Migratory emperor geese and aleutian terns have been integral components of subsistence harvest and traditional ways of life for the alutiiq people of the kodiak archipelago for at least the past…

This federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Tribal Wildlife Grants (CFDA 15.639) program provides $152,234 to the Sun'Aq Tribe of Kodiak to support conservation efforts for migratory emperor geese and Aleutian terns within the Kodiak Island Roaded Area (KIRA). The project aims to collect population-level abundance and health data on these two subsistence species that are culturally important to the Alutiiq people, in order to inform future harvest management decisions and habitat conservation strategies. Key activities include documenting important staging areas, investigating anthropogenic contaminants and environmental toxins, and developing a status report and habitat conservation plan for the KIRA region. This 2-year grant, awarded on January 1, 2025, will provide critical data and recommendations to help protect these migratory bird species and their habitats within the Kodiak Archipelago.

Migratory emperor geese and aleutian terns have been integral components of subsistence harvest and traditional ways of life for the alutiiq people of the kodiak archipelago for at least the past 8,000 years. The area within the kodiak island roaded area (kira) now has the greatest density of these two subsistence species in the kodiak archipelago, as well as experiencing the greatest level of human use and access, and the most-significant habitat alterations or loss. This project has been specifically designed to directly aid in conservation of these two critically-important subsistence species within the kira through collecting necessary population-level abundance and health data, and to inform future harvest management decisions and conservation strategies, including habitat protection. Important staging areas for both species will be documented and used to develop the kodiak island roaded area emperor goose and aleutian tern status report and habitat conservation strategies which will identify areas in need of greater protection. Investigation of anthropogenic contaminants (heavy metals), infectious disease (highly-pathogenic avian influenza), and naturally-occurring environmental toxins (the suite of toxins associated with harmful algal blooms) will also be investigated and documented.