The native village of eyak is requesting operational GAP funding for the 2024 and 2025 fisheries program field season

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through its Tribal Wildlife Grants program (CFDA 15.639), awarded a $200,000 Project Grant to the Native Village of Eyak (doing business as Ilanka Clinic) located in Cordova, Alaska. The grant funding will support two years of operational activities for the tribe's fisheries program, including:

1. Estimating the 2024 and 2025 in-river abundance of Copper River Chinook salmon within 25% of the true value 95% of the time.
2. Enumerating the daily passage of sockeye salmon into Eshamy Lake from early July to August 30.
3. Collecting age, sex, and length data on the sockeye salmon run, with estimates within 5% of the true value 90% of the time.

This funding will ensure the tribe can continue critical salmon escapement monitoring and research in the Copper River and Prince William Sound regions. The Tribal Wildlife Grants program supports wildlife conservation and management projects of cultural importance to federally recognized tribes.

This funding request will ensure eshamy lake salmon escapement is monitored in 2024 and copper river chinook salmon inriver abundance is monitored in 2024 and 2025. The objectives of this funding request is as follows: 1.) estimate the 2024 and 2025 inriver abundance of copper river chinook salmon such that the estimate is within 25 of the true value 95 of the time and 2.) enumerate the daily passage of sockeye salmon into eshamy lake from early july to approximately august 30. And 3.) collect age and SEX composition and mean length (ASL) of each age class in the sockeye salmon run passing the weir such that the ASL estimates are within 5 of the true value 90 of the time.