The Fisheries Manager at the at Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (YDNWR), in coordination with the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (KRITFC), proposes to close Federal public waters of the Kuskokwim River drainage to the harvest of Chinook, Chum, and Coho Salmon by all users starting June 1, 2024. A public hearing to receive testimony on the proposed special action is scheduled for May 15, 2024.
On April 2, 3, and 4, Commissioners from 18 of our Member Tribes gathered in Anchorage for our 2024 Annual Meeting and elections. It was powerful and good to meet after the long winter, as it is every year, and to discuss how we can work together in the upcoming year to restore our salmon and our traditional ways of life.
We are launching a drone educational program to provide training for local Kuskokwim community members to obtain a commercial drone license for fisheries research purposes.
On Friday, March 29, 2024, the Federal District Court for the District Court of Alaska took an important step forward in protecting Alaska Native and rural Alaskan subsistence rights by ruling in favor of the United States, KRITFC, and other Alaska Native subsistence rights advocates by rejecting the State of Alaska’s attack on federally-protected subsistence rights. The federal court permanently enjoined the State of Alaska from repeating its recent unlawful actions on the Kuskokwim River.
On Tuesday, November 16, KRITFC Executive Director Mary Sattler Peltola testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Waters, Oceans, and Wildlife about proposed reauthorizations to the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA). In her witness statement, Mary emphasized the need to address climate change, add Tribal seats to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and further minimize bycatch in the reauthorized MSA.
This year, we need to fish with future generations of Kuskokwim communities in mind because the time to protect king salmon and our fishing ways of life is now. This is the mindset that the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge are bringing to Federal fisheries management this season.
Winter is coming, and before snow covers the trash scattered around Bethel, volunteers are mobilizing over the weekend of Oct. 10 to collect trash in subdivisions and parks across the city. The event, “Clean Up Before Freeze Up,” is a play on the annual “Clean Up Green Up” event where community members clean up litter after breakup. The event will take place from Oct. 9 to 11.
Mary Peltola, Executive Director of the Kuskokwim Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, spoke with KYUK’s Christine Trudeau last week about the importance of maintaining a link to Yup’ik cultural values in her life. The former House District 38 Representative feels that keeping a positive outlook is especially important when facing potential challenges in the times ahead.
Anchorage, AK – Almost every village situated along the Kuskokwim River ventured to Bethel during breakup season this week, to participate in this year’s Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, to examine how to protect its fish population.
Thirty-three tribes reside along the Kuskokwim River and share its fish, who formed the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission four years ago.
