What's NewS:
May 2012
Tracking Japan Tsunami Marine Debris Hitting Alaska’s Coast
NOAA has set up an email account for reporting potential
Japan Tsunami Marine Debris (JTMD). NOAA staff is
asking that anybody who sees debris that they think
could be from the tsunami to send an email there with as
much detailed information as possible about what they
saw, where they saw it, and when. Pictures and related
information can be emailed to: disasterdebris@noaa.gov
NOAA is publishing updated GNOME model runs every two
weeks on the website at:
http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/japanfaqs.html
March 2012
Chuitna Citizen's Coalition needs Alaskan's Support!
Governor Parnell is poised to allow mining companies to d destroy salmon streams in order to mine high sulfur content coal to be sold to China. Even though Governor Parnell has stated in the past that he "would not trade one resource for another") this is exactly what is happening.
PacRim Coal wants to destroy over 11 miles of salmon
stream in Cook Inlet. This would be the first time in state
history a mining company would be permitted to destroy
sustainable salmon for short-term profits.
If this is allowed to go forth, it will set a precedent on allowing such activities, a clear threat to the future health and sustainability of the State of Alaska's water quality and salmon fisheries.
Please send a letter to Governor Parnell, you can link
through the Chuitna Citizens Coalition.
http://chuitna.org/overturn-dnr-decision/
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In the Alaska Daily News Feb 16, 2012:
Judge Rejects Exxon attempt to
stop new cleanup charges:
http://www.adn.com/2012/02/15/2319690/judge-rejects-exxon-attempt-to.html#storylink=cpy
Read Rick Steiner's important piece on the unresolved status of the Exxon Valdez Re-Opener Clause at the Mudflats Blog: www.themudflats.net
http://www.themudflats.net/2012/02/16/continuing-failure-of-exxon-valdez-reopener-a-betrayal-of-public-trust/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheMudflats+%28The+Mudflats%29
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Attention EVOS Affected Communities
Please join NOAA to discuss an upcoming funding opportunity for funding restoration, planning, protection and prevention projects to improve marine habitat in EVOS affected communities.
The event will be held on Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Downtown Marriott, Denali Room, 820 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK
For more information on this upcoming funding opportunity go to:
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/evos/default.htm
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Public Comment extended to January 26, 2012!
on Land Use Permit application for
The Alaskan Wet Dog Race Event
John Lang has applied for a land use permit with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to hold an annual water event titled "The Alaska Wet Dog Race Event". This event is a personal watercraft race from Whittier to Iliamna. Public comments were originally due on Dec. 27, but have been extended to January 26, 2012.
PWSK is concerned by this event due to potential issues regarding disturbance of wildlife, disruption of personal and subsistence activities, water pollution and noise issues.
To learn more about this requested permit and to submit a comment link to the DNR Public Notice here: http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/pic/pubnotfrm.htm
Homer Harbor first to be
Certified "Clean" in Alaska
Congratulations to the Community of Homer for being the first harbor in the state to be certified "clean".
From the Homer Tribune:
"Alaska Clean Harbors is a voluntary program providing valuable pollution prevention tools for local communities to protect the marine resources that support our coastal economies.
After two years of working with Alaska Clean Harbors, from help developing the program and through the certification process, the ACH Advisory Committee certified the Homer Harbor in October as the first Alaska Clean Harbor in the state."
Read the rest of the story at the Homer Tribune: http://homertribune.com/2011/11/homer-harbor-becomes-first-certified-%E2%80%98clean%E2%80%99/
Exxon Valdez Reopener Clause Update
"U.S. District Court Judge H. Russel Holland has taken under advisement arguments centered around the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and is expected to rule soon on Exxon's request to be released from further financial obligations for spill cleanup.
Exxon asked the court on Sept. 15, in the reopener phase of the ongoing litigation, to grant its motion to enforce a 1991 consent decree, relieving Exxon from a demand from the state of Alaska and the federal government for an additional $92 million to deal with long-term environmental damage."
Read the rest of this article by Margaret Bauman on the Cordova Times webpage here:
http://www.thecordovatimes.com/article/1146decision_expected_soon_in_latest_exxon_valdez
New Forum for Discussion of Invasive Species Monitoring in Alaska
The new Nisbase Citizen Science Forum can be accessed at: (
http://forums.nisbase.org
The Forum is live and will be linked to other invasive species websites over the next month. There are individual forums for various citizen science projects within the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, including the Japanese kelp Undaria, the mitten crab, green crab and plate watch. The latter will be devoted to discussion of issues relevant to tunicate monitoring and expanding to include other species in
Alaska. Please sign up and feel free to post any relevant question, comment, concern you have regarding your monitoring work. Over the next months a frequently asked questions section will be added. The goal is to move a lot of the group and individual discussion to the forum, so if you have questions, please post them there. The forums are public and open to all.
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From our Friends in the Gulf of Mexico:
To date the denial of the use of Oil Spill Eater has or will cost BP and its shareholders about $38 Billion dollars more than it would cost to completely clean up the Gulf Oil Spill which is estimated to cost about $4 Billion. Even though BP has formally requested the use of Oil Spill Eater twice since the oil spill began. (Please see economic comparison attached)
With the fact that fresh BP oil has been recently reconfirmed by LSU as continuing to leak from the Deepwater Horizon (Macondo 252 well) and the latest report on fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico (see link below) are being decimated, it is mind boggling that this has not received the attention that it deserves, and that the EPA could continue to deny the use of Oil Spill Eater which has been on the EPS National Contingency Plan list for 20 years and has been used on over 14,000 oil spills and utilized by every branch of the United States Military.
The Save Our Gulf website has been established by Waterkeeper Alliance to coordinate the efforts of Gulf Waterkeepers who are fighting to protect the Gulf Coast, its communities and environment, from the devastating BP oil disaster. This site provides a constant stream of transparent information being reported from the front lines.
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Boycott Farmed Salmon
Stand Up for Pacific Salmon!
Prince William Soundkeeper is one of over twenty Waterkeeper organizations from Alaska to California that have launched the Stand Up for Pacific Salmon (SUPS) campaign in their watersheds, respectively. Calling for a boycott of farmed salmon to help protect Pacific salmon from the impacts of net-pen farmed salmon, the Waterkeeper groups are calling on the “Big Six” grocery retailers to remove the product from their shelves.
The SUPS campaign asks customers of Costco, Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Tesco, Kroger, and SuperValu to urge them to follow the example of their fellow retailer Target. In January, the discount chain, on the advice of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s SeafoodWatch program, dropped net-pen salmon from over 1700 Target stores.
Read more...
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