Salmon scientists to converge on Palmer

PALMER — This year’s installment of a meeting that has become something of a fishing industry institution in Mat-Su kicks off Tuesday.

Put on by the Matanuska-Susitna Salmon Habitat Partnership, the seventh annual Mat-Su Salmon Science and Conservation Symposium is planned for Nov. 18 and 19 at the Palmer Depot.

“Presentations will address a range of issues including efforts to halt the spread of invasive plants, restoring fish habitat, recent improvements in mapping salmon habitat, trends in salmon stream temperatures, and declines in Alaska Chinook salmon returns,” reads a press release announcing the conference prepared by the Nature Conservancy in Alaska.

Speakers come from institutions as diverse as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Washington, private conservation firms, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Mat-Su Borough.

In addition to the various panels throughout the day — a schedule is available at matsusalmon.org — the symposium includes what organizers call a “poster session” featuring displays from groups like the Palmer and Wasilla soil and water conservation districts, the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, Earth Economics, Great Land Trust and the Aquatic Restoration and Research Institute.

The event also features two keynote addresses on salmon and habitat conservation — one each on Tuesday and Wednesday.

First up is Mary Colligan, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife service biologist and former president of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, whose talk is entitled “Atlantic Salmon Ecosystem Recovery: It Takes a Village, State, Country and World.”

“Moving past blame and litigation and towards shared goals and objective is challenging, but is essential to efficient and effective use of available resources and to achieving meaningful results. Identifying the broad range of threats to Atlantic salmon and their ecosystems at all levels and scales and establishing partnerships with industries, agencies, conservation organizations and other countries has been identified as the appropriate prescription and is being implemented,” reads the synopsis of Colligan’s talk included in the packet distributed for the symposium.

Then, on Wednesday, Kate Myers, a fisheries scientist from the University of Washington High Seas Salmon Research Program, will present her talk “Life-history, Ecology, and Potential Threats to Mat-Su/Cook Inlet Chinook Salmon in the Marine Environment.”

“Are recent declines in adult returns of Mat-Su/Cook Inlet Chinook salmon due to reduced marine survival? This presentation provides a general overview of what is known and needs to be known about the life history, ecology, and potential threats to Mat-Su/Cook Inlet Chinook salmon in the marine environment,” reads the synopsis of Myers’ talk.