Alaska

How We Work in Alaska

We combine the power of scientific inquiry and collaborative partnerships to help people and nature thrive.

Humpback whale tail and commercial salmon fishing boat in Southeast Alaska.
Ocean Life A humpback while dives as a commercial fishing boat cruises in the waters of Southeast Alaska. © Heather Genovese/TNC Photo Contest 2019

We Focus on Three Main Areas

  • Climate Solutions

    We are working on lowering carbon emissions in Alaska, improving community resiliency and maximizing Alaska’s climate-cooling carbon storage potential.

  • Sustainable Fisheries

    We’re protecting Bristol Bay’s salmon stronghold and the subsistence, sport and commercial fisheries it supports. We’re also working to expand access for rural fishing families to participate in and benefit from Alaska’s Limited Entry permit system.

  • Thriving Communities

    We’re fostering sustainable growth that supports people and nature in places like Southeast Alaska and Bristol Bay. Our work includes community forest partnerships, Indigenous Guardians, restoration of forests and streams, and carbon initiatives.

ONE

Climate Solutions

Alaska may be in a time of terrific change, but by coming together in new ways to protect natural places like forests and wetlands we can maximize nature’s ability to store carbon. We’re responding to a growing call for clean, renewable energy to ease pollution and lessen the dependence on fossil fuels in communities across Alaska.

TWO

Sustainable Fisheries

Alaska is home to the planet’s last best wild salmon fisheries, but their future isn’t guaranteed. If we’re to sustain Alaska’s ties to the ocean, we need to protect healthy lands and waters, support working waterfronts and time-honored ways of life, and ensure people have fair access to longstanding fishing traditions.

THREE

Thriving Communities

Decisions about the lands and waters that have long sustained Indigenous communities in Alaska have, for far too long, come from far-away places. As Alaska Native people reclaim Indigenous authority over lands, waters and ways of life, we work “at the speed of trust” in communities where we’re invited to be part of a future that fully respects and honors Indigenous ways of knowing.

A Vision for Nature and People in Alaska

The choices we make today will shape the future ahead. For concise summaries of the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for The Nature Conservancy in Alaska, we invite you to read our Case for Support.

Brown bear and cub walk across a tidal flat in Alaska's Cook Inlet.
Like Mother, Like Daughter A brown bear and her cub walk stride for stride along a tidal mudflat. Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. © Wolfe Repass/TNC Photo Contest 2019