Online Observer

Invasive species intern recognized for stewardship of Alaska’s coastal waters

Photo of Mia holding a small crab discovered while setting traps for invasive European green crab. The crab she is holding is native to Alaska.
Mia Siebenmorgen Cresswell

By Maia Draper-Reich, Danielle Verna, & Kate Morse

In January, the Alaska SeaLife Center announced that the Council’s former intern Mia Siebenmorgen Cresswell would receive one of its 2023 Alaska Ocean Leadership awards. These awards are given to Alaskans who have made “significant contributions to the awareness and sustainability of the state’s marine resources.”

The Council was proud to support her nomination for the Ocean Youth Award category, which recognizes an individual or team of youth up to 19 years old who has displayed a dedication to promoting the understanding and stewardship of Alaska’s oceans. This honor includes a $500 cash prize.

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U.S. Coast Guard recertifies Council

The Council is recertified for another year as the official citizens’ advisory group for Prince William Sound. In a February letter to the Council, Rear Admiral N.A. Moore, Commander of the Coast Guard’s District 17 in Juneau, notified the Council of the decision. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires the Council to be recertified … Read more

Trent Dodson: Bait the education hook early to reel in later learners

Volunteer Spotlight

Trent Dodson

In college, Trent Dodson was most fascinated in his biology classes. He tells a story of one of his professors, a parasitologist, who took the class out to a stream to look for snails. Dodson was hooked. He went on to take classes on insects and other critters, eventually settling on ichthyology, the study of fish.

After graduating, he taught school for a year. But it wasn’t for him, and he decided to look for something different. That search brought him to Alaska in 2001.

“I came up to work a summer job for Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association,” he says. In the fall, they asked him to stay on. Dodson has been an Alaskan ever since.

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