Activities

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The council participates in conferences, presentations, community celebrations, and other events throughout the year. This is a month by month account of our presence and outreach efforts at a multitude of functions and places.

2011

Look for more activity updates in the May 2011 issue of The Observer...

2010

Fall 2010 - This was a very busy fall season. Following the September board meeting, Pat Duffy, who represents the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce on our board of directors, and I took the council booth to the Chamber's annual tradeshow in Juneau. Alan Sorum, staff member, represented the council at the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators annual meeting in Wrangell in October.

October went by quickly, starting with attendance at the Clean Gulf conference in Tampa, Florida. Director John French, along with staff members Mark Swanson, Roy Robertson and I, participated. This is the first time the council has participated in the Clean Gulf, a large oil spill training event and exhibition which focuses on the Gulf of Mexico area.

Read about more recent activities in the January 2011 edition of The Observer's Community Corner.

More from Summer 2010 - This summer the council hosted three groups interested in learning about citizen oversight and the lasting effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Sixteen people from groups affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon spill visited Alaska from coastal Louisiana in August. Four press organizations accompanied the tour: the Washington Post, CNN, WWL-TV in New Orleans and NHK-TV, a Japanese public television station based in New York City. Read more about this visit on page 1 of this Observer.

In July, four visitors from Kazakhstan came to Alaska to learn about the council. Askar Kushkunbayev, Svetlana Anossova, Ulan Sarkulov and Kirill Ossin spent time visiting Anchorage and Valdez. They met with council staff and agencies in Anchorage, and then traveled to Valdez to meet with other agencies, council staff, and industry representatives.

Read about more recent activities in the September 2010 edition of The Observer's Community Corner.

Summer 2010 - This month, council will be hosting visitors from Kazakhstan interested in studying citizen oversight in Alaska as a model for their own efforts. Citizens have been successful at initiating a citizens council in the district of Aktau (an oil rich region of western Kazakhstan), and are hoping to initiate other councils in the region as well.

Joining us are two members of the Aktau council, two members of non-governmental organizations from the western Kazakhstan and Atyrau regions, two representatives from Russian oil companies who are involved in social projects and transparency issues, and Askar Kushkunbayev, a representative of the Soros Foundation’s Public Finance Transparency Program in Kazakhstan.

Read about more recent activities in the July 2010 edition of The Observer's Community Corner.

Spring 2010 - To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the citizens’ council, an evening reception was held in coordination with the January board meeting in Anchorage. The contract between the council and Alyeska was signed in February of 1990.

Three of the original signers of the contract were in attendance: Ann Rothe, who represented the National Wildlife Federation on the council board of directors; Chris Gates, from the city of Seward; and Bill Walker, from the city of Valdez. Scott Sterling, who also once represented Cordova, proposed a toast using milk similar to the original toast done in 1990. Sterling then presented the council with his framed copy of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

See photos from the council's reception for the 20th annivsersary of citizen oversight.

Read about more Spring 2010 activities in the May 2010 edition of The Observer's Community Corner.

2009

Fall - This fall, I was invited to make two presentations at the “Fisheries in the Context of Hydrocarbon Resource Development on the Continental Shelf” conference in Murmansk, Russia.  My first presentation was on the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the second was on the effectiveness of citizen oversight.  

An Arctic sea shelf in the Murmansk region is home to valuable marine resources.  Exploration is increasing in this area as oil and gas fields on land become depleted.  The city of Murmansk must satisfy the need for fuel and food provided by the fisheries and encourage economic development.  Organizers of the conference were looking for successful examples of citizens, government, and industry working together.  Attendees expressed a lot of interest in the council and the after-effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.  Others requested information on such topics as the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, ocean observing and modeling systems, oil spill dispersants, and settlements from the Exxon Valdez oil spill.  As a “model” organization, our council is paving the way for others to continue the sustainable production of seafood while developing environmentally friendly ways to generate energy.

Read about more Fall 2009 activities in the January 2010 edition of The Observer's Community Corner.

September - Linda Swiss, Walt Parker and Linda Robinson attended Clean Pacific conference in Portland, Oregon.   Linda Swiss assisted with planning the event and chaired a session entitled Citizen Advisory Council Accomplishments.  To acknowledge the 20th anniversary of the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force, Legacy Award winners from the past 20 years were honored.  Walt Parker represented the council at the event.

Photo: Representatives of Legacy Award winners from the past 20 years. Front row, third from the right: Walt Parker, council board member.

