Secretary Salazar Presents Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership with Partners in Conservation Award

ASHINGTON, D.C. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today presented a Partners in Conservation Award to the Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership for its work in promoting the sustainability of wild salmon populations.

It was one of 26 national awards to individuals and organizations presented at a ceremony at Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C. to honor "those who achieve natural resource goals in collaboration and partnership with others." The 26 Partners in Conservation Awards recognize conservation achievements resulting from the cooperation and participation of a total of 600 individuals and organizations including landowners; citizens’groups; private sector and nongovernmental organizations; and federal, state, local, and/or tribal governments. "The Partners in Conservation Awards demonstrate that our greatest conservation legacies often emerge when stakeholders, agencies, and citizens from a wide range of backgrounds come together to address shared challenges," the Secretary said."The Alaska Salmon partnership’s record of accomplishment in preserving fish and wildlife habitat is nothing short of extraordinary," he noted. "Since 2001, more than 70 diverse partners from tribal, state, federal and private entities have come together to conserve and protect 94,000acres of habitat including rivers that are prime spawning grounds for salmon and other fish." The partnership’s most recent success was a permanent conservation agreement protecting 21,000 acres of the Agulowak River and surrounding watershed inside Wood-Tikchik State Park. The river provides spawning habitat for 200,000 sockeye salmon and passage for another 1.2 million sockeye and other fish to spawning grounds further up in other drainages of the river. "These 26 awards recognize the dedicated efforts of thousands of people from all walks of life, from across our nation and from across ourborders with Canada and Mexico," Salazar noted. "They celebratepartnerships that conserve and restore our nation’s treasured landscapes and watersheds, partnerships that engage Native American communities, and partnerships that engage youth." More than 70 individuals and organizational partners shared in theaward. Individuals Bobby Andrew, Chairman, Board of Directors, Aleknagik Native Corporation John DeLapp, Regional Coordinator, Conservation Partnerships, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Glenn Elison, Alaska State Director, The Conservation Fund April Ferguson, Vice President, Briston Bay Native Corporation Sue Flensburg, Environmental Services Manager, Bristol Bay Native Association Carol Fries, Resource Management Specialist, Alaska Department of Natural Resources Randy Hagenstein, Executive Director, The Nature Conservancy-Alaska Tom Hawkins, retired Chief Operating Officer, Bristol Bay Native Corporation John Henshaw, USDA Forest Service Forest Legacy Program Bud Hobson, Owner, Tikchik Narrows Lodge Dan Hourihan, Park Ranger (retired), Wood Tikchik State Park Paul Jackson, formerly the Nature Conservancy-Alaska Tiel Smith, Land Manager, Bristol Bay Native Corporation Tim Troll, Executive Director, Nushagak-Mulchatna/Wood-Tikchik Land Trust Fred Nishimura, Business Manager, Aleknagik Native Corporation Hjalmar Olsen, President and Board Chairman, Bristol Bay Native Corporation Ward Jones, Chairman, Board of Directors Nushagak-Mulchatna/Wood-Tikchik Land Trust Board Russell Nelson, former Director of Operations for Choggiung LTD Alice Ruby, former Director of Operations for Choggiung LTD Michael Roy, Ecological Services Supervisor, USFWS Pacific Region Native Organizations Aleknagik Natives Limited Becharof Corporation Bristol Bay Native Association Bristol Bay Native Corporation Choggiung Limited Togiak Natives Limited- Non-profit Organizations Alaska Professional Hunters Association Curyung Tribal Council Nushagak-Mulchatna Watershed Council Nushagak-Mulchatna/Wood-Tikchik Land Trust Board The Conservation Fund The Nature Conservancy Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Trout Unlimited Wildlife Forever Foundations Alaska Conservation Foundation Brainerd Foundation Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Donner Foundation Mead Foundation National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Oak Foundation Vital Ground Foundation Dallas Ecological Foundation Business and Corporations Alaska Big Game Hunting Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge Alpen Outdoor Bear Bay Lodge Cascade Designs Cavner and Julian, Inc. Charles C. Brandt Construction Co. Columbia Sportswear ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. Crystal Creek Lodge Dallas Safari Club Enchanted Lake Lodge ExxonMobil Fish Alaska Magazine FlyMasters of Indianapolis Gander Mountain General Communications, Inc. Katmai Guide Service Katmai Fishing Adventures Kodiak Sportsman’s Lodge Orvis Outdoor Research Pelican Pure Fishing Rapala (Normark Corporation) Rapids Camp Lodge Robert Glenn Ketchum Photography Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. Sage Sierra Designs Texsport Tikchik Narrows Lodge State Agencies Alaska Department of Fish and Game Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Wood-Tikchik State Park Federal Agencies USFWS Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge NPS Aniakchak National Park and Preserve USFWS Izembek National Wildlife Refuge NPS Katmai National Park and Preserve USFWS National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Program USFWS Togiak National Wildlife Refuge USFWS Anchorage Fish and Wildlife Field Office USFWS Region 7 Coastal Program USFWS Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge USDA Forest Service – Forest Legacy Program

NPS Lake Clark National Park and Preserve