Improving capacity of the seven Chugach Regional Resources Commission tribes through youth education and wildlife research and monitoring - The Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) proposes a project to enhance youth engagement in natural resource sciences while monitoring and managing wildlife populations in the Chugach region. Building on previous successes in environmental DNA analysis for herring populations and ongoing monitoring of sockeye, moose, algae, and ocean chemistry, CRRC aims to add a youth education component to their existing research programs. The project will provide hands-on training opportunities for tribal youth ages 16-25 from seven CRRC communities, focusing on outdoor skills, wildlife research methods, and environmental monitoring. Activities include wilderness training camps, participation in salmon escapement counts, wildlife tracking, and ocean chemistry sampling. The project addresses the current situation where few tribal youth are engaged in outdoor sciences, aiming to build the next generation of natural resource specialists who can help sustain traditional practices and environmental stewardship for future generations.