Staff and Council were busy preparing for and attending the board meeting in Whittier.  The meeting was held at the bay-side Inn at Whittier.  The Whittier Museum hosted an evening reception with food from the Tunnel Inn. 

The Information and Education Committee had an in person meeting September 25-26.  Some members attended a presentation at Kincaid Park on Chugach Children’s Forest.  The Youth Media Expedition, part of the Chugach Children’s Forest program was co-sponsored by the council.  This expedition introduced students to various aspects of Prince William Sound.  One of the high school students who participated in this program wrote an article for the September Observer about the experience.

August - In August the web project team held its first meeting to begin work on a redesign of the current website. 
 
Dan Gilson and Linda Robinson attended the Sixth International Conference on Marine Bio-Invasions at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.  There were approximately 150 sessions on topics such as ecology and evolution, changing global conditions, green crab, spartina, predicting scale and diversity, invasion patterns over time and many others. 

Photo:  During the Marine Bio-invasions conference, an evening reception was held at the Chinese Gardens in downtown Portland.

August was also spent organizing a reception to be held at the Whittier Museum during the September board meeting.

June - Under blue skies, visitors listenedto music and speeches, visited vendor and information booths, and participated in such activities as rock climbing and kayaking.  The council booth participated in the treasure hunt.  Players had to comb through informational material to find the answer to the question:  Which crab is not native to Alaska?  The answer is the European green crab, an invasive species not yet found in Alaska, but which has the potential to ravage Alaskan waters.  For more on Alaska’s invasive species, see our non-indigenous species web page.

The annual Arctic Marine Oilspill Program seminar was held in Vancouver BC.  Bob Flint, Joe Banta, Linda Swiss, Amanda Johnson and Linda Robinson participated.  Joe Banta and Merv Fingas authored a poster “A Review of Oil Spill Dispersants Literature, 1997-2008”.

Patience Andersen Faulkner, Roy Robertson, Donna Schantz and Linda Robinson attended the annual Copper River Nouveau fundraiser for the Prince William Sound Science Center in Cordova.  As always it was a great event with auction items, entertainment and food provided by Naomi Everett. Naomi was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is currently an instructor with the Culinary Arts and Hospitality program at University of Alaska Anchorage.

May - Mike Crouse, Director of the Executive Seminar Program Executive Leadership Institute,  accompanied by a number of mid career managers arrived in Alaska to complete a case study on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.  They visited with a number of organizations and individuals around Alaska, including board members Patience Andersen Faulkner and Sheri Buretta, as well as council staff Lisa Ka’aihue and Linda Robinson. 

May 7-8 the council held a board meeting in Valdez.  A public reception was held on the 7th at the Valdez Museum.

April - Lisa Ka’aihue attended the 16th International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species in Montreal. The title of her presentation was “Aquatic Nuisance Species Monitoring in Alaska,” presented on behalf of the council, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve.

March - The booth made an appearance at the Alaska Wilderness, Recreation and Tourism annual conference, held in Girdwood.  Lisa Ka’aihue presented on the history of the council and the council's concerns about aquatic invasive species in Prince William Sound. 

Board president Patience Andersen Faulkner, staffers Donna Schantz, Linda Robinson and Stan Jones accepted an invitation to represent the council at a reception in Washington DC related to the anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.   The reception was sponsored by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  Patience Andersen Faulkner and Donna Schantz gave two of the many presentations in remembrance of the spill. In addition to the reception, the group visited with many national legislators and agencies to discuss the council’s concerns, particularly maintaining two escort tugs once the tankers are all double hulled.  Click for more on the council’s concerns regarding tanker escorts.
 
Board member Walt Parker and Pacific Environment sponsored “Oil Spills in the North Pacific and Arctic 1989-2008” an workshop held at the Dena’ina Center on March 23.  That evening, Alaska SeaGrant sponsored a reception for workshop participants and those involved in the Partners in Prevention and Response symposium held on March 24. 

The Council's 20th Anniversary Event - On March 24, the council sponsored “Partners in Prevention and Response”, a day of presentations connected by videoconference between several spill-affected communities and Anchorage.  See the council’s 20th Anniversary web page for more on this event. 

