Emily Mailman is a Marine Habitat Resource Specialist based in Anchorage, Alaska. She supports the work of the Office of Habitat Conservation’s Restoration Center in Alaska.
What is your key responsibility?
I provide technical assistance to our partners working on community habitat restoration projects. When I explain my job to my family, I tell them that the work I do helps salmon move further upstream, where they can access more spawning habitat.
Where did you grow up?
I am from Dallas, Texas.
What is your educational background?
I completed my undergraduate degree in environmental management at Indiana University. Currently, I am pursuing my Master of Science in fisheries through the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Can you tell us about a project related to habitat that you’re currently working on or that you enjoyed?
Working with the Chickaloon Native Village in Southcentral Alaska has been especially inspiring to me. The Village has done an exceptional job integrating boots-on-the-ground work with capacity building. Their project takes a multi-faceted approach and actively engages tribal members, providing them with the skills to tackle fish passage concerns. They are helping to restore the region’s natural resources and supporting the traditional uses of salmon. This work is also helping to ensure this resource is available for future generations.
Alaska is unique in that reliance on natural resources is still an aspect of daily life. In the summer, community members prepare for the return of spawning salmon. They depend on strong runs to fill the freezer for winter. Restoring salmon habitat is essential to their way of life.
I am inspired by their approach to restoration which combines Traditional Ecological Knowledge and western science to meet their mission. And, by providing training opportunities to other Alaskan Tribal groups they are supporting tribal fish passage efforts across Alaska, establishing strong partnerships, and building a model for future state-wide collaborations.
