THE YUKON RIVER DRAINAGE FISHERIES ASSOCIATION REPRESENTS OVER 42 COMMUNITIES ALONG THEYUKON RIVER DRAINAGE. THESE COMMUNITIES HAVE DIVERSE NEEDS HOWEVER, THEY ALL SIGNIFICANTLYRELY ON SALMON FOR FOOD, CULTURAL IDENTITY, AND HEALTH. AN INFORMED AND INVOLVED PUBLIC IS CRITICALTO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE AND CONSERVE YUKON RIVER SALMON STOCKS.EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE RESEARCH AND OTHER IMPORTANTPROJECTS THAT ARE BEING CONDUCTED WITHIN THE YUKON RIVER DRAINAGE. BY BUILDING AND MAINTAININGPUBLIC SUPPORT BY HOSTING A VIRTUAL YUKON RIVER SCIENCE AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE FORUM, ALLSTAKEHOLDERS WILL BE MORE INFORMED ABOUT WHAT IS BEING CONDUCTED AND WHERE. THIS CAN IDENTIFYGAPS WHERE MORE INFORMATION IS NEEDED OR OUTREACH CAN BE DONE.ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION EFFORTS WITH THE YUKON RIVER STAKEHOLDERS, WECAN PROVIDE MORE PUBLIC SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE AGENCY AND THE COMMUNITIES.KEEPING OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST INFORMATION IN REGARDSTO YUKON RIVER FISHERIES IS ESSENTIAL TO MAINTAIN A STEADY STREAM OF INFORMATION TO OURSTAKEHOLDERS. TO REACH THOSE WHO ARE NOT TECHNOLOGICALLY SAVVY, WE WILL PROVIDE QUARTERLYNEWSLETTERS TO COMMUNITY ENTITIES AND YRDFA MEMBERSHIP. AS ISSUES ARISE WE WILL BE PREPAREDTO RESPOND BY HAVING ADEQUATE FUNDING TO REACH OUR STAKEHOLDERS.THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED TO DEVELOP A MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN AGENCIES AND THE PUBLIC AND TOPROVIDE A CONSISTENT COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH PROGRAM THAT ENSURES YUKON RIVER FISHINGFAMILIES ARE PARTICIPATING AND SUPPORTIVE OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT ACTIONS THAT WORK AT THE LOCALCOMMUNITY LEVEL AND RIVER WIDE. THESE CHANGES ARE ABRUPT, WITH LITTLE FOREWARNING AND CAN AFFECTALLOWABLE GEAR TYPES, FISHING TIMES, AND HARVEST LEVELS. THESE CHALLENGING FACTORS, IN PART,CONTINUE THE NECESSITY FOR THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE IT BUILDS MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION IN AND SUPPORTOF YUKON RIVER SALMON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.