MAT-SU— The MAT-SU Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership is hosting the sixth annual Salmon Science and Conservation Symposium in Palmer, November 13 & 14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Palmer Community Center (Depot).
The keynote speaker this year is David Batker, Executive Director of Earth Economics, a Washington based nonprofit that works on projects to identify the value of ecosystem services including one in the MAT-SU. Batker worked for the World Bank and has co-authored the book What's the Economy For Anyway. The New York Book Review ranked his book in the top ten in the economics and business category.
Anglers fish about 300,000 days in the MAT-SU and spend anywhere between $63 million to $163 million on goods and services related to fishing, according to an economic study by UAA Institute for Economic and Social Research. However, with recent fishing closures and weak salmon runs, the economic value of fishing-related activities has been on the decline, affecting the livelihood of tourism/fishing businesses and the way of life for residents. The MAT-SU Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership has more than 50 members who are actively working to improve salmon habitat through science, restoration, protection and research activities.
The Symposium started in 2008 as a forum to share information on conservation and research projects related to MAT-SU Basin watersheds, salmon, and their habitat. Partnership organizations sponsoring the event include the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, US Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, US Geological Survey, Conoco Phillips Alaska, Inc., Great Land Trust, National Marine Fisheries Service, Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District,
MAT-SU Conservation Services and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This year the agenda will include over 25 presenters, posters and discussions groups covering topics such as the economic value of salmon and salmon habitat, salmon distribution and management, stream mapping, habitat conservation and restoration, Susitna River Salmon studies, invasive pike and climate change as potential threats to salmon.
The Symposium is free and open to the public. For more information visit: www.matsusalmon.org.
Photo by Stefan Hinman/MSB taken on Moose Creek for Chickaloon Chinook project.
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