Environmental Department

The Qagan Tayagungin Tribe Environmental Department was developed in 2000 with funding from the Environmental Protection Agencies Indian General Assistance Program funds. Many projects have been done with these programs funds over the years including an Abandoned Drum Clean-up in collaboration with the City of Sand Point and the Unga Tribe, an Environmental Youth Group and Environmental Teen Group, which meets weekly, Annual Earth Day Fairs, Annual End of Summer Clean-ups, Annual Graveyard Clean-ups, soil sampling for chemicals/hazardous wastes,  traditional ecological knowledge, water testing in our salmon streams, working with Aleutian Housing to have energy assessments done on houses in Sand Point, developing environmental education, and more!

The Qagan Tayagungin Environmental Department was recognized and given an award for helping to improve the environmental health of our community, and making a difference in Alaska at the 14th Annual Alaska Tribal Conference on Environmental Management in 2008.

In 2008, the Environmental Department started hosting the Annual Earth Day Fair to educate the community on the importance of keeping the community clean and protecting our environment.

In 2011, the Environmental Department started their Annual End of Summer Clean-up, where in September a clean up is conducted to rid the community of trash piled on during the summer months.

In 2012, the Environmental Department created an Environmental Curriculum to help further learning about the Environment in our community. In FY13, the environmental staff implemented the curriculum and used it for the full year to teach youth and found out some of the curriculum didn't pertain to Sand Point but also found what could be added to the curriculum. In FY14, the Environmental Department added to the curriculum in which they started implementing in FY15. The curriculum is a big project which was completed by the Environmental Department and they will continue to improve  & implement it during FY 16.

In 2012, the Environmental Department started working with the State of Alaska to test Paralytic Shellfish Toxins through the Paralytic Shellfish Pilot Program, this funding ended in 2015. From May thru September, the Environmental Department worked with the Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association to test Paralytic Shellfish Toxins. Starting in October 2015, the Environmental Department has been and will continue to test the shellfish with the Indian General Assistance Program funds.

In 2014, the Environmental Department was awarded a mini grant through ANTHC for air quality monitoring of the dust in the boat harbor. One Tuesdays and Thursdays for eight weeks, the Environmental staff would take their monitor down to the boat harbor and set it up in one of the two designated spots and monitor the dust activity for 24 hours. Two sights were picked, site A was right across the road from the boat haul-out and site B was off the side of the road heading to the airport. The monitoring results came back with averages lower than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for it to be an air pollution problem.

In 2014, the Environmental Department also started their annual Graveyard Clean-ups in July in order to help restore the Sand Point Graveyard and rid the space of invasive plants.

 In 2017, the Environmental Department was awarded a grant with the US Army Corps of Engineers to map and remove military debris on Popof Island. The old water tanks were removed, but the bunkers still remain. Community members felt the bunkers were a part of the Popof Island history. 

In 2024, the Environmental Department was awarded a grant with NOAA on cleaning up Marine Debris. This grant will be utilized during the spring/summer of 2025, with the early stages of planning clean-up areas in the fall/winter of 2024. Keep an eye out for the Marine Debris Clean Ups.