The Kuskokwim Watershed Council held its first annual summit in Aniak, Alaska on August 6 and 7, 2009. The Kuskokwim Watershed Council is a non-profit organization formed to protect the Kuskokwim River and its drainage area which is approximately 11% of the land base in Alaska - roughly the size of Washington state. With 29 villages located along the banks of the river, the need for a cooperative organization within the drainage area that can help create and maintain an environmentally sustainable watershed.
The region is facing a number of serious environmental issues, making the need for a cooperative organization even more pressing. Increased barge traffic on the river, the threat of fuel spills, mine tailings, and a proposed new gold mine on Donlin Creek threaten the health of the watershed and the subsistence ways of life for the tribes.
In addition to environmental threats, the people of the Kuskokwim are faced with a need for employment, economic security, and basic infrastructure developments. Most households do not have indoor plumbing, and they rely on diesel fuel generators for electricity. These conflicting concerns have exacerbated the need for the Kuskokwim region to develop a common, environmentally sustainable vision for the future.
At the request of the Kuskokwim River Watershed Council, the Center facilitated an exchange with the Fort Belknap Indian Community to share their gold mining experiences with the people of the Kuskokwim.
The keynote speaker for the first day of the summit was Joe Garcia, President of the National Congress of American Indians. Garcia's presence in Aniak was very well-received and will leave a lasting impression upon the people of the Kuskokwim River regarding the need for collaboration and communication between Native peoples throughout the United States.
Dave Chambers, president of the Center for Science in Public Participation, was the keynote speaker for the Kuskokwim summit on its second day. CSPP is non-profit corporation formed to provide technical assistance on mining and water quality issues to public interest groups and tribal governments. Chambers has represented the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council for the past five years on the historic Technical Working Group, created and brokered by the Indian Law Resource Center as a collaborative means of resolving the last remaining reclamation issues associated with the Zortman and Landusky gold mines and their legacy of contamination.