On June 6, nearly a hundred people gathered to commemorate the residents of the former Native Village of Chenega lost to the Good Friday earthquake fifty years ago. 26 residents, more than a third of the community’s population, died in the earthquake and its devastating tsunami. Survivors, family members of those who died, descendants representing multiple generations, and village friends gathered together at the site of the old village to share memories of March 27, 1964, to grieve for those who were lost, and to reflect on changes wrought by this event.
A beautiful bell, blessed for the occasion by Chenega Bay’s itinerant Russian Orthodox priest Father Christopher Stanton, tolled for the village’s losses before the gathered group shared a festive lunch. Father Christopher held a memorial service for the people of Chenega who lost their lives to the earthquake and tsunami and to “honor Chenega survivors whose faith, fortitude, and perseverance has kept the spirit of the Chenega Family alive.” It was an event of the heart, moving and sad, but uplifting as well.
Since coming on board last year, I have been regularly asked by community members, board members, and even staff: What does youth engagement have to do with “environmentally safe operation of the Alyeska terminal and associated tankers”? This question arises because the council has invested in youth projects focusing on marine stewardship throughout our region. It’s a good question, one which is vital for the future of oil spill prevention and response in our region.
Like it or not, those who remember the Exxon Valdez oil spill firsthand are aging. For many of us 25 years may seem like yesterday, but for the children of the 21st century that sounds like ancient history. Those who responded to the spill, whose lives were forever changed by the spill, are passionate about the work we do for personal reasons. If those of us with that passion do not invest in passing the importance of oil spill prevention and better oil spill response onto the next generation, then we are likely fated to a future involving the sorts of complacencies that contributed to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in the first place.
We need vigilant future stewards for our region, and the council is helping develop them through our youth projects.
The Youth Involvement project, an initiative of the council’s Information and Education Committee, began three years ago. Through it, we work with partners who deliver marine stewardship education directly to students of all ages and teachers. Our partners take existing ocean-focused curriculum and hands-on activities and pull in oil spill science and oil spill history into those programs. Oil spill prevention and response activities provide a fresh perspective into existing marine education. These programs also help further our goals of increasing public awareness of the spill prevention and response system in Prince William Sound and the potential environmental impacts of the terminal and tanker operations. These activities also help give general marine stewardship education a lesson in reality.
Our newest youth project is a pilot internship program. Through this project, high school and college-level students devote time and effort to specific projects identified as council needs. These students gain valuable career experience along with a deeper understanding of the council mission and its vital work. One of the council’s first interns, Zachary Verfaillie recently completed his project, An Analysis of Fishing Vessel Types and Numbers vs. Response Tactics. Recruitment for 2015 interns will begin in August. If you would like more information about this, please contact me at lisa.matlock@pwsrcac.org.
Over the fall and winter, the council helped sponsor a variety of youth involvement events on Kodiak Island, and in Homer and Seward (see page 5 for more information on these events). The council’s ongoing work to help the next generation become champions for oil spill prevention in our region will continue in spring and summer, the big season for getting kids outside and in touch with their marine backyard.
Upcoming Youth Involvement Events
Spring – Tunicate monitoring and non-indigenous species education, led by Cordova-based intern, Sarah Hoepfner May & June – Kachemak Bay Onboard Oceanography led by Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies 29 May-7 June – Prince William Sound Kayaking Expedition led by Chugach School District & Alaska Geographic June – Valdez Marine Science Camps led by the SPACE program 2-30 June – Kodiak Salmon Camps led by Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges 10-15 June – Prince William Sound Teachers Expedition led by Alaska Geographic & Chugach National Forest 12-20 June – Kachemak Bay Teen EcoAdventure Camp led by Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies 16-23 June – Copper River Stewardship Expedition led by Prince William Sound Science Center & Copper River Watershed Project 21-30 June – Prince William Sound Kayaking Expedition led by Alaska Geographic Summer – Green crab monitoring led by Cordova-based intern, Sarah Hoepfner
In 2013, Alaska and Alaskans lost Prince William Sound advocate, Stan Stephens, a constant voice for safe oil transportation in Alaska. Also this past year, “Homer”, the last surviving sea otter rescued from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, died at her aquarium home. Firsthand Exxon Valdez oil spill memories are fading. And who wants to dwell on such a terrible event?
The tragic and emotionally wrenching life-changing personal experiences of those who responded to the Exxon Valdez oil spill helped motivate a generation of council members and partners to prevent another major oil shipping disaster in the state. Oil spill prevention measures, such as double hulled tankers and dual escort tug systems for shipping, oil spill response drills and Geographic Response Strategies that take into account local knowledge when planning for the protection of sensitive areas, safe marine terminal operations, and long term environmental monitoring, all contribute to minimizing complacency, and the potential for another major oil spill.
But memories of an event, even such a disastrous one, only last so long.
