2025 Lorraine Loomis Memorial Scholarship Recipient Announced

The Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2025 Lorraine Loomis Memorial Scholarship.  Ms. Arielle Koenig of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in British Columbia will receive the $5,000 award for the 2025/26 academic year at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in pursuit of her Master’s degree.

From an early age, Arielle knew that she wanted to play a role in the protection and conservation of ecosystem health so future generations had the opportunity to learn from and appreciate the natural world.  She wishes to continue centering Indigenous voices in management and conservation with the additional goal of strengthening Indigenous culture and existence.  She would like to see her Nation be able to support its youth by providing them with employment opportunities on reserve where they are trained as Junior Guardians, integrating both western science and traditional Wet’suwet’en knowledge to take care of the land the way their ancestors did. This would also bring generations together, having the elders of the community teach the youth about Wet’suwet’en values, language, and practices.

Prior to her graduate studies, Ms. Koenig worked as a field biologist for a small consulting company that prioritizes working alongside First Nations in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia.  She participated in projects led by different Nations on fish conservation and management and collecting local water quality measurements. She acted as the field lead for the company, training volunteers and employees of the various Nations within the Fraser Valley on proper fish handling and sampling practices, data collection, and fish and amphibian species identification. Arielle also trained and mentored Junior Leq’a:mel First Nation Guardians in the field.

Ms. Koenig is now pursuing her Master of Science degree in Forestry at UBC, studying the effects of various types of floodgates on upstream overwintering salmon in floodplain habitats, expecting to graduate in 2026.  She is the first person from the Wet’suwet’en who has gone to university for conservation biology in twenty years, and only the second person to do so from the Nation.  She has partnered with Kwikwetlem First Nation, who join monthly meetings where they plan, discuss research findings, and plan for future directions of the project. They have a Kwikwetlem Guardian join them in the field where Arielle teaches them about the PIT technology and floodgate infrastructure used in the study. This sharing of knowledge is done in the hope the Nation will take over the project to continue using the infrastructure in place to conduct their own research, answering their own questions in the future and strengthening their sovereignty.

The Selection Committee was impressed by the number, quality, and diversity of applications received.  While difficult, their choice of Ms. Koenig as the 2025 recipient is made with enthusiasm and excitement for her future.  The Secretariat will maintain contact with her in the future to ensure she stays informed of the Commission’s activities and opportunities to observe our work.

Background

Lorraine Loomis, an elder in the Swinomish Tribe, passed away in August 2021 and thus ended a decades-long career advocating for indigenous fishing rights at their intersection with salmon conservation. She was one of the first women to play an active role in fisheries policy and management, rising to prominence at the tribal, state, national, and international level. Her achievements and consensus building led to her replacing the esteemed Billy Frank Jr. as chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission upon his passing and receiving many other accolades.

The scholarship seeks to honor Lorraine’s legacy and her many contributions to the fisheries community, with a view to inspiring and enabling future leaders like her.