Programs
Accomplisments
In partnership with the Khabarovsk Wildlife Foundation (KWF), WSC made significant progress in the past year toward the creation of three wild salmon protected areas in the Khabarovsk Region. If successful, over one million acres of pristine wilderness, including the Shantar Islands and most of the Koppi and Nimelen Rivers, will be safeguarded.
Provided key support to create a national park on the Shantar Islands, in the western Sea of Okhotsk. The Shantar Islands are an extremely biologically diverse and unique archipelago. Preliminary approval was secured and a federal commission has been established to assess the nomination documents. If favorable, the Shantar Islands National Park could be recognized by the Khabarovsk government as early as 2010.
Conducted the first of two planned scoping expeditions in the Nimelen. A variety of data were collected that will help inform the reserve nomination process for the Nimelen. WSC and the Khabarovsk Wildlife Foundation are moving forward with plans to create a federal fisheries reserve, a new type of federal protected area mandated by Russian fishery law, on the Nimelen River.
Expanded the total acreage for the proposed Koppi River Protected Area (PA) to include important salmonid spawning and rearing tributaries within the watershed and other critical habitat for fish and wildlife through the efforts of the Khabarovsk Wildlife Foundation. A new watershed council, comprised of government, academic and NGO representatives within the Khabarovsk Region, will help develop conservation and management planning for the Koppi PA. This will help ensure the Koppi PA conserves its wild salmon resources for the long-term and maintains broad support from the District government and other stakeholders in the region.
Completed two full expeditions down the Samarga River, one of the last unfragmented watersheds that flow into the Sea of Japan. Although the 2 million-acre Samarga basin is slated for logging, the Wild Salmon Center won an agreement to identify and map the most important habitat areas for wild salmon and aquatic biodiversity. Together with our conservation partners, we presented a joint recommendation to the regional logging company, Terneyles. This work will also help Terneyles win Forest Stewardship Council certification of its logging practices in the Samarga.
Formalized a partnership with the USDA Forest Service to collaborate on international projects in the Russian Far East. These projects include conservation planning for the Samarga River, and protected area management training for conservation officials in Kamchatka.