Accomplishments

Kamchatka Krai Protected Area Development Plan, an unprecedented agreement between government and private organizations on Kamchatka, will guide all future protected areas on the peninsula and was signed by the Pacific Institute of Geography, Wild Fishes and Biodiversity Foundation and the Khabarovsk Krai Department of Environmental Protection.

Helped establish the Kol River Salmon Refuge, a headwaters-to-ocean preserve that restricts development on 544,000 acres of the Kol and Kekhta watersheds. The Wild Salmon Center and partners also initiated an effort to create an additional 330,000-acre protected area that will encompass the Utkholok and Kvachina river basins to safeguard rare populations of steelhead.

Launched an ambitious effort to create an additional four whole-basin salmon protected areas. This initiative will create a salmon protected area network that encompasses 9 river systems, including the Opala, Oblukovina, Krutogorova, Kolpakova, Utkholok, Kvachina, and Zhupanova. The four new salmon refuges, combined with the Kol River Salmon Refuge, will protect up to 6 million acres of habitat for salmon, bears, eagles, seals, and hundreds of other species. Safeguarding these rivers is also crucial for the region's commercial and sport fisheries.