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Arctic Rivers Project Webinars

Please click title below to expand and close Webinar information.

This webinar series provides updates for the Arctic Rivers Project – The Sensitivity of Alaskan and Yukon Rivers, Fish, and Communities to Climate funded by the National Science Foundation’s Navigating the New Arctic Program. The webinars are being hosted by the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Tribes and Climate Change Program in collaboration with project partners the University of Colorado-Boulder, the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the Universities of Saskatchewan and Waterloo.

Project Background
The goal of the Arctic Rivers Project is to weave together Indigenous Knowledge (IK), community monitoring, and modeling of climate, river flows and temperatures, river ice transportation corridors, and fish to improve understanding of how Arctic rivers, fish, and Indigenous communities might be impacted by and adapt to climate change. Additional key goals include IK protection and ensuring ethical knowledge co-production. An Indigenous Advisory Council consisting of 11 members is guiding project work. Projections of future climate will be produced for nearly all of Alaska and the Yukon. River and fish model data will be produced for the Yukon River watershed and areas north to the Arctic Ocean in Alaska. The project began Jan. 1, 2020 and goes through Dec. 31, 2024.

 
May 27, 2020: Alaskan and Yukon Rivers Webinar Series

Summary
This webinar is the first in a five-year series that the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Climate Change Program will be hosting in collaboration with the University of Colorado-Boulder, on a National Science Foundation Navigating the New Arctic project, The Sensitivity of Alaskan and Yukon Rivers, Fish, and Communities to Climate. The webinar series will provide regular updates on project progress and opportunities for Indigenous community members and organizations in Alaska and the Yukon Territory, Canada to interact with the Project Team, inform the team about their interests and priorities and provide input into research decisions, output, and analysis. During this first webinar, we will introduce the project and how it came about, discuss opportunities to participate, and provide information on the Native Advisory Council structure and application process.

Webinar: Navigating the New Arctic: The Sensitivity of Alaskan & Yukon Rivers, Fish, & Communities to Climate

Part 1: May 27, 2020
Introduction to the Project and Native Advisory Council Application Process During this first webinar, the presenters introduced the project, discussed opportunities to participate in the project, and provided information on the Native Advisory Council structure and application process.
Presenters:

  • Keith Musselman, Principle Investigator, University of Colorado-Boulder
  • Nicole Herman-Mercer, Co-Principle Investigator, U.S. Geological Survey
  • Karen Cozzetto, Co-manager, ITEP’s Tribes & Climate Change Program

Presentation: The Sensitivity of Alaskan and Yukon Rivers, Fish, and Communities to Climate
Recording: Click HERE for video. Contact: arcticrivers@colorado.edu

This webinar is the second in a series that the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Tribes and Climate Change Program is hosting in collaboration with the University of Colorado-Boulder, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, and others, as part of the Arctic Rivers Project – The Sensitivity of Alaskan and Yukon Rivers, Fish, and Communities to Climate, funded by the National Science Foundation’s Navigating the New Arctic Program.

Webinar agenda:

This webinar will update attendees on:

  • The establishment of an 11-member Indigenous Advisory Council (IAC) to guide the project.
  • Climate modeling efforts and upcoming decisions regarding which future scenarios to consider.
  • How Indigenous guidance and perspectives will be incorporated into these decisions.
  • An upcoming survey opportunity for Indigenous communities to provide input into the future scenario decisions that will be made by the IAC and research team.

Presenters: please click on the presenter name for email address
Andrew Newman, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
Nicole Herman-Mercer, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Webinar Video:
Video

Presentations:
Welcome and introduction (Karen Cozzetto, ITEP) [pdf]
Developing Actionable Climate Data with Indigenous Guidance (Andrew Newman, NCAR) [pdf]
Climate data and information survey (Nicole Herman-Mercer, USGS) [pdf]

CONNECT WITH US

Nikki Cooley
Co-Director
Nikki.Cooley@nau.edu

Karen Cozzetto
Manager
Karen.Cozzetto@nau.edu

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Rebecca Stevens

Chair

Coeur d’Alene Tribe – Idaho

Program Manager/Restoration Coordinator
Working with the Tribe since: 2005

Rebecca is the Program Manager for the Tribe’s Natural Resources Department-Hazardous Waste Management Program. She also serves the role as the Restoration Coordinator with the Restoration Partnership. Rebecca has been working on water quality related issues for over 19 years. She represents the Tribe in the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site working with EPA while implementing their remedy for the Basin. She is also the Tribe’s Restoration Coordinator for the Restoration Partnership for which all Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) claims have been settled and on the ground restoration work has been underway since 2019. Rebecca continues to work with other Tribes on NRDA issues while coordinating with the US DOI, USDA, and the State of Idaho.

Rebecca is a proud member of the Tribal Waste and Response Steering Committee where she also serves on the Tribal Superfund Work Group and Advisory Council. Rebecca enjoys x-country skiing in the winter, summertime water sports, Frisbee golf, and spending time with her friends, family, and blue heeler. Rebecca is very honored to work for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and is proud to be a part of restoring natural resources in the Coeur d’Alene Basin.

Rebecca can be reached by e-mail at rstevens@cdatribe-nsn.gov.

National Tribal Forum on Air Quality

The National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ) aims to support tribal programs by fostering information-sharing and networking opportunities that are focused on building tribal capacity in air quality management. The event’s agenda is driven by tribal input and priorities, with a focus on increasing tribal engagement in air quality initiatives that are relevant to tribal communities across the nation.