About
About Us
Our Mission
The Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust is dedicated to the preservation and protection of the salmon and wildlife habitat of the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska.
Click here to view the film Mosaic – The Salmon Wilderness of Bristol Bay supported by the Land Trust and produced by the University of Washington that describes the features of the habitat in Bristol Bay we seek to preserve.
Bristol Bay’s wild salmon populations have waxed and waned over the centuries. Science and past conservation have contributed greatly to our knowledge of the species, but much is still unknown about salmon population dynamics. One thing, however, seems certain. The fate of the great runs of salmon in Bristol Bay are intimately dependent upon their rich environment and human willingness to protect it in perpetuity. Together, humans and salmon share both past and future of one of the last great wild fisheries on earth.
The ecosystem of Bristol Bay is built upon the nutrients that wild salmon bring back from the sea. Wild salmon are the foundation of the subsistence tradition that has sustained our local Native population for thousands of years, our commercial fishery since 1884 and our recreational fishery since the early 1950s. Protecting the habitat that supports our salmon protects these fisheries and is the driving motive for the formation of the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust in 2000.
The salmon is the sea’s silver messenger, a Yup’ik woman once said, It says to all of us who live here: “Never forget who gives you life.“
Our Organization
In 1999 the Board of Directors of Choggiung LTD the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act village corporation for Dillingham, Ekuk and Portage Creek committed $5000 and staff time that was matched by The Nature Conservancy in Alaska to explore forming a land trust. Further support and encouragement from The Conservation Fund led to our organization under Alaska law as a non-profit corporation in 2000 as the Nushagak-Mulchatna / Wood-Tikchik Land Trust. A grant from the William H Donner Foundation through connections with Tikchik Narrows Lodge (https://www.tikchiklodge.com/) provided the strategic operational funding needed to get the land trust running. In 2000 our mission was focused on protecting salmon and wildlife habitat in the Nushagak, Mulchatna and Togiak watersheds. In 2013 we changed our name to the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust as our work expanded to all of Bristol Bay. We are a certified by the Internal Revenue Service as a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Tom Tilden, Dan Dunaway, Sue Flensburg, Ward Jones, Luki Akelkok, Bud Hodson and Herman Nelson
The Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust is a member of and subscribes to standards and practices for land trusts established by the Land Trust Alliance.
Awards and Recognition
National Land Trust Excellence Award – 2014
Finalist for the 2012 and 2017 International River Prize
Lowell Thomas Jr. Award for Outstanding Achievements by a Conservation Organization – 2017
Relevant Documents
Articles of Incorporation
Certificate of Incorporation
Certificate of Amendment – Name change
IRS Section 501(c)(3) Non-profit letter
Most Recent IRS Form 990
Most Recent Annual Report
Board of Directors and Staff List
