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September 04, 2014 --- Vol. 08, No. 36September 2014

Novagold commits to invest in Alaska Fish and Wildlife Fund

Novagold Resources Inc. Sept. 4 said it will invest in the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Fund, a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation initiative designed to protect, conserve and restore fish and wildlife in Alaska.

“In today’s world, I believe that there is no greater calling than to harness the golden mean between the twin imperatives of human empowerment and the conservation of the natural world,” said Novagold Chairman Thomas Kaplan. “Greg Lang and all of Novagold’s management team are committed to devising and implementing the very best practices in our industry. It is in this spirit that Novagold is partnering with NFWF, the Gold Standard in environmental leadership. We, the board members of Novagold, are truly proud of the fact that our company and NFWF have come together to create an extraordinary partnership that can serve as a model for the sustainable development of natural resources.”

The Alaska Fish and Wildlife Fund initiative has identified Alaska land and activities that offer significant opportunities to protect and enhance fish and wildlife species, as well as their habitats. The objectives of the program are to:

• Improve monitoring and management of species populations by filling key information gaps;

• Support conservation planning efforts targeted at minimizing impacts of multiple land uses on species populations;

• Benefit from Native Alaskans’ traditional knowledge in natural resource management and species conservation efforts through their active involvement in development and implementation of education and outreach programs;

• Provide additional watershed information essential to identify, monitor and conserve key salmon resources; and facilitate technological and management improvements to advance the sustainability of fisheries.

“The lands and waters of Alaska provide a home for an incredible number of fish and wildlife species,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “We applaud this commitment from Novagold and Donlin Gold as a significant contribution toward conserving the wetlands, streams and wild places of Alaska for future generations.”

Drawing on its experience as one of the nation’s largest conservation funders, NFWF developed a science-based plan with a goal to deliver meaningful and measurable conservation outcomes; provide leverage by engaging federal and state agencies, academia, conservation peers, businesses, and communities to maximize conservation benefits; and meet a need for more investments to protect and enhance Alaska’s natural heritage.

Notably, as a leading conservation organization, NFWF greatly complements Donlin Gold’s and Novagold’s efforts as an industry-leader in voluntary conservation efforts.

“Our partnership with NFWF exemplifies NOVAGOLD’s strong and active commitment toward responsible mine development in combination with the sustainable protection of Alaska’s natural endowment for the benefit of future generations,” said Novagold President and CEO Greg Lang. “Donlin Gold’s baseline environmental studies are among the most comprehensive ever undertaken in our sector. By deploying our substantial expertise, which NOVAGOLD’s team has built over many years of study and research in Alaska, and helping NFWF in its efforts to protect and restore wetland and freshwater systems in the state, we are confident that this program will also enhance the economic well-being of the local communities in our region as we take Donlin Gold through development.”

Phase 1 of the program is underway with the establishment of a business plan that follows NFWF’s institutional approach of focusing on species outcomes as the main goal, working to enhance the viability of each target population by improving their resilience and mitigating threats.

To achieve these species goals, NFWF identified three focal geographies as initial investment areas: the Arctic-Bering Sea; the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region; and the Cook Inlet/Matanuska-Susitna watershed. Many of the funded projects will be led by Alaskan communities to increase the active involvement of local residents in the subsistence management process and enhance the dialogue around conservation needs. Requests for proposals distributed in May generated many worthwhile responses offering conservation benefits in these regions.

The second phase of the program, to begin in 2015, will invest in the launch of the selected conservation projects. NFWF will use its scientific and conservation experience to monitor the progress of and provide guidance for each project. A conservation initiative in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region titled, “Bridging the Gap between Native Communities and Conservation,” was recently approved for funding by NFWF and aims to help address the decline in salmon abundance that has caused significant hardships on local communities as well as families of the Yukon-Kuskokwim region.

The project is structured to increase conservation, outreach, and education efforts through an enhanced Refuge Information Technician program. This initiative will employ local Native Alaskans who possess valuable regional experience, traditional ecological knowledge, Yup’ik language skills, and cultural sensitivity as intermediaries to communicate conservation objectives to local residents and share community questions and concerns with natural resource managers.

In addition to the RIT program, the initiative will provide summer internships through the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program to local students with the goal of increasing students’ interests in resource management. The internships will provide each participant with an opportunity to broaden skills in fisheries management, offer future connections for career advancement, and provide a community-based source of income.

As familiar faces in the region, both RITs and ANSEP students will serve as a trusted source of information for their communities and natural resource managers, providing leadership and guidance on management of a resource that is critical to physical and cultural life along the Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers.


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