Photo: Partners in the Mat-Su Salmon Partnership take part in a field day on the Matanuska River. Corinne Smith/The Nature Conservancy
The Conservancy is playing an important role in the Mat-Su, where the difficult decisions about where and how to develop in this area the size of the state of West Virginia will determine the health of the Mat-Su’s lands and waters in the decades ahead. We work with the local communities to ensure that the economic value of important community assets like salmon habitat is integrated into decisions about resource development and land use in the Mat-Su.
The Conservancy is a founding member of the Matanuska-Susitna Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership, which believes that thriving fish, healthy habitats, and vibrant communities can co-exist. Because wild salmon are central to life in Alaska and here in the Mat-Su, the partnership works to ensure quality salmon habitat is safeguarded and restored.
We are tapping into what the community values of its natural assets - the area's characteristics that contribute to quality of life there and provide a sense of community. We seek a shared vision of the future of the Mat-Su. Mat-Su 2050 is a round table of organizations that are emphasizing quality of life in the Mat-Su to justify conservation of salmon habitat, farmland, and recreational access to "keep the character of the valley."
