The 17th annual Mat-Su Salmon Science and Conservation Symposium is 9am to 4:15pm, November 18th and 19th at the Palmer Depot, 610 S. Valley Way, in Palmer, Alaska! 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. It is also an opportunity to discuss challenges, new ideas, and network with a broad range of attendees. We hope you will join us! Read Agenda here!
Are you interested in sharing your work at the Symposium? Poster presentation submissions are still being accepted! Contact jessica.speed@tu.org. Read presentation guidelines here.
Find Symposium Flyer here and click here to register. NEW!: Read booklet here.
NEW!: The Partnership will be hosting an Evening Social on Monday, November 18th from 4:30 to 7:30pm at Feather and Flour, 927 S Cobb St., Palmer. Come visit with colleagues and listen to or play music. As part of this year’s social we are hosting an acoustic open music jam. We’ll have a few guitars and upright bass to share, otherwise bring your own instrument and join us. Local Palmer musician Aspenyarrow will kick off the jam by sharing a few tunes, including an original salmon themed song! Music is scheduled to begin at 5pm. The Mat-Su Salmon Partnership is providing appetizers, and a cash bar will be available till 7:30, when the social ends. Everyone is welcome. Find Social and Music Jam Flyer here.
This year’s Symposium theme is Making the invisible, visible: Unravelling freshwater mysteries through science and storytelling, and we have four keynote presenters who will highlight different aspects of this theme!
Founder and director, Jeremy Monroe, and award-winning natural history photographer, David Herasimtschuk of Freshwaters Illustrated will present Seeing and Sharing Freshwater Ecosystems Through a Wider Lens: Reflections from 20 Years of Educational Filmmaking. This will be a recorded presentation on the morning of Monday, November 18th, followed by a virtual Question and Answer with the keynotes. 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. On the morning of Tuesday, November 19th, Dr. McIntyre will talk 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 will follow 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 present in-person at the Palmer Depot, in Palmer, Alaska.
We are excited to share these amazing presenters and their work! Learn more about them below!
To assist in cost recovery for hosting the Symposium, please note that registration prices have increased to $50/person/day this year. Student tickets remain free, and there are also additional scholarship opportunities. If cost would prohibit attendance, please reach out. We want to ensure the Symposium is as accessible as possible.
Learn more at www.matsusalmon.org.
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.
