Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership

The Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust helped form the Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership in 2000. The Partnership was recognized as a National Fish Habitat Partnership by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2008. The Land Trust has served as the coordinator and fiscal agent for the Partnership since recognition. The national program has brought nearly $3 Million Federal Dollars into Southwest Alaska to support scientific studies tied to protecting fish habitat. These Federal Funds have been leveraged by partners and project sponsors with millions more Private, Foundation, Corporate and Tribal dollars. Information about the national program and the various partnerships across the country can be found here. https://www.fishhabitat.org/about/

Bristol Bay Fly Fishing & Guide Academy

A key strategic objective of the Partnership is to create and maintain a constituency, both locally and nationally, for protecting wild salmon and other resident fish species like Rainbow Trout (Strategic Conservation Action #6) in Southwest Alaska. To address this strategy the Partnership helps underwrite and organize the Bristol Bay Fly Fishing & Guide Academy. The annual one-week program for local youth employs the practice and ethics of fly fishing to teach how fish habitat functions in a wild salmon ecosystem. The young participants learn how to fly fish, tie flies and knots, and are exposed to the opportunities available in the region for fly fishing guides. Bristol Bay is home to Alaska’s oldest commercial sport fishing lodge community. Local youth who know how to fly fish have access to employment opportunities at local lodges, and as local guides can convey their passion for protecting the fish habitat in their own backyard to the national and international clients who come to fish with Bristol Bay lodges every summer. More information about the Academy can be found here: https://bristolbaylandtrust.org/education/

Alaska Fish Habitat Partnerships

There are six partnerships recognized under the National Fish Habitat Initiative that provide funding for fish habitat projects in Alaska. More information about each partnership can be found here: https://www.alaskafishhabitat.org/

Strategic Conservation Action Plan for Southwest Alaska Fish Habitat

The Partnership developed a Strategic Conservation Action Plan to guide its conservation work in the region. https://bristolbaylandtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/SWASHP-Plan-Final-2017-illustrated.pdf

Request for Proposals

The Partnership issues a Request for Proposals for Federal funding through the National Fish Habitat Action program annually. For Federal fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027) the Partnership anticipates issuing a call for proposals in August of 2026. The deadline for proposal submissions will likely be Monday September 21, 2026. Projects proposed must serve the strategic goals of the Partnership as outlined in its Strategic Conservation Action Plan (linked above) and also show a 1 to 1 non-federally sourced match. Proposals submitted by a federally recognized tribe, or an organization affiliated with such a tribe, do not require match and may be eligible for consideration under a 5% funding set-aside for tribes under the national program. For information purposes, copies of FY 2026 proposal documents can be found at these links: Announcement, Proposal Form and Budget Sheet

Reports, Assessments, Scientific Papers supported with Partnership Funding

Monitoring Stream Habitats and Biological Communities in the Lime Hills Ecoregion of Bristol Bay. University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Center for Conservation Science . Rebecca Shaftel, Dan Bogan, Birgit Hagedorn, Kristy Jeffries, Leslie Jones, Dustin Merrigan, Sarah O’Neal, Dan Rinella, and Carol Ann Woody. 2019

2014 Stream Fish and Aquatic Habitat Surveys on Pedro Bay Corporation Lands in the Kvichak River Watershed. Michael Wiedmer, College of the Environment, University of Washington

Hydrologic Alterations from Climate Change Inform Assessment of Ecological Risk to Pacific Salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Cameron Wobus, Robert Prucha, David Albert, Christine Woll, Maria Loinaz, Russell Jones. 2015

Riverscape Analysis of Nushagak & Kvichak Watersheds. Christine Woll, The Nature Conservancy in Alaska. 2013

Copper Toxicity in Bristol Bay Headwaters: Part 1 – Acute Mortality and Ambient Water Quality Criteria in Low-Hardness Water. Jeffrey M. Morris, Stephen F. Brinkman, Michael W. Carney, and Joshua Lipton. 201

Copper Toxicity in Bristol Bay Headwaters: Part 2—Olfactory Inhibition in Low-Hardness Water. Jeffrey M. Morris, Stephen F. Brinkman, Ryan Takeshita, Andrew K. McFadden, Michael W. Carney, and Joshua Lipton. 2018

Nuyakuk Hydro: Hydrologic Model and Assessment. Robert Prucha, PhD, Cameron Wobus, PhD,
Peter Bieniek, PhD

Diversity of Stream Thermal Regimes in Bristol Bay and Implications for Juvenile Salmon
Growth Potential. Rebecca Shaftel (1,2), Erik Schoen (3), Sue Mauger (4), Will Samuel (3), Dustin
Merrigan (1), and Erin Larson (1)

Freshwater Bioindicators Demonstrate Sensitivitiesto Potential Changes from Climate and Mineral Development in Alaska. Rebecca Shaftel · Erin Larson · Dan Bogan · Birgit Hagedorn ·Dustin Merrigan · Sarah O’Neal · Daniel Rinella · Carol Ann Woody