Vol. 27, No. 5
May 2007
The third annual discussion on oil exploration in the North Aleutian Basin was hosted by Bristol Bay MAP agent Liz Brown, Andy DeValpine of Bristol Bay Coastal Resource Service Area, and Norm Anderson of Bering Sea Environmental. During the meeting a regional advisory committee was formed, the attending agencies posted their official positions on the issue, and input was presented by citizens of Russia's Sakhalin region, which has been affected by oil development. The daylong event took place in King Salmon and 24 people attended.
An April 2004 discussion on oil exploration in the area was about onshore exploration; the second, in May 2005, was on offshore exploration.
Three Alaska Sea Grant publications won awards in the National Association of Government Communicators Blue Pencil Awards Program. Sea Lions of the World won first place in the hardcover book category, the 2007 Alaska Coastal Calendar won third place in the calendar category, and the 2001–2006 Briefing Book took third place in the annual report category. Kurt Byers went to the annual NAGC meeting in Chicago, where he picked up the awards and attended sessions on strategic planning, marketing, Internet technology, speechwriting, and other subjects.
Alaska Sea Grant has released a new revised version of Dolly Garza's popular book Surviving on the Foods and Water of Alaska's Southern Shores. The text has been updated, and attractive color photographs were added of many of the plants and animals suitable as emergency survival food. The book is a good tool for learning survival, as well as a source of nutritional values of wild foods, especially for Native use. Price is $5.00; 35 pp.
Arliss Sturgulewski, who has been on the Alaska Sea Grant Advisory Committee since 2003, began her Alaska career in the 1950s as a wife and mother. Later, in the public policy arena, she made many contributions toward getting this young state on track.
In the 1970s Sturgulewski served on the commission that wrote the charter for the Municipality of Anchorage, and was elected to the Anchorage Borough Assembly and then to the Alaska Senate. While in the senate, from 1979 to 1993, she focused on issues of the state constitution Article X, covering local government as well as resources. She cochaired a task force that led to the rewrite of the municipal code and has done significant work on policy issues surrounding formation of regional governments and small businesses.
Sturgulewski's marine policy work includes serving as an advisor to the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission from 1985 to 1992, and on the governor-appointed Bering Sea Task Force in 1993–1996. Most recently she was a member of the National Marine Aquaculture Task Force, convened by the Pew Trust and Woods Hole Science Center, which looked at opportunities, cautions, and considerations that would come with development of aquaculture outside the three-mile limit of the U.S. coastline, including Alaska and Hawaii.
Sturgulewski has been on more boards and commissions than she can count. She is pleased to support the University of Alaska by currently serving as an advisor to the UAA Chancellor's Council, School of Business and Public Policy, Institute of Social and Economic Research, and the School of Nursing. She is also on the UAF Vision Task Force, SFOS Advisory Council, and UA Foundation Trustees.
Sturgulewski sums up her dedication to Alaska this way, "All of my work is pro bono but I love public policy and its impact on the wonderful state of Alaska. I'm just lucky to be in this place where your voice can be heard."
Alaska Sea Grant meetings coordinator Sherri Pristash traveled to Stony Brook, New York, to experience the National Ocean Sciences Bowl national finals competition firsthand. Pristash is gearing up to arrange accommodations and some travel for 250 participants in the April 2008 NOSB finals competition, to be held in Seward. Other members of the UAF/SFOS team responsible for organizing the competition are Dean Denis Wiesenburg, Phyllis Shoemaker, Dean Stockwell, Linda Lasota, and Carin Bailey, all of whom were in Stony Brook studying for next year's Alaska event.
Seward will host 25 teams from around the nation, as well as coaches, regional coordinators, moderators, judges, runners, and CORE (Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education) organizers. Having the national competition here provides an opportunity for these excellent students to visit Alaska and view our marine resources firsthand.
In Stony Brook, Pristash was impressed with the students' depth of knowledge and high spirits. The competitive approach of the teams demonstrated different training styles by the coaches—from regimented and "poised over the buzzer," to laid-back and hands-off. Over the 10-year tenure of the program, winning teams have been spawned from all coaching styles. This year's winners are from Contoocook Valley Regional High School in New Hampshire. For more information on the 2008 NOSB see www.sfos.uaf.edu/nosb.
MAP's Alaska Young Fishermen's Summit merited a four-page article in the May 2007 issue of National Fisherman, written by Charlie Ess. Torie Baker, Sunny Rice, and Greg Fisk organized the meeting, held in January.
Alaska Magazine published several of Reid Brewer's underwater photos in their April issue, in an article "Aleutian Wonders."
Heidi Herter was featured in an article in the Nome Nugget.
Rick Steiner was interviewed by BBC World on climate change.
Terry Johnson published an article on cruising western Alaska waters in the magazine Passagemaker.
Liz Brown wrote an article on alcohol testing requirements by the Coast Guard for the Bristol Bay Times.
Liz Brown and UAF Bristol Bay business professor Charlie Sparks organized and taught the course Applied Business 193: Seafood Direct Marketing. During the March–April class, students developed business plans, attended the Boston Seafood Show, and participated in a workshop in Dillingham focused on infrastructure issues, available resources, and the experiences of successful seafood business operators. Fourteen students completed the course and 26 people attended the workshop.
Terry Johnson and Paula Cullenberg attended a National Sea Grant planning workshop on climate change. Also at the workshop was Sarah Trainer from the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP), a NOAA-funded group partnering NOAA with UAF. International speakers included Emma Tompkins of the Oxford Environmental Change Institute.
Among the resources presented, Cullenberg recommends the book Preparing for a Changing Climate by E. Shea et al., developed for Pacific Islanders. Alaska Sea Grant/MAP is considering several strategies for climate change involvement, including public education on community adaptation and environmental mitigation, workshops, and partnering with ACCAP.
MAP and the Cooperative Extension Service held a joint inservice training on grant proposal development, writing, budget development, and grant management, in April in Anchorage. The workshop was taught by CES interim director Pete Pinney and SFOS proposal coordinator Gretchen Hundertmark to 25 faculty and staff.