Award detail

THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SALMON POPULATIONS ARE WELL DOCUMENTED. TEMPERATURES IN ALASKA AREINCREASING FASTER THAN ANY OTHER STATE IN THE U.S., RAPIDLY CHANGING THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH ALASKANSALMON SPAWN, HATCH, AND REAR. THE EKLUTNA RIVER IN SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA FACES NOT ONLY THE EFFECTS OFCLIMATE CHANGE, BUT ALSO THE IMPACTS OF DECADES OF DISRUPTED STREAM HYDROLOGY, FUNCTION, ANDCONNECTIVITY AS A RESULT OF TWO HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS WHICH DAMMED THE RIVER. WHILE THE LOWER OF THETWO DAMS WAS REMOVED IN 2018, THERE IS STILL NO WATER RELEASED FROM THE OUTLET OF EKLUTNA LAKE, GREATLYDIMINISHING FLOWS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM. ADDITIONALLY, THE REMOVAL OF THE LOWER DAM MOBILIZED LARGEAMOUNTS OF SEDIMENT THAT HAD ACCUMULATED THROUGHOUT THE DECADES BEFORE REMOVAL, WHICH HASIMPACTED DOWNSTREAM HABITATS. GIVEN THE LOW WATER LEVELS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM, THE EKLUTNA RIVER ISLIKELY EVEN MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE (INCREASED STREAM TEMPERATURES,HYDROLOGIC EXTREMES, ETC.). THIS IS ESPECIALLY CONCERNING GIVEN THE ALREADY SEVERELY DEPRESSED NUMBERSOF SALMON WHICH HAVE RECENTLY BEEN OBSERVED. THE NATIVE VILLAGE OF EKLUTNA (NVE) PROPOSES TWOPROJECTS TO HELP MONITOR, UNDERSTAND, AND ADDRESS THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE OF THE EKLUTNA RIVER.THE FIRST AIMS TO ESTABLISH A WATER MONITORING PROGRAM TO OBTAIN BASELINE STREAM TEMPERATURE ANDWATER QUALITY DATA TO DOCUMENT THE ONGOING EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POSSIBLE CHANGES IN FLOWREGIME DUE TO FLOW RESTORATION RESULTING FROM MITIGATION MEASURES BEING IMPLEMENTED BY THEHYDROELECTRIC PROJECT. THE SECOND PROJECT AIMS TO OBTAIN GENETIC BASELINE DATA FOR THE SALMON OF THEEKLUTNA RIVER. THESE DATA WILL HELP DETERMINE THE VIABILITY OF THE DEPRESSED SALMON POPULATIONS IN THEEKLUTNA AND COULD BE USED TO DETERMINE GENETICALLY SIMILAR BROOD STOCK FOR FUTURE STOCKING PROGRAMS IF ITPROVES TO BE A NECESSARY COMPONENT OF SALMON STOCK RECOVERY.

Review direct federal award facts for Native Village Of Eklutna, including awarding and funding lanes, performance dates, category codes, and source description, then move into the broader recipient, buyer, and market context quickly.