Symposium Presentation Archive
2023 Kenai Peninsula Fish Habitat Science Symposium
~Building Connections to Protect Fish Habitat~
April 20-21, 2023
Kenai Visitor Center, Kenai, Alaska
Download the Full Abstract Booklet
2023 Science Symposium Final Report
April 20
Keynote Address
SOME MODEST ADVICE FOR MANAGERS AND PRACTITIONERS: KEY LESSONS FROM SALMON CONSERVATION SCIENCE
Dr. Peter Westley, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
We are in an era of both accelerating change to salmon-producing ecosystems and rapidly mounting data about salmon, their habitats, and connections to society. Attempts to keep up with the monthly onslaught of journal articles and 24-hr news stories can feel like a fool’s errand. The Salmon Science Network (Salmon-Net) was inspired by the need to provide context and interpretation of emerging salmon science and to catalyze the use of new science by researchers, managers, and practitioners. In this talk I briefly highlight the work by Salmon-Net and then turn to the key lessons of salmon conservation science that have emerged during the past few decades. These lessons are some that every salmon manager and practitioner needs to know.
Dr. Peter Westley is an associate professor of Fisheries with the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences where he holds the Lowell A. Wakefield Chair in Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. His research seeks to understand how fishes respond and adapt to environmental change, including invasive predators, climate change, and hatcheries, with a particular focus on Alaskan salmon. He received his BS and MS from the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington and a PhD in Biology from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. He completed postdoctoral work at University of Washington on the ecology of homing and straying salmon in the Columbia River; work that has inspired research here in Alaska. He works closely with a diverse array of collaborators and partner organizations to co-develop research and communicate their findings with the goal of sustaining the relationships between salmon, people, and wild places. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, he lives in Fairbanks and has enjoyed a 2022-2023 sabbatical based out of Homer.
Session 1: Proactive Conservation
Science-based tools for including groundwater in decision-making (Coowe Walker, Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve)
Data Driven Approach: Using GIS for Environmental Decision Making (Jeff Knopf, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota)
Kenai Mountains to Sea: Using Thermal Infrared Imagery to Implement Long-Term
Salmon Conservation (Benjamin Meyer, Kenai Watershed Forum)
Building a peatland carbon project in the southern Kenai Lowlands (Coowe Walker, Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve)
A Vision for a Resilient Kachemak Bay Watershed (Hal Shepherd, Kachemak Bay
Watershed Collaborative)
Panel Discussion: Translating Science to Policy. Listen to audio.
KDLL news article
Session 2: Proposed Development Projects
Soldotna Riverfront Redevelopment Project (John Czarnezki, City of Soldotna and Jason Graf, First Forty Feet)
Improving Connectivity for Humans and Fish: Fish Habitat Improvements included in the Sterling Highway MP 157-169 Rehabilitation (Heidi Robuck and Ariel Hippe, DOWL)
Session 3: Community Outreach
Fish Need Land Too (Carson Chambers, Kachemak Heritage Land Trust)
Stream Watch: The Impact Volunteers Can Have on Habitat (Brandon Drzazgowski, Kenai Watershed Forum)
Session 4: Historic and Social-Ecological Perspectives
Hindsight: Historical views of the Kenai River and its Modification (Shana Loshbaugh, Independent Scholar)
The social-ecological system of the Kenai River Fishery (Alaska, USA) (Chase Lamborn, Utah State University)
April 21
Investigating Heat Stress in Two Subarctic Chinook Salmon Populations and Reproductive Consequences (Madeline Lee, University of Alaska Fairbanks)
Session 5: Water Quality, Conservation, and Oil Spill Response
Conserving Hydrologic Conditions for Fish Habitat (Leah Ellis, Alaska Department of Fish & Game)
Wastewater Disposal 101 (David Wilfong, Department of Environmental Conservation)
Seldovia Oil Spill Response Team – Community Volunteer Driven Oil Spill Response (Stephen Payton, Seldovia Oil Spill Response Team)
DEC Water Quality Monitoring on the Kenai River, 2021 to 2022 (Sarah Apsens, Department of Environmental Conservation)
Session 6: Watershed and Habitat Protection and Enhancement
Enhancing Clam Habitat/Productivity Using Traditional Methods (Stephen Payton, Seldovia Village Tribe)
Kenai Peninsula Streambank Rehabilitation & Habitat Protection Cost-Share (Jessica Johnson, Alaska Department of Fish & Game)
Resurrection Creek Restoration (Adam Cross, US Forest Service and Austin Williams, Trout Unlimited)
Session 7: Invasive Species One
Which Path Do I Choose?: Perspectives on Invasive Species Management (Ben Wishnek, US Fish & Wildlife Service)
Early Detection & Rapid Response in Action: Managing Invasive Species through Partnership and Public Engagement (Katherine Schake, Homer Soil & Water Conservation District)
Management of Aquatic and Riparian Invasive Plant Species on the Chugach National Forest (Peter Frank, US Forest Service)
The European green crab Threat to Alaska Fisheries and Habitat (Jasmine Maurer, Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve)
Session 8: Invasive Species Two
Updates from the KP-CISMA Field Coordinator (Maura Schumacher, Kenai Watershed Forum)
Cook Inlet as an Invasion Pathway for Invasive Northern Pike (Rob Massengill, Alaska Department of Fish & Game)
Salmon Habitat and Aquatic Invasive Species in West Cook Inlet (Jillian Jablonski, Tyonek Tribal Conservation District)
Impacts of Introduced Alaska Blackfish (Lucas Byker, US Fish & Wildlife Service)