Our Work

Kigluiak Mountains (Photo Credit: Hal Sheperd)

Ongoing Projects

Protecting Public Lands in Alaska

Take Action For Alaska Fish and Wildlife Lifting D1 protections could impact critical Salmon habitat (Photo Credit: Dave McCoy) Unprecedented Opportunity to Protect 28 Million Acres of Alaska Public Lands Alaska's fish, wildlife, and public lands are under threat! Across the state, 28 million acres of BLM-managed lands from Bristol Bay to the Yukon-Kuskokwim region provide subsistence resources for over 100 Alaska Native communities. These intact landscapes nourish incredible

Ongoing Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

2 min read

Federal Subsistence Priority Under Threat

Take Back Alaska Waters A red sunset reflects off the Yukon River (Photo Credit: Josh Spice, NPS) Alaska Governor Asserts State Control...

Ongoing Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

3 min read

Protecting Subsistence Resources in the Imuruk Basin

Kigluak Mountain Range above Hot Springs Creek. Site of the Proposed Graphite One Mine. (Photo Credit: Hal Shepherd) Action Alert: Please comment on the Graphite One mining permit application by October 31 . For more information . Introduction The Norton Bay Watershed Council (NBWC) is working to protect tribal water and subsistence rights from mining activity in the Imuruk Basin watershed. The proposed Graphite One mine poses a serious threat to fish and wildlife, water qu

Ongoing Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

2 min read

BLM Co-Management

Tubutulik River with Darby Mountains in the background within the Kobuk-Seward Planning Area (Photo Credit: Hal) Introduction The Norton...

Ongoing Projects

Hal Shepherd

2 min read

Mining Exploration Resurfaces at Tubutulik River

Mining companies are once again turning their attention to rich uranium deposits located at the headwaters of the Tubutulik River near...

Ongoing Projects

Hal Shepherd

4 min read

Past Projects

The Norton Bay Watershed Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, Instream Flow and Policy Project

(Photo Credit: Hal Shepherd) Background Record temperatures and mining proposals affect fish habitat in Norton Bay Watershed. In June 2019, the Tubulik near Elim and Koyuk had record temperatures at the Vulcan Creek gage site 30 miles from the mouth and there were hundreds of otherwise healthy (not spawned out) dead fish including pink and chum salmon and white fish in the river. At the same time, during 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management was proposing to open almost 20

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

2 min read

Defending Tribal Sovereignty on the Seward Peninsula

Bering Sea Western Interior Resource Management Plan Response (Photo Credit: Hal Shepherd) Background and Introduction The Norton Bay Watershed Council (NBWC) is closely monitoring and coordinating the tribal response to a proposal by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that poses a serious threat to subsistence resources and ecological integrity on the Seward Peninsula. The BLM released the first version of its Bering Sea Western Interior Resource Management Plan in March 20

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

5 min read

Native Village of Golovin Hazard Mitigation & Climate Adaption Plan Integration

aftermath of Typhoon Merbok that struck the villages in the fall of 2022 Changing weather patterns in Alaska have already brought...

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

2 min read

Norton Sound Communities Climate Adaptation Training (NSCCAT)

aftermath of Typhoon Merbok that struck the villages in the fall of 2022 Introduction As a result of climate change, Alaska Native...

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

3 min read

Climate Adaptation and Implementation Plan for the Norton Bay Watershed

Braided seal intestines dry in the sun on a rack at a subsistence camp. This is a traditional food that Inupiat people have eaten for a...

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

2 min read

The Imuruk Basin Subsistence Protection Project

Caribou graze on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo Credit: USFWS) Introduction A Canadian based mining...

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

2 min read

Norton Bay Climate Risk Assessment Project

Photo Credit: Hal Shepherd Introduction In 2010, the Norton Bay Watershed Council (NBWC) and Native Villages of Elim, Koyuk, Unalakleet,...

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

3 min read

North Bering Sea Tribal Climate Self Determination Project

Photo Credit: Hal Shepherd The Norton Bay Watershed Council has undertaken this project to address the Bureau of Ocean Energy...

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

1 min read

Norton Bay Watershed Ocean and Coastal Management Plan

Protecting subsistence culture & resources Norton Bay, Alaska at Sunrise - Photo Credit: Leigh Takak (2020) Introduction The Inupiat and...

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

2 min read

The Native Village of Elim's Tubutulik River Watershed Vulnerability & Risk Assessment for Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Stream Flow (Assessment) is designed to establish the current baseline

Golovin, Alaska - Photo Credit: Emily Murray (2022) On March 29th, 2024, the Norton Bay Watershed Council held a session at the Alaska...

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

1 min read

Native Village of Elim's Tubutulik River Watershed Vulnerability & Risk Assessment for Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen and Stream Flow

The Native Village of Elim's Tubutulik River Watershed Vulnerability & Risk Assessment for Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Stream...

Past Projects

Norton Bay Watershed Council

2 min read

Council Activities

Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge

We use traditional ecological knowledge to understand how the local environment is changing due to climate change and to develop strategies for adapting to these changes.

(Photo Credit: Hal Sheperd)

Conducting Regional and Local Climate Change Adaptation Planning

We work with partners to develop regional and local plans to assist local communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change on subsistence resources.

(Photo Credit: Ken Takak)

Addressing Gaps in Federal Programs

We advocate for the needs of the local communities in relation to federal programs and agency actions that potentially impact subsistence and water resources or tribal sovereignty.

Fish Camp

(Photo Credit: Hal Sheperd)

Increasing Resilience

We develop strategies to adapt to changing environmental conditions and mitigate the impacts of climate change on traditional and water resources.

Musk Ox on the Teller Highway

(Photo Credit: Hal Sheperd)

Support us to protect our water resources

Local traditional knowledge is critical to protecting our water resources.

Your support is vital to the council's efforts to monitor, restore, and advocate for water rights in the Norton Bay watershed. Your donation would go to assist the watershed council to monitor the health of our rivers and the protection of subsistence and traditional resources.