The Kenai River Sportfishing Association has picked Soldotna’s Shannon Martin to be its next director. Martin has been working at the Soldotna-based based sportfish advocacy group as its office and events manager since 2019. She was born in Soldotna and has been fishing the Kenai River since she was a kid.
“And I think like many people who grew up in Soldotna, it’s in your blood. So I think at a very early age, my dad and I would fish the Kenai,” Martin said.
Martin later moved to Anchorage. But she says as an adult, she would come down to the Kenai most weekends with her family to fish. And about a decade ago, they moved back to Soldotna. Before KRSA, Martin worked for a commercial radio station in Anchorage and as a pharmaceutical technician. She also worked for Mountain Mama Originals, a Soldotna clothing store.
She says as KRSA’s office and events manager, she primarily supervised the association’s fundraisers and day-to-day. She says she’s interested in the advocacy side of the equation and engaging anglers in the regulatory public process. KRSA is currently spearheading a letter-writing campaign in opposition to a Board of Fisheries proposal to loosen restrictions on Cook Inlet set-netters, which KRSA says would hurt Kenai kings.
Martin says she’s also a fan of the organized Kenai River cleanups the association sponsors.
“One aspect of KRSA’s mission that I really just dive into is habitat. It’s important to take care of the river, since it gives back so much,” Martin said.
The executive director position has been open since October, when Ben Mohr stepped down. Mohr, who left the organization after about three years, still lives in Soldotna but is now working as a lobbyist with Mulder Company in Juneau.
