Governor Palin Appoints Yukon River Panel Advisers

State of Alaska press release:

Governor Sarah Palin today announced the appointment of eight advisers to the Yukon River Panel. The advisers assist the Yukon River Panel in achieving conservation of salmon stocks originating from the Yukon River in Canada through development and implementation of agreed upon research and management programs, identification of restoration and enhancement opportunities, and submission of recommendations to management entities in Canada and Alaska.

Richard Carroll II and Erik Weingarth were appointed, and Shirley Clark, Angela Demientieff-Walker, Jennifer Hooper, Mike Smith, Joseph Strongheart Sr., and Virgil Umphenour were reappointed.

Carroll, of Fort Yukon , is the owner and operator of Alaska Yukon Tours. A lifelong resident of the Yukon Flats, Carroll is a subsistence fisherman and trapper, and has spent decades as a river guide and dog musher. He has been active with the local school district and recently served seven years as a tribal judge in his community.

Weingarth, of St. Marys, is a self-employed commercial fisherman and owner of a direct-marketing salmon business in the lower Yukon River area. A 20-year resident of St. Marys, Weingarth subsistence fishes with his family, and has worked as the manager of St. Mary Mission for the Diocese of Fairbanks. Weingarth studied fisheries science at Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka . He works as a heavy equipment operator and emergency wildland firefighter, and is president of the local school board.

Clark, of Grayling, is co-owner and manager of Yukon Enterprises, which provides custom fish processing and lodging services. She has worked in the construction trades and as a fur finisher for Martin Victor Furs. A lifelong resident of the lower middle Yukon area, Clark subsistence fishes, serves as the general manager of the ANICA general store, and is a skilled seamstress who makes outerwear and hats from locally trapped furs.

Demientieff-Walker, of Holy Cross, grew up along the Yukon River and has a long family history of involvement with Yukon salmon fisheries and continues to fish for subsistence in the lower Yukon area. She has been a board member of the Iditarod Area School District for more than 10 years, and has served as mayor and city council member of Holy Cross.

Hooper, of Bethel , is a deputy director of natural resources for the Association of Village Council Presidents. A fisheries and marine mammal biologist, she holds a degree in marine biology from Texas A&M University . Hooper is a longtime resident of the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta, where she subsistence fishes with her family. She has worked as a fisheries technician, and serves on the Kuskokwim River salmon management and Bering Sea bycatch working groups and the Indigenous Peoples Council on Marine Mammals.

Smith, of Fairbanks , is a director of subsistence resources for Tanana Chiefs Conference, Inc. He has a long family history in the middle Yukon area, where he subsistence fishes with his family and has fished commercially. Smith has worked as a planner, legislative aide, local government specialist and builder. He currently serves on the Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim Sustainable Salmon Initiative, the Western Arctic Salmon Stock Identification Program and the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-management Council.

Strongheart Sr., of Nunam Iqua, is a subsistence fisherman who has also fished commercially and worked as a fish buyer. Strongheart works for the Lower Yukon School District in facility maintenance, and was employed by United Utilities and operated a small general store. He served on the Sheldon Point city council and on the local advisory school board.

Umphenour, of Fairbanks , owns and operates Interior Alaska Fish Processors and is a former member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries. He is a member of the Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee and is a past board member of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. He has fished commercially in the Yukon River drainage along the Tanana , and continues subsistence fishing. Umphenour is a registered hunting guide and operates a guiding business.

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