Mike Williams heads a western Alaska Native organization, and he says last month’s historic agreement with federal fish and wildlife regulators will ensure there’ll be enough king salmon for subsistence users on the Kuskokwim River now and in the future.

“I’m really excited … to work formally with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kuskokwim River Intertribal Fish Commission, to make sure that our people have enough to eat,” he said.

The Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission signed a historic memorandum of understanding, or MOU, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agreement is the first formalization of co-management between the Alaska tribes along the Kuskokwim River and the federal government.