Robert Glenn Ketchum awarded Partners in Participations

Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar and the U.S. Department of the Interior have given Robert Glenn Ketchum (1991 Laureate) the 'Partners in Conservation Award for his participation in the Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership.

Secretary Salazar Presents Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership with Partners in Conservation Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today presented a Partners in Conservation Award to the Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Partnership for its work in promoting the sustainability of wild salmon populations. It was one of 26 national awards to individuals and organizations presented at a ceremony at Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C. to honor “those who achieve natural resource goals in collaboration and partnership with others.”

The 26 Partners in Conservation Awards recognize conservation achievements resulting from the cooperation and participation of a total of 600 individuals and organizations including landowners; citizens’ groups; private sector and nongovernmental organizations; and federal, state, local, and/or tribal governments.

“The Partners in Conservation Awards demonstrate that our greatest conservation legacies often emerge when stakeholders, agencies, and citizens from a wide range of backgrounds come together to address shared challenges,” the Secretary said.
 
“The Alaska Salmon partnership’s record of accomplishment in preserving fish and wildlife habitat is nothing short of extraordinary,” he noted. “Since 2001, more than 70 diverse partners from tribal, state, federal and private entities have come together to conserve and protect 94,000 acres of habitat including rivers that are prime spawning grounds for salmon and other fish.”

The partnership’s most recent success was a permanent conservation agreement protecting 21,000 acres of the Agulowak River and surrounding watershed inside Wood-Tikchik State Park. The river provides spawning habitat for 200,000 sockeye salmon and passage for another 1.2 million sockeye and other fish to spawning grounds further up in other drainages of the river.
 
“These 26 awards recognize the dedicated efforts of thousands of people from all walks of life, from across our nation– and from across our borders with Canada and Mexico,” Salazar noted. “They celebrate partnerships that conserve and restore our nation’s treasured landscapes and watersheds, partnerships that engage Native American communities, and partnerships that engage youth.”
 
More than 70 individuals and organizational partners shared in the award.