Presentations included: “EVOS:  A Time of Creative Opportunities by Alaska SeaGrant College Program;  Partners in Prevention and Response Since 1989, a moderated panel presented by the council (see photo, left);  a panel discussing herring restoration sponsored by the Prince William Sound Science Center and Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI); a demonstration of the Alaska Ocean Observing Modeling system by NOAA and OSRI.  Alyeska/SERVS (Ship Escort Vessel Response System) gave a presentation, as did Pam Tuomi and Darryl Schaefermeyer from Seward, and Cook Inlet Citizens’ Advisory Council from Kenai.
Patience Andersen Faulkner, Walt Parker, Roy Robertson and Linda Robinson then attended a presentation of the council’s film and a discussion at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Art show: In conjunction with the commemoration events, the council partnered with Homer’s Bunnell Street Gallery to produce an art show called “Spill”.  After the opening show in Homer, the works in “Spill” travelled to Kodiak, Cordova, Kenai and Anchorage.

Read more: Partners in Prevention: 20th Anniversary of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.

February - The Alaska Forum on the Environment was held on February 2-4 at the new Dena’ina Center in Anchorage.  The council booth was set up and staff attended many of the sessions that were held. 

January - A long range planning and board meeting were held in Anchorage on January 22-23.  Volunteers and staff worked on the upcoming year’s annual budget. 

On January 29, Linda Robinson was invited to present on council outreach projects at the Chugach Summit held at the Chugach Regional offices.  Representatives from many organizations were in attendance to share ideas.

 

2008

December - Each December, the council, holds an annual volunteer appreciation party to thank all of the wonderful volunteers that devote so much of their time and energy to the mission of the council. The party was held at the Sheraton Hotel, in conjunction with the annual volunteer workshop and Science Night. Open to the public, Science Night is an annual event hosted by the council’s Scientific Advisory Committee with presentations on various scientific projects related to our mission.

November - Pete and Marilynn Heddell, council volunteers, staffed the council booth at the Alaska Municipal League annual conference in Ketchikan. This conference was followed by the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Tampa, which was attended by board member John French and Outreach Coordinator Linda Robinson. From there, the booth made an appearance at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle. Linda Robinson was assisted at the booth in Seattle by Patience Andersen Faulkner, Blake Johnson and Jacquelyn Olsen.

October - The council’s film, “Then and Now The Alaska Oil Spill at 20,” was shown in Valdez as part of the Alaska Ocean’s Film Festival. Dr. Steve Picou, the author of the council’s Community Impacts Planning project came to Alaska to lead a peer listener training. Joe Banta, Walt Parker, Cathy Hart, Patience Andersen Faulkner and Linda Robinson traveled to Cordova to participate in the training. During the class, an update to the peer listener training film was produced.

September - This year, the council produced an original mousepad/24 month calendar. Each page contains information and a photo on a topic or region affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, including communities, marine fish and mammals. September’s board meeting in Cordova included a reception at the Reluctant Fisherman. The highlight of the reception was a performance by the Cordova Ikumat Dancers who were raising money to attend the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in October.

Later in September, Tesoro held an oil spill drill, with satellite offices set up in Homer and Seward.

At the end of September, Linda Robinson staffed the booth at the Seward Art and Music Festival.

July - On July 9, former staff member Emily Polley and Linda Robinson visited Chenega Bay. The council’s film was shown to students and teachers at a local school, and staff spent time visiting with community members. A framed map of the spill region was presented to Pete Kompkoff, a former board member who represent Chenega Bay IRA and Chenega Bay Corporation.

June - The booth was taken to the annual Arctic Marine Oilspill Program technical seminar in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The conference was attended by board member John French and staffers Tom Kuckertz and Linda Robinson.

On June 17, a reception was held at the Kenai Borough Assembly Chambers. Board member Blake Johnson, OSPR member Jerry Brookman, and staff members John Devens and Linda Robinson attended to re-introduce themselves to assembly members and discuss projects.

The council re-formed the Information and Education committee, which held its inaugural meeting on June 12th.

May - Several staff and volunteers attended the International Oil Spill Conference in Savannah, Georgia. The council’s film “Then and Now The Alaska Oil Spill at 20” was shown twice during the conference, and received many favorable comments.

March - In March, the council booth appeared at two trade shows, the Matsu Outdoor show Wasilla, and the Kenai Sportsman’s show in Soldotna. Both shows were well attended by both adults and youth.

February - On February 11-13, the council staffed a booth at the Alaska Forum on the Environment (AFE) at the Egan Center in Anchorage. Staff member Lisa Ka’aihue coordinated the forum’s second annual film festival. Many films were submitted and attendance was high.

On February 19-20, the council booth made an appearance at the Captain Cook hotel for the Alaska Wilderness, Recreation and Tourism annual conference. Stan Stephens represents this organization on the council board.

See Activities from 2005-2007

 

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