The council remains committed to working with industry and regulatory agencies to safely transport oil through Alaskan waters. Oil spill prevention measures at work in Prince William Sound have extended to other parts of the country and world, helping to improve the safety of oil shipping globally. By remembering what happened during the Exxon Valdez oil spill 25 years later, we hope to motivate Alaskans to continue the unending hard work of oil spill prevention. Oil spill prevention measures are what future generations of people and the marine environment need to avoid the destructive and expensive experience of another major spill.
Lisa Matlock and Steve Rothchild took a ride aboard the escort tug Tan’erliq on October 25, which was escorting a tanker from the terminal. They experienced gusts up to 45 knots and 10 ft seas. Many thanks to Alyeska’s SERVS and the crew of the Tan’erliq for the opportunity!
The following events are planned to commemorate the spill this year, to honor those who faced it, and to remind those who were not there why the council and others interested in the fate of our region strive to keep it from ever happening again.
Public Presentations: Throughout the month of March, the council is offering public presentations about the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the good that has come out of it and concerns for the future over 25 years to museums and libraries in the region. Dates so far include:
March 4 at the Valdez Museum
March 11 at the U.S. Forest Service in Cordova, in partnership with the Prince William Sound Science Center
March 24 at the Loussac Library in Anchorage
We are working with several other communities, including Seward, Kodiak, and Homer. More information will be posted on our website as it becomes available. If you are interested in hosting a presentation in your community, contact: lisa.matlock@pwsrcac.org. UPDATED SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Project Jukebox: The council is working to preserve the voices of twenty people impacted by the oil spill online through the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program’s Project Jukebox: www.bit.ly/ProjectJukebox.
School Programs: The council recently revised its K-12 Oil Spill Curricula to both meet new standards and help students who may have never experienced a technological disaster to understand the importance of continued oil spill prevention. Teachers who would like to request a live classroom program using the new curricula or a link to its activities, please email: lisa.matlock@pwsrcac.org.
Each year the council exhibits its booth and presents its citizen-driven research and information on technological advances at conferences, both in Alaska and outside, making contact with thousands of individuals from all over the world. Have you ever wondered why the council asks its staff and volunteers to participate in these conferences?
The value of the council contributing at conferences lies in our need to constantly expand our knowledge about cutting edge oil spill prevention and response strategies from all over the world. It is also vital for the council to share its story of citizens’ oversight of Prince William Sound’s oil industry. Each of the regular conferences the council attends is unique in its audience and focus.
For instance, the Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program was initiated by Environment Canada in 1978 to “improve the knowledge base and technology for combatting Arctic and marine oil spills.” Its technical seminar has expanded and now includes a wider range of oil spill-related sessions. However, according to the council’s project manager for environmental monitoring, Joe Banta, “its technical content and cold waters focus” make it an important conference for the council to attend since it addresses the environment in which we do all of our work. My predecessor Linda Robinson attended this conference in Nova Scotia in June.
Then there is the International Oil Spill Conference, which has more of a focus on the international oil spill response community and its technology and techniques for response. Many participants are from the U.S. Coast Guard, private sector companies, and non-governmental organizations who “come together to tackle the greatest challenges facing us with sound science, practical innovation, social engineering and imagination,” according to the conference’s website. The council absorbs important lessons in logistical planning for oil spill response and technical advances at this conference. This conference will be held in Savannah, Georgia next spring, and council staff will be in attendance.
More locally, the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle and Kodiak ComFish expositions help the council to gain insight into the needs of some of its most interested citizens, the maritime community in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. At both of these conferences the council exhibits its booth and presents the fishing and boating public with an opportunity to voice their interest in safe oil shipping in the Exxon Valdez region.
If you find the council booth at any of these events, or at others, in the coming months and years, please stop by and give us your input. We can only choose the best paths forward in helping to prevent future oil spills in our region with your help and interest.
Upcoming outreach events
We share our oil spill research and educational resources with the public at a variety of conferences. In the next few months, we’ll be at the following conferences and events:
Where can you connect with K-12 teachers from all over the state to share the best new ideas in math and science education? The bi-annual Alaska Math and Science Conference is that place, and it will be held at East High School in Anchorage on October 18-20. For more information, visit: 2013 Alaska Math and Science Conference.
The City and Port of Valdez will host the 34th annual Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators conference October 21-24. Harbormasters from all over the state will gather to discuss how to keep Alaska’s harbors safe and productive for our coastal communities. Find out more: Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators.
The council will again be exhibiting at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle November 20-22. The Expo brings together maritime industries and communities from all over Alaska and the Pacific Northwest under one roof each year. More information: Pacific Marine Expo.
Every winter, the Alaska Marine Science Symposium proves that it is one of the best places to learn about cutting edge Alaska fisheries and ecosystem research and technological advances in the state. This year, the symposium will be held January 20-24 in Anchorage. Find out more: Alaska Marine Science Symposium.
