Look What the Tide Dragged In!

Brooks Horan photo

In the past two months an influx of large or particularly hazardous pieces of marine debris have been reported. What follows is a litany of bad news for the beach, closing with a call to action.   

Two beached vessels, the most recent an 80’ steel trawler, have appeared in Long Island’s Cook Lagoon  An investigation by Alaska DEC assures us that the owners have been contacted and plan to remove the vessels after making some repairs.  

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ITN Photo

An unidentified dock tied for years to a ship wreck  in Women’s bay broke loose from its unfortunate  anchor and washed up on Zaimka island, which is protected by the Kodiak Maritime Wildlife Refuge.  The Coast Guard has taken on the role as lead responder and hopes to remove it during spring tides at the close of April, but not before thousands of pieces of polyurethane foam will have broken loose from its floatation and kept good Samaritan beachcombers busy at Buskin River and Bruhn Point.  To confuse the public discourse about derelict docks, two more were reported about the same time at Thumbs-up Cove near Chiniak and near the mouth of Salonie Creek.  These docks will have to wait as much of the funding and goodwill is tied up at the moment. 

WA Dept of Ecology 

A beach-clean-up on Afognak island during the first week of April turned up two bottles of phostoxin, a deadly rat poison gas.  This discovery was the first of its kind reported in the Kodiak area, but is only part of an epidemic extending as far down the coast as Washington.  Anyone who suspects they have found phostoxin canisters should contact Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

ITN Photo

On  April 6 ITN discovered the final missing lifeboat from the wreckage of the Kulluk oil drilling rig on a remote stretch of Tugidak island.  Four larger lifeboats were removed from Sitkalidak island this month near the site of the grounding.  Because of our existing permits to clean up Tugidak, we will attempt to respond to the fifth vessel ourselves and fold the removal of the boat into our existing plans. 

Finally, scores of pieces of foam believed to be tied to the 2011 Japan tsunami continue to wash ashore at places like Lake Gertrude beach in Ft. Abercrombie state park.  Besides being the largest single source of marine debris we have seen, tsunami debris carries with it the additional threat of invasive species.

Recognizing the dangers marine debris poses to human health, habitat, and the economy, the Alaska legislature passed  HB 131 which strengthens the enforcement and accountability for derelict vessels.  They also authorized an immediate $1M appropriation from the state treasury to clean up tsunami debris in the hardest hit areas of the Gulf of Alaska, including some areas of Shuyak and Afognak.  Despite the show of leadership by our lawmakers, this funding is not secure yet and we’re asking our supporters to help by writing a letter to the governor to prevent a possible veto of the measure. 

It seems that for some, the ocean is an increasingly attractive place to dispose of their personal property. The sea can swallow its conquests whole, as it did with some Japanese villages, but sometimes its spits them out; Sometimes in an inconvenience place, like a wildlife refuge or critical habitat, and sometimes a particularly hazardous remnant, such as rat poison gas.

Tougher laws and more funding will be needed to keep protect our ocean and its resources.  Please do your part by working to prevent marine debris when possible, removing it when practical, and supporting ITN’s efforts to raise awareness about this global issue.  Please write Governor Parnell to support the $1M general fund appropriation for marine debris removal and to support the passage of HB 131.

Greenbelt Narrowly Survives Landfill Re-zone

A group of concerned residents in Monashka Bay recently saved large tracts of borough-owned greenbelt from being zoned for industrial use.  The greenbelt between the borough landfill and Monashka Bay has long been a corridor for hikers and recreationists and has several scenic destinations along its route.  A movement this winter by the borough to bring their landfill up to code and prepare it for expansion by rezoning from "C-Conservation" to "I-Industrial" stirred controversy when the Monashka Bay community realized that could mean losing the forested greenbelt buffering the landfill from Monashka Bay and residential streets Marmot Drive and Forest Drive.

A January vote of the borough assembly scaled back the footprint of the parcel occupied by the landfill and directed borough staff to work closely with the Monashka bay road service district to find ways to protect this important green corridor. Through a series of public meetings and a well-attended community hike the neighborhood residents have articulated their request for an enlarged greenbelt to be replatted and zoned "natural use" and identified a proposed trail route through the area. Although ITN has no immediate plans to improve this trail we have given testimony in support of their proposals and will continue to work to preserve access to this area.  Hikers who choose to explore this route will find some wind-deposited debris scattered in the woods.  But with improved sophistication of our landfill and some stewardship of this area we may one day see this tract return to pristine form

