Indigenous Sentinels Network

Goal

To provide remote, indigenous communities with tools, training, networking and convening, coordination, and capacity for ecological, environmental, and climate monitoring.

Indigenous Sentinels Network

Expanding the Sentinel Program:

For 16 years The Aleut Community of St. Paul in Alaska has hired local “Sentinels” to monitor wildlife species and environmental conditions in the Pribilof Islands. This program was subsequently expanded to St. George Island and other Bering Sea and Aleutian Island communities. In 2018 the Sentinel program was adapted for use in monitoring salmon and other species of importance to Yukon River communities in interior Alaska in partnership with the Tanana Chiefs Conference.

The Landscape Conservation Cooperatives are working to help expand this program throughout Alaska and Western Canada, which can complement and support ongoing monitoring efforts, such as the Indigenous Guardians program.

In the process we aim to:

  • 1. Fill critical data gaps, provide baseline assessments, support pro-active planning & management, and enhance climate adaptation strategies.
  • 2. Bring jobs to rural, indigenous communities that support self-determination, land and resource stewardship, and community resilience.
  • 3. Expand partnerships across the border and among communities and resource/land managers.
  • 4. Leverage public and private funds, reduce duplication, and build collaboration on shared goals.
  • 5. Work at a multi-scale approach to address issues from local to landscape levels.

Sentinel Tool kit Components:

  • 1. Sentinel Database: Online interface, all data archived and password protected, calendar, quality control and assurance module, query tools, report generator (exports to Excel), user friendly, data property and intellectual property rights remain with each participating community.
  • 2. Suite of Mobile Data Collection Apps: Full Sentinel, CitizenSentinel, Coastal Erosion, Seaduck and Gull, Salmon Harvest, and other custom apps/modules as needed; iOS and Android capable, all apps available for download free in Apple Store and Google Play (users must have an active Sentinel account to use the apps).
  • 3. Communication Tools: Webpage, Facebook page, interactions with other networks.
  • 4. Training Materials: Sentinel handbook, Quality control protocols, Reference materials, Protocols developed in collaboration with relevant federal and state agencies.

We can provide

  • Data collection and online data management tools that are easy-to-use and customizable.
  • Standardized field data collection protocols to enable coordination and data sharing.
  • Ownership and stewardship of data by communities.
  • An international network of experts, Tribes, First Nations, state/federal/territorial government agencies, and NGO’s across Alaska and western Canada.
  • Pathways for agencies, scientists, and communities to work together to address critical data needs.
  • Convening capacity for trainings, workshops, and collaborative projects.

Logging an Observation

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Analysis and reporting

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Lauren Divine
Ecosystem Conservation
Office of Aleut Community
of St. Paul Island
lmdivine@aleut.com
Aaron Lestenkof
Ecosystem Conservation
Office of Aleut Community
of St. Paul Island
aplestenkof@aleut.com
Bruce Robson
Community and
Ecology
Resources, LLC
mandybruce@co-eco.com
Leanna Heffner
Northwest Boreal
Landscape Conservation
Cooperative
leanna@nwblcc.org
Rat Prevention