The goal of community-based research is to incorporate results of LTK research into BSIERP ecosystem models and syntheses.
Communities participating in this study are Akutan, Emmonak, Nelson Island, Savoonga, St. Paul, and Togiak.
All have a history of research on local and traditional knowledge and/or subsistence harvest surveys, which will provide useful information and a basis for identifiying trends and changes over spans of a decade or more.
St. Paul, in particular, has a strong connection to fur seals, black-legged kittiwakes, and thick-billed murres, which are three key species to be studied in BSIERP. Savoonga is similary connected to walrus, another BSIERP species.
See a map of the study region.
Akutan is located on Akutan Island in the eastern Aleutians, one of the Krenitzin Islands of the Fox Island group.
Emmonak (Delta region)Emmonak is located at the mouth of the Yukon River, 10 miles from the Bering Sea, on the north bank of Kwiguk Pass. It lies 120 air miles northwest of Bethel and 490 air miles from Anchorage, in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge.
Nelson Island (Delta region)Nelson Island, located in coastal Western Alaska, has three villages, all located on the Bering Sea coast in the southwest part of the island: Tununak in the west, Toksook Bay southeast of Tununak, and Nightmute in the east.
Savoonga (St. Lawrence region)Savoonga is located on the northern coast of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, 164 miles west of Nome. It lies 39 miles southeast of Gambell.
St. Paul (Pribilof region)St. Paul is located on a narrow peninsula on the southern tip of St. Paul Island, the largest of five islands in the Pribilofs. It lies 47 miles north of St. George Island, 240 miles north of the Aleutian Islands, 300 miles west of the Alaska mainland, and 750 air miles west of Anchorage.
Togiak (Bristol Bay region)Togiak is located at the head of Togiak Bay, 67 miles west of Dillingham. It lies in Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, and is the gateway to Walrus Island Game Sanctuary.