Tsunami Debris Talks Dominate AK Forum

Last month ITN Executive Director Andy Schroeder and Tom Pogson, Director of Outreach, Education and Marine Programs attended the Alaska Forum on the Environment AFE) at the Denaina Center in Anchorage along with over 1300 other participants. AFE is a widely recognized educational event focused on promoting a healthy environment through communication and education. When it started in 1990, AFE was an annual conference focused on environmental contaminants, hazardous waste clean up, hazardous materials management, and pollution prevention – the Alaska Forum, Inc. operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit to support this annual educational event. This is a meeting of who's-who in environmental stewardship in Alaska, including many native entities, state and federal agencies, non-profit conservation groups, as well as a wide array of businesses involved in environmental monitoring. AFE has traditionally hosted a half-day of session on marine debris. The renewed interest in marine debris spawned by the impending arrival of large quantities tsunami debris engendered two and half days of presentations and panel discussions at AFE this year. Many of the non-profits and government entities involved in the marine debris clean up and removal programs in Alaska from Southeast to the Pribilofs were represented. This marvelous gathering of dedicated conservationists gave and attended presentations on a wide variety of topics. Included in the sessions were results of the recent aerial survey conducted along the Gulf of Alaska to detect tsunami debris, results of a variety of marine debris clean up projects around coastal Alaska, permitting needs and requirements for marine debris clean up projects, early results of the studies of the toxicology of plastics on salmon in coastal lakes affected by marine debris, the effects of marine debris entrapment on marine mammals and endangered Steller Sea Lions in particular. The resounding consensus among marine debris activists was the early and voluminous arrival of debris from the tsunami on Alaskan shores, and the serious nature of the marine debris issue in general. A wide variety of groups were represented in the marine debris sessions including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Japanese government, National Marine Fisheries Service, University of Alaska Anchorage, William and Mary College, Gulf of Alaska Keeper, Sitka Science Center, Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Sea Life Center, Island Trails Network, Airborne Technologies, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Marine Conservation Alliance (now Alaska Marine Stewardship Foundation), Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling, Alaska State Historic Prevention Office, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, Island Charters, Blue Fox Bay Lodge, Yakutat Salmon Board, and others.. Finally Ophelia, Kodiak’s own extravagant marine debris art gem, and creators Bonnie Dillard and Leila Pyle rocked the house at AFE. Bonnie and Leila introduced Ophelia to a convention hall packed with over 500 AFE participants on the first day, and Ophelia, along with the CACS giant “Jellie” presided over all the keynote speeches in the main hall at the Denaina Center for 5 days. Bonnie and Leila were the lead in speakers to world-renowned environmental activist Annie Leonard. Bonnie, Leila, and Ophelia made themselves, their families, and Kodiak proud.  The 2014 AFE is scheduled for the first week of February, so put it on your calendar. Andy and Tom were honored to represent ITN in such illustrious company.

Tsunami Relief: Are We Ready?

Sen. Mark Begich today requested $15M for tsunami debris relief be rolled into the Hurricane Sandy  relief package.  This is a well-meaning and important request.  But is Alaska ready to act on those funds?

Marine debris clean-up in western Kodiak. Tsunami debris
visible in foreground.  Brook Kourmetis photo.

A recent paper published by Washington Sea Grant suggests 15,000 to 187,500 tons of MD will make landfall not in Washington at all, but in Alaska.  This accounts for approximately half the tsunami debris estimated to make landfall in the United States.  This shouldn't surprise anyone, since according to the National Ocean Service, Alaska accounts for 65% of the "general seacoast" of the pacific U.S.  

The cost of cleaning up this coastline is massive, with costs per pound of marine debris from remote Alaska ranges from $1.00 to $2.50 per pound, even with volunteer labor.  

Still there are early indications that the existing relief fund, $5M provided by the government of Japan, will be divided equally among the five pacific U.S. States (California, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska).  We feel that receiving only 20% of the funding would shortchange Alaska, who is saddled with half of the tonnage of marine debris and costlier clean-ups.  

But the state of Alaska has not done much to recognize the environmental threats caused by tsunami debris.  They have commissioned an aerial survey of the Gulf coast and are currently crunching the data.  But there is no agency with a mandate to respond to the findings.  The natural choice, the Department of Environmental Conservation, has no money in their budget to address marine debris issues and has not requested it for 2013.  Is Senator Begich asking for funding for a state that does not want it?

We feel this issue deserves the Governor's swift attention.  At a minimum, a mandate must be given to ADEC to prepare to organize a statewide response.  A much stronger message could be sent by declaring a  state of emergency.

Alaska's  should not send mixed messages to Washington D.C. about our coastlines.  The threat caused by marine debris is real,  it is imminent...and it affects us all. 

Thanksgiving Musings

ITN has much to be thankful for, and as another successful season winds down, we feel the love coming in from the community as well.  Thanks in large part to the support of our membership, we have measurably improved the health and well-being of the people of Kodiak by providing them with a low-impact way to experience the outdoors.  We have also improved the environmental health of the island by providing bridges at important salmon stream crossings, reduced the erosive impact of a 350-mile trail system on Kodiak's fragile soils, and removed over 40 tons of marine debris from our otherwise pristine shores.

We continue to mature as an organization by developing technical expertise among our staff and volunteers and by building capacity for trail construction and coastal stewardship. Our full-time staff has grown to three and as we enter our seventh year, I feel we are no longer a young organization, but rather are just beginning to hit our stride. As it happens, the rapid growth we have experienced since our inception has, for the first time, leveled off. As I draft the the 2013 operations plan, I am forecasting a slight to moderate decrease in our project budget.  We may not always be able to do more, but we will strive to always do better.

