The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 awarded $323,079 to the Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) on October 1, 2025, under the Regional Wetland Program Development Grants program (CFDA 66.461) to develop integrated wetland and subsistence use resources for Alaska Native communities. Under this two-year cooperative agreement (completion date September 30, 2027), CRRC will compile and synthesize subsistence use information in partnership with the Alaska Center for Conservation Science (ACCS) to connect culturally important plant and animal species to specific wetland habitat types in the Lower Kenai Peninsula villages of Port Graham and Nanwalek.
The primary deliverables include a geodatabase and ArcGIS StoryMap linked to updated U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetland Inventory data, plant community descriptions for each wetland and deep-water habitat type, two-page subsistence summaries for identified habitats, and a series of science-based educational videos highlighting local subsistence practices in these remote coastal communities. All products will be made publicly available on the CRRC website and disseminated to stakeholders at annual gatherings, enhancing shared knowledge of local wetland ecosystems to support and improve traditional subsistence activities within these important habitats. No subawards are included in this assistance agreement.