Alaska Forum Virtual Technical Session: Braiding Water Balance Models and Traditional Science to Predict Salmon Habitat Suitability in Southeast Alaska

Climate models are powerful, but they often miss what people on the ground see every day. This presentation explores a new method for integrating local and Indigenous knowledge directly into climate models, allowing lived observations, such as shifting river patterns, changing ice conditions, and ecosystem signals, to inform and refine model outputs. By combining these knowledge systems, we can reduce blind spots in traditional datasets and produce results that better reflect real-world conditions. The goal is not just more accurate models, but more useful ones that directly support infrastructure planning, risk management, and decision-making in high-risk, rapidly changing regions.
Presenter:
Jaimlyn Sypniewski – Two Bears Environmental Consulting
Moderator: Jeanette Alas, Alaska Department of Fish &
Game