Outside of Alaska, as many as 25% of wild salmon stocks are at risk of extinction, stressing the commercial fishing industry, reducing small scale and traditional use of the resource, causing further loss of biodiversity, and disrupting food webs in freshwater and the ocean. Traditional wilderness and functional wilderness areas with sustainably managed salmon use are a key element of a North Pacific salmon conservation strategy. The speakers in this session will provide lessons about salmon ecology for wilderness managers, describe the keystone role of salmon in North Pacific wilderness, and share stories about emerging examples of salmon sanctuaries – river basins where people have chosen to give salmon and their freshwater homes priority in natural resource decision making.

Wednesday, October 5th, 1:30-5 pm

Xan Augerot (moderator), Wild Salmon Center and State of the Salmon Program: Wilderness as a key component of a North Pacific salmon conservation strategy
15 minutes plus 5 for questions

Dave Montgomery, U of Washington: Lessons for wilderness managers from a geological perspective (invited)
25 minutes plus 10 for questions

Chip Dennerlein, independent: Salmon as the “weave” of the fabric of North Pacific wilderness in Alaska
25 minutes plus 10 for questions

Break, 30 minutes

Evgeny Svyazhin, UNDP Kamchatka Salmon Biodiversity Project: Sustainable landscapes for salmon and people on Kamchatka
20 minutes plus 10 for questions

Kristin Smith, Copper River Watershed Project: The Copper River watershed: a sanctuary for a biologically diverse web of species
20 minutes plus 10 for questions

Kimberly Heinemeyer, Round River Conservation Studies: Taku River Watershed: wilderness, wild salmon and First Nation sustainability
20 minutes plus 10 for questions

TBD, closing speaker.