Water-quality data has been collected as part of a collaborative monitoring project between the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC), and Yukon River Basin communities known as the Indigenous Observation Network. Since 2006, the USGS National Research Program (NRP) and YRITWC have been partnering to collect water-quality samples from the Yukon River and tributaries with the assistance of trained community members living in the Yukon River Basin.
The YRITWC provides support for this project through sample collection, sample processing and shipment logistics with communities and the USGS. The USGS provides water analysis and data interpretation support. Through this partnership over 300 community members have been trained in water sample collection, which has resulted in over 1,500 samples collected at more than 50 sites covering the entire 2,300 mile reach of the Yukon River since the program began. The program has allowed the USGS to create and maintain a baseline record (long-term at some sites) of water-quality in the river basin, critical for understanding climate change impacts and informing water resource planning and decision-making. The data collection may provide a better understanding about water quality changes occurring on the Yukon River, so as to inform community water resource planning and regional decision-making.
