to science, explaining acute die-offs of coho salmon in roadway-impacted watersheds. Dr. McIntyre talked about 6PPD-quinone in the Pacific Northwest: Its impact, discovery and how it is being addressed. Dr. Patrick Tomco is an Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Applied Science, Engineering and Technology Lab at University of Alaska Anchorage and followed Dr. McIntyre’s presentation with an update on the status of our knowledge about 6PPD-quinone here in Alaska! Both Drs. McIntyre and Dr. Tomco will presented in-person at the Palmer Depot, in Palmer, Alaska.
We are excited to have brought these amazing presenters and their work to you! Learn more about them below!
More about this year’s keynote speakers:
Jeremy Monroe founded Freshwaters Illustrated to create more imagery and stories that carry the beauty, biodiversity and value of freshwater ecosystems. For over 20 years, these stories have been helping to connect learners of all kinds to the intricacy, wonder and needs of rivers, lakes and wetlands. Monroe has degrees in Aquatic Ecology and Fishery Biology from Colorado State University and works with a talented group of visual artists and communicators to craft stories that are as immersive and inspiring as they can be.
David Herasimtschuk is an award-winning natural history photographer, cinematographer and visual storyteller. He is the visual force in Freshwaters Illustrated imagery, stories and films. Herasimtschuk’s images combine his biological sensibility with a keenly artistic eye and give intimate perspectives on the little-known aquatic and amphibious life of fresh waters. He has traveled the world to work on and document biological research and conservation, and his images have been published in National Geographic, BBC World, National Wildlife, High Country News, Biographic, National Parks and many others. He has a degree in Wildlife and Fishery Biology from Colorado State University. Visit David Harasimtschuk’s website.
Dr. Jenifer McIntyre is an associate professor of aquatic toxicology at the Washington State University’s School of the Environment. She is passionate about science that effects change. Her B.Sc. (1997) in environmental biology at Queen’s University led to the ban of a pulp mill effluent used as a road dust suppressant. Her M.S. (2004) from the University of Washington (UW) on contaminant bioaccumulation led the Washington State Department of Health to issue a fish consumption advisory for Lake Washington. Her Ph.D. (2010) research at UW on olfactory neurotoxicity of copper in coho salmon helped pass legislation in Washington and California that phases out metals in brake pads. In 2020, Dr. McIntyre and colleagues discovered a novel chemical leaching from vehicle tires that is one of the most acute toxicants known to science, explaining acute die-offs of coho salmon in roadway-impacted watersheds. She currently focuses on the ecotoxicology of urban stormwater runoff and the biological effectiveness of green stormwater infrastructure.
Dr. Patrick Tomco of University of Alaska Anchorage is a Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (ASET) Lab. Dr. Tomco has a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry from University of California, Davis, and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Chemistry from University of Nevada, Reno. He is a 3rd generation Alaskan. His research interests involve contaminant fate/transport, environmental toxicology, and environmental remediation in high-latitude regions. Find more information, including publications here.
