Association of Village Council Presidents
Bethel, Alaska
Vivian Korthuis
Vice President of Community Services
Inuit Circumpolar Council
General Assembly
Inuvik, Canada
Sustainable Resource Use and Management
July 22, 2014
AVCP Mission Statement
Provides Human Development, Social Services,
and other culturally relevant programs for the
people, to promote self-determination,
protection and enhancement of our culture and
traditions though a working partnership with
member villages of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
AVCP Service Area Map
Setting the Stage
AVCP was formed to help with the settlement of
aboriginal land claims in Alaska and provide services to
the 56 Tribes along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers and
Bering Sea Coast in Western Alaska
The Yukon Kuskokwim Delta and Bering Sea are
important global migratory bird nesting grounds and
largest chinook salmon run in Alaska.
Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
• The Yukon Kuskokwim Delta is 57,826 square
miles
• The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge is
19.2 million square acres and it surrounds
almost all of the 48 villages in the region
• This is important because it plays in the
overall management of federal, state, and
tribal lands
Our Region’s Experience
Our Tribes helped create the Goose
Management Plan resulting in the
recognition of Tribal Management and
Conservation Plans which resulted in
the 1997 migratory bird protocol
amendment which recognizes spring
and summer subsistence hunts for
Alaska Natives and Canadian Inuit.
The Moose Management Plan
The Tribes in our region participated in
the Moose Management Plan in the
1990’s which has resulted in higher
population of moose and extended
hunting of moose.
Inter Tribal Fish Commission
The Tribes are currently pursuing the
establishment of the Inter Tribal Fish
Commissions on the Yukon River and the
Kuskokwim River.
The goal is to create the inter tribal fish
commission that allows for Tribal Salmon
Management Plans to address the declining
salmon stocks.
The Bering Sea
The fisheries and marine mammal resources in the Bering
Sea need to be monitored to prevent the depletion of the
stocks our people rely on for food.
One of the goals is to have a Tribal Seat and a Subsistence
Seat on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
One last concern is the anticipated increased shipping
traffic in the Bering Sea and the impact it will have on our
villages.
Traditional Knowledge
Our Region and our Tribes use
Traditional Knowledge in all of the
conservation and management
discussions, plans and strategies
What is the next Big Thing?
Climate Change is impacting our region.
Our villages are experiencing more extreme
storms, loss of sea ice and changes in
vegetation.
At the End of the Day
We want to make the
right decisions keeping
our children’s future
protected. We want to
make those decisions,
with “one mind”
because we know if we
take care of our
resources they will take
care of us.
Quyana-Thank you.