The Yukon River is home to the longest salmon migration in the world. These salmon provide key dietary and cultural support for over forty-two rural Alaskan villages. For many families, the commercial salmon harvest provides the only means of income, and salmon provides a primary source of food for humans and the sled dogs that are integral to their subsistence way of life.

YRDFA was created in 1990 to conserve these salmon runs by giving a voice to the people who have managed the resource for thousands of years.