New preserve on Russia's Koppi River

A decade of efforts by the Wild Salmon Center and partners culminates in formal protection of 94,000 acres to safeguard the critically endangered Sakhalin taimen, Siberian tiger, and other wildlife in the Russian Far East.

The Khabarovsk Krai Administration passed a resolution to establish the Koppi River Preserve that will protect 94,000 acres (38,032 ha) of prime fish and wildlife habitat in the Russian Far East.  Over 200 river miles (328 km) of the Koppi River and its tributaries will be permanently protected.

The creation of the Koppi River Preserve marks the completion of more than a decade of collaborative work between the Wild Salmon Center (WSC), the Khabarovsk Wildlife Foundation (KWF), and the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Khabarovsk Krai to win formal protection of the biologically diverse Koppi River watershed.  WSC and KWF began conducting ecological surveys of the Koppi Watershed in 2000, the results of which helped support the legal designation of the area as a protected preserve. The research also led to the addition of the Sakhalin taimen to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species in 2006.

"The most valuable section of the Koppi River has been granted protection in perpetuity to conserve and maintain populations of wild salmonids," said Yuri Kolpak, Director of the regional arm for Wildlife Conservation and Protected Areas.

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