1. SVT’s Subsistence Consumption Assessment of Cook Inlet Tribes – Methods and Tips for Success by Michael Opheim and Tracie Merrill Seldovia Village Tribe

2. History/Background: Between 2011-2012, under our EPA Indian General Assistance Program (IGAP), we conducted a subsistence consumption assessment (dietary survey) of Tribal members in Seldovia, Port Graham, Nanwalek, and Tyonek Finalized report in 2013

3. History/Background:

4. Why did we want to do it? Concern about contaminants in the subsistence foods our Tribal members eat (especially fish!) -Last study of fish consumption and contaminants was the one done by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR 2009) -Many sources of contamination in Cook Inlet Use data to determine priority subsistence foods for contaminant testing and calculate average, median, and 95 percentile daily fish consumption rates for Tribal members (grams per day, or GPD) *[ATSDR] Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. 2009. Evaluation of seafood and plant data collected from Cook Inlet near the native villages of Port Graham, Nanwalek, Seldovia, and Tyonek, Alaska. Atlanta, Georgia.

5. History/Background: Underestimation of current fish consumption rates used to calculate ambient water quality criteria for human health – EPA just updated recommendation to 22 grams/day, currently ADEC uses 6.5 grams/day

6. History/Background: Use data to determine consumption patterns of Tribal members for non-fish subsistence foods A different focus area and addition for our IGAP program

7. History/Background Modeled project design on study done by Columbia Inter- Tribal fish commission: Umatilla, Nez Perce, Yakama, and Warm Springs Tribes of Columbia River Basin - 1994 Why this one? -Two-phase project (phase 1-survey; phase 2-contaminant testing) -Comprehensive -Quality control measures (memory recall, statistics) -Limited accessibility to other surveys

8. Assessment activities: Collaborated and coordinated with all the participating tribes Developed lots of documents Established quality control measures (food models, recorders) Hired and trained two interviewers from each village

9. Assessment activities: Randomly selected Tribal members; arranged and conducted interviews Got information for adults (over 17 years old) and for youngest children in households Purchased and compiled equipment and supplies needed for interviews

10. Tips For Success Reference surveys/studies – Methods and quality control clearly laid out QAPP – Length of Time – Number of surveys – How to phrase questions about consumption of marine mammals; sea birds/ducks; invertebrates – One survey – Try to get input of partners before implementation – preferably all species they want on there

11. Tips For Success Conducting surveys Finding reliable interviewers and interviewers who understand importance of quality control Be realistic about how long it will take to get surveys Trust of partners and interviewees; “buy in” Be flexible with schedules of staff of partner tribes » Analyzing/entering data and writing final report Length of time Stats! Quantifying amounts of invertebrates/marine mammals/birds

12. Acknowledgements: BIG THANKS TO: The Columbia River Basin tribes and Columbia River Inter- Tribal Fish Commission IGAP staff and Tribal council members of Port Graham, Nanwalek, and Tyonek Interviewers All the Tribal members who participated in assessment EPA Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC)

13. QUESTIONS??? Michael Opheim, SVT Environmental Coordinator 907-435-3247 mopheim@svt.org Tracie Merrill, SVT Environmental Assistant 907-435-3261 tmerrill@svt.org