10/03/2026
Meet Kattie Wilmarth | Full Circle Moment on the Kuskokwim
My name is Kattie Wilmarth, and I'm originally from Red Devil, Alaska. I grew up along the Kuskokwim River and graduated from Aniak Junior Senior High School.
Looking back, some of my first introductions to the kind of work I do today actually happened while I was still in school.
I participated in the Math Science Expedition (MSE), where students get outside the classroom and onto the river to learn about fish biology, river ecology, data collection, leadership, and natural-resource careers. I also participated in the George River Internship (GRI) shortly after graduating, which gave students hands-on experience working with fisheries, river habitat, environmental data, and the people working to understand and protect our natural resources.
At the time, I don't think I fully realized how much those experiences would stick with me.
My path after high school wasn't a straight one. I explored welding, firefighting, carpentry, and other career paths, but I never really found the place that felt right.
Over time, I found myself drawn back to the work that connected me to where I came from and working with my Tribe, learning more about our river, and finding a place in environmental work.
For over a year, I've worked with the Native Village of Georgetown Environmental Department and with the Middle–Upper Kuskokwim Watershed Coalition. Since coming into this work, I've continued learning through water-quality trainings, fieldwork, sampling, outreach, and working alongside people who have spent years learning from and caring for our river.
This year really brought that connection full circle for me.
I got to bring my daughter home to the Kuskokwim and begin sharing some of the same traditions and connections I grew up with. We went fishing and put fish away, but it was about so much more than that. She got to spend time with family and community, be out on the river, experience the quiet and solitude of being on the land, and come along while we gathered things from the land. I got to watch her start making her own connections to the people, places, and traditions that shaped me
Standing on the same river as both a mother and someone working to help protect its future gave this work an even deeper meaning for me.
Watershed work is about much more than testing water. A healthy watershed supports our fish, wildlife, wetlands, berries, hunting and fishing areas, and the places our communities have depended on for generations.
I want my daughter to grow up knowing these places the way I did. I want her to be able to fish, put away food, travel the river, learn from family and community, and continue the traditions that were passed down to me.
That is a big part of why this work matters to me.
One of the things I hope to give back through this work is opportunity. Especially for young people from our communities. Programs like MSE and GRI gave me experiences I didn't fully appreciate until years later. If the work we're doing today can help another young person become curious about their river, get involved in science, learn from Elders and local knowledge holders, or realize there is a place for them in protecting the lands and waters they come from, that's something worth building.
I'm still learning every day, but I'm grateful that my path brought me back to the Kuskokwim.
Now I get to help care for the river that raised me and hopefully help protect those same opportunities for my daughter and the generations that come after her.
