The Observer, May 2004

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Marking the council's fifteenth anniversary

Community Corner
by Linda Robinson

Our council sponsored a 15 Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill observance on March 11 at the Anchorage Hilton. A panel of people involved in the oil spill or in the formation of the regional citizens’ advisory councils recalled their experiences and lessons from 1989. They included Rick Steiner of the University of Alaska; former council board members Scott Sterling, Ann Rothe, Bill Walker and Jim Butler, and council Executive Director John Devens, who was mayor of Valdez at the time of the spill. The discussion centered on the history of the formation of the councils, the need for citizens’ oversight and observations on the success of this model.

Several organizations set up displays for the event. They included Alyeska Pipeline, BP, Alaska Tanker Co., ConocoPhillips, Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response, the Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound citizens’ councils, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Alaska SeaLife Center, the Prince William Sound Science Center and the Copper River Watershed program.

Our council participated in a second observance held on March 24 at the Loussac Library in Anchorage. It featured readings, a slide show and music, and provided the opportunity for audience members to talk about their experiences related to the spill.

Council coloring book is a hit

The Prince William Sound coloring book has proven so popular that the council has published a second edition. It features new drawings by RJ Kopchak of Cordova, Tamara Johannes of Anchorage, council Vice President Marilynn Heddell, and students from Valdez and Eagle River. All of the artists from the original coloring book are included as well. A few of the pictures will be available on our website in Adobe Acrobat format so they can be downloaded, printed, and colored. The address is www.pwsrcac.org/outreach.html

Student outreach

This year the council is participating in activities in several of its member communities. Patience Andersen Faulkner sponsored a table on behalf of the council at Cordova’s Earth Day on April 24. She distributed Prince William Sound coloring books, and assisted students in making books out of recycled materials. I attended the Cordova Shorebird festival, where the council sponsored a table for students to make origami birds and color drawings of birds donated by Kathleen George of Seldovia, among others. We accepted an invitation from Polaris School in Anchorage to once again participate in their Earth Week and set up a booth on May 6.

On the road again

The council will sponsor a table at the first Valdez Boat Show May 29 and 30. Prince William Sound coloring books will be distributed along with information about the council. And, on June 13, we will participate in the Walk to Whittier. We plan to set up a booth where children can color in our coloring books and we can distribute information about the council.

The council’s booth was set up at the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Conference in Sitka, at Kodiak Comfish in Kodiak and at a legislative reception in Juneau. The reception was co-sponsored by the Prince William Sound Community College, Chenega Bay IRA, the City of Valdez and the council. While in Kodiak we co-sponsored a reception with the Cook Inlet citizens’ council where Sue Saupe gave a presentation on Coastal Shorezone Mapping for Cook Inlet and the outer Kenai coast. For more information on this project go to the CIRCAC website at www.CIRCAC.org.

• Linda Robinson is the council’s community liaison.