Photo credit: Kristine Sowl; FWS

Through an international accord between Indigenous governments, the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council and United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Indigenous Observation Network (ION) was formed. ION is a large-scale monitoring program with the goal to address water quality and environmental change impacts on rural indigenous communities across the Yukon River Watershed. The communities living in this area are highly dependent on the landscape and environment for subsistence and drinking water resources to maintain their traditional way of life.