KRITFC In-Season Managers

KRITFC has five In-Season Managers who represent communities throughout the entire Kuskokwim River drainage. KRITFC originally began with only three In-Season Managers; however, the population size of the Bethel vicinity led to the addition of a fourth In-Season Manager from Bethel in 2018. In 2022, KRITFC passed a resolution designating a fifth In-Season Manager position who represents upriver and headwaters fishermen. Together with Federal and State managers, they make important in-season decisions about fishing opportunities and closures.

As lifelong residents, stewards, and fishers of the Kuskokwim River, and with their various ages and home villages throughout the watershed, our In-Season Managers bring a wealth of Indigenous Knowledge to our fisheries management process with Yukon Delta NWR. Indigenous Knowledge means having a detailed and deep understanding of an ecosystem and using that understanding to help you make informed decisions about where and when to use that ecosystem’s resources.

While there is a role for both western science and Indigenous Knowledge in co-management, Indigenous Knowledge fills informational gaps that can otherwise cripple in-season management decisions. KRITFC In-Season Managers rely on both Indigenous Knowledge and sound salmon science to inform them during in-season management discussions.

2024 In-Season Managers: