In 2022, the Kenai Peninsula Fish Habitat Partnership, a coalition of agencies, scientists, and conservation organizations, including Cook Inletkeeper, released the document – 2022 Freshwater Conservation Plan A Plan to protect Fish and Fish Habitat in the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams of the Kenai Peninsula. Paired with Climate Change and the Future of Freshwater Fish Habitat on the Kenai Peninsula released the same year, this document was a clear wake-up call. It summarized the mounting challenges climate change poses to salmon streams and freshwater ecosystems across the Kenai Peninsula. Its conclusion was unambiguous: “Contemporary directional climate change is primarily driven by human impact.”
Even for those newly learning about climate impacts, this is widely recognized. We also know another truth: the pace of change is accelerating faster than expected. Warming stream temperatures, reduced snowpack and shifting seasonal patterns are already altering the conditions that salmon, and the communities that depend on them need to thrive.
But the story doesn’t end with challenges. Across the region, diverse partners, scientists, Indigenous knowledge holders, and community members are working to find solutions. Cook Inletkeeper is helping lead that charge through our Local Solutions effort — practical, people-powered actions that strengthen the resilience of our watershed’s lands, waters, and communities.
The science is clear: to protect freshwater fish habitat, we need management strategies that are adaptive, responsive to the changes we’re already seeing, and in the long term, are focused on building resilience for the future. These solutions require you and your neighbors who live here, love this place, and depend on a healthy watershed to help shape them.
That is the heart of Cook Inletkeeper’s work. Our Local Solutions and Drawdown projects, whether they focus on salmonscapes, municipal recycling and composting, reducing food waste, renewable energy, heat-pump adoption and other community-driven initiatives that benefit our watershed, they are all grounded in the the simple belief that lasting climate solutions are built through collaboration, guided by local knowledge, and strengthened by partnerships that respect science and value community priorities. This community-centered kind of conservation is more than an approach — it is a commitment and a responsibility, not only for today but for generations to come.
When we practice conservation in this way, we will see results: healthier salmon streams, more resilient communities, and stronger bonds between people and the lands and waters that sustain us. We also see hope —real, tangible, earned hope that comes from doing the work together.
Work like this is powered by people like YOU! Every hour volunteered, every collaborative project, and every donation fuels the action that Tikahtnu urgently needs. By being a part of and supporting these important and impactful local initiatives, you are investing directly in local solutions that protect fish habitat, reduce emissions, and strengthen your community.
This is your moment to become the change you want to see, a chance to be a part of something that impacts where you live in a positive way. Join us by supporting our work and help build a thriving, climate-resilient Cook Inlet watershed!
Make your contribution today to Cook Inlet | Tikahtnu’s future.