The work we are doing is perhaps more important than ever.  The impacts of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami are just starting to be felt here.  In sharp contrast to the terrible devastation that hit the east coast during Hurricane Sandy, the total impact of this event may take decades to fully comprehend.  The tsunami wreckage is spread across tens of thousands of miles of uninhabited shores, and even the most conservative estimates of the debris expected to make landfall in Alaska are in the tens of thousands of tons.  The impact of all these synthetic materials  into the food web is still unknown, but the body of science is growing.  We do know that we need to respond to this environmental crisis, and hope to boost our efforts in marine debris removal while maintaining the other services we provide to this community.

Bike Path in Jeopardy

After two work sessions this the city has balked at entering an agreement  with Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) to design and construct the first phase of a multi-use path from downtown to Bell’s Flats. 

The project would connect Pier 2 to Deadman's curve, with subsequent phases extending to Bell's Flats. Such a path would make travel safer for pedestrians and cyclists, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and the associated air, water, and noise pollution that goes with it, provide a measurable boost to our economy and provide exercise and recreational opportunities for an overweight population. The route is used for transportation by an  increasing number of non-motorized commuters, and for recreation by local events including the city-sponsored Crab Festival races.

Originally estimated at $3.1M, a 50% contingency fund  placed on Phase I of the project brings the estimated cost of the project to $4.65M. Before the contingency requirements were added the city had obtained the required 10% matching funds through a legislative grant. With the new, higher price tag  the city finds itself $81k short of their match requirement. Through a private donation and reallocating other trail funds we have been able to donate $25k to the shortfall. The Borough Assembly has the option of kicking in another $25k from cruise ship head tax funds, leaving the city with an out-of-pocket expense of only $31k. This sum is less than 1% of the total funds raised to date, a token gesture to a hard-won  public project.

Though the price seems excessive to some, the majority of expense in Phase I is centered around engineering difficulties involved with the short segment of road at the foot of the rock slide between Pier 2 and Pier 3. Subsequent phases of the path would likely not need the same level of engineering. In fact the recent passage of the Transportation Bond, which contains a project to renovate Pier III, may resolve some of these engineering issues and drive the cost down to something closer to the $3.1M original estimate.

But the fact that we don't know the total cost is part of the problem, as is the sinking feeling among council members that once they enter this agreement, they are writing a blank check. It is apparent that communication is poor between the city and DOT, and so far the questions have not been as probing and the answers not as definitive as we need them to be. DOT needs to reassure the city that the project can  be kept within budget or be re-scoped to do so before requiring full commitment of all these public resources. If we find out we can't afford the path, or the cost is simply beyond the limits of taste and decency, we don't build it. That's just good business.   

Maintenance has also been an ongoing concern of the project. Seeing this coming, we obtained a resolution from  the borough assembly to authorizing the borough to assume maintenance of all  future phases of bike path in perpetuity. So far this hasn't done much good because it conflicts with some boilerplate language of the contract, and  the three entities aren't communicating well enough to figure out if the borough can legally assume maintenance or whether snow removal is required.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on this contract and DOT may take steps to re-program the funds if an agreement cannot be reached within the next few weeks. If the council does not act quickly, there are 14 lower-ranking pedestrian projects in Juneau, Fairbanks, Talkeetna, Kotzebue, Cooper Landing, Naknek and Sitka which will gladly snatch them  up.   

For Kodiak, there may never be a better time to build the path-- the cost of building a healthier infrastructure is only outpaced by the rising costs of fuel and the cost of caring for a sedentary society. 

If the Kodiak multi-use path is viewed as boon to public health, what kind of return on our investment? Consider it in the context of the cost in dollars of an unhealthy country; last year our taxpayers footed the bill for a $500,000 increase in medical insurance premiums for city employees, and collectively we paid millions if not tens of millions out-of-pocket more for our own health insurance as well. To put it another way, the $56k funding gap is less than the medical costs of one heart attack in Kodiak.  Perhaps that should be the benchmark--one life saved.

Ajango earns Prestigious Reb Gregg Award

This week while attending the my first Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) in Portland Oregon, I was lucky to be one of a handful of Alaskans to see our friend and mentor Deb Ajango receive the ever Charles (Reb) Gregg Wilderness Risk Management Award.  

Deb has made outstanding contributions to the field of risk management, mentoring organizations like ours and authoring two books on the subject, which are now required reading for our staff.  Each of our full-time staff members--myself, Tom and Nick--have taken the 80-hour Wilderness First Responder from Deb, which are widely considered to be some of the most diverse, practical, and challenging WFR classes you can find.  Deb's wilderness medicine classes and in fact her entire risk philosophy are rooted in her experience as a guide on Mt. McKinley, as a one-time director of a large outdoor program which experienced a multiple casualty incident, and as a bear attack survivor where her husband was seriously mauled.  Deb has dealt with more adversity, tragedy, and the painful healing process than anyone I know in the outdoors profession.  It is thrilling and inspiring to see her not just remain in the outdoors profession, but to witness her rise to a level of national prominence in risk management and to receive this prestigious award.

Deb has a visit to Kodiak planned for December of 2012 to teach another Wilderness First Aid course.  I highly recommend this course for anyone spending a lot of time outdoors or at sea. 

http://www.safetyed.net/