|
|
Economic Development and Advocacy for Southwest Alaska
| November 2012 |
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
Hello, and thanks for reading the latest SWAMC newsletter for members and friends of the region. The snow is falling and meetings are heating up. This month we'll touch on the latest SSL actions, rural tourism, rockets, LNG, and more.
As a reminder, SWAMC's 2013 Annual Conference will take place February 20-22 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage. We'll send out more detailed information for the meeting soon. As always, thanks for reading and keep in touch. Good luck to all the candidates today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
SWAMC Board and Partners Visit LNG Plant
SWAMC Board members and other partners recently toured the Kenai LNG Plant owned and operated by ConocoPhillips Alaska. A day after our SWAMC Board retreat, a few of our Directors, staff, regional leaders, Rep. Herron, and an energy consultant traveled down to Nikiski to get a lesson in LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) from the facility manager. We received an education about the cooling (liquifaction) and regasification (vaporization) processes, shipping, safety, export values, and many applications of LNG. However, the group was mainly there to learn about the feasibility of using North Slope gas for in-state purposes, primarily in Western and coastal Alaska. What are the on-shore infrastructure needs to make this feasible? What sort of LNG vessels are best suited for Alaska's coast and watersheds? Would a big pipeline or a spur-line provide the right economics for bringing gas to more Alaskans? Is LNG or CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) a more suitable option for Rural Alaska? These and a host of other questions are worth investigating as we look to find solutions to Alaska's energy problems. If you're near the Kenai Peninsula we encourage folks to take this tour to learn more about the processes of transporting and distributing LNG, and to dig into the economic complexities of All Alaska Gas.  |
The group on the shipping platform.
|
|
SWAMC Participates in Site Selection Tour with Lockheed Martin
 |
Inside the KLC launch pad.
|
SWAMC recently partnered with the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC), a sister organization in the state's ARDOR program, to participate in a site selection visit to Kodiak. The purpose of the visit was to accompany a representative of Lockheed Martin on a tour of the community and to the Kodiak Launch Complex. The planned KLC expansion will accommodate Lockheed's larger Athena rockets, and the multinational company is interested in basing additional operations locally in Alaska. Lockheed are also seeking Alaskan suppliers in the value chain of their Aerospace and Defense programs, and are looking to work with more Alaskan companies in these industries. SWAMC is interested in assisting regional companies get a foothold in this expansion.
|
Steller Sea Lion BiOp Questioned by Experts & Stakeholders
Steller Sea Lions (SSL) have been back in the news lately. As a refresher, in 2010 the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) produced a Biological Opinion (BiOp) on the health of
the Western Distinct Population Segment of Steller sea lions (WDPS), listed as endangered under the ESA. In the 2010 BiOp, NMFS concluded that the WDPS may be experiencing nutritional stress resulting in lower SSL birth rates, and implemented a reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) to mitigate the fisheries impacts that potentially could be causing jeopardy to the populations. The RPA further restricted Aleutian Islands Atka mackerel and Pacific cod fisheries, resulting in economic losses for the region. This caused the State of Alaska and several fishing industry entities to take NMFS to court over the BiOp, the Interim Final Rule (IFR), and the NEPA analysis.
In 2011 the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADFG) and the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) jointly convened an independent panel of four to scientifically review the 2010 BiOp. Additionally, NMFS contracted with the Center of Independent Experts (CIE) to conduct 3 new independent reviews of the BiOp in 2012. All of the independent reviews of the 2010 BiOp have concluded that the scientific evidence does not support the finding of "jeopardized or adverse modification" of the species and its critical habitat, or JAM.
Fast forward to July 2012, when the State of Alaska and industry entities appealed the court decision to uphold the BiOp, and requested that the court vacate both the BiOp and the IFR. Oral arguments for this appeal are set for December 4th 2012 in the Ninth District Court of Appeals in Seattle.
The NPFMC, in their October 2012 SSL motion, recommended NMFS vacate the management measures implemented by the IFR in time for the 2013 fishery. The NPFMC Steller Sea Lion Mitigation Committee (SSLMC) has been meeting each month since May 2012 to investigate, provide scoping comments and prepare alternatives for consideration by the Council. The Committee will meet again November 7 - 9 to continue work on potential alternatives to be presented at the December 2012 NPFMC meeting. NMFS will present a preliminary draft EIS to the NPFMC in March 2013, and the Final EIS is due in February 2014. This update courtesy of Ernie Weiss, Natural Resources Director for the AEB.
|
STEM Coordinator Update
This month, we've been thinking about flight. Aviation is more important to Alaska than any other state, and between cargo and passenger flights, the Kodiak Launch Complex and increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles, that's doubly true for Southwest. Few things are more engaging for students than flying, and SWAMC has been looking for ways to introduce students to possible careers as mechanics, aerospace engineers and pilots. Programs like Build-a-Plane, which, as the name implies, lets students build an entire airplane, blur the line between STEM and career and technical education, teaching students practical skills, like how to bend sheet metal and overhaul an engine, as well as science concepts like the physics of flight. Build-A-Plane is already successful elsewhere in the state. Talkeetna, for example, has an ongoing program funded by selling the completed plane from the previous year.
Another proven program is the Real World Design Challenge, a competition for high school teams to design the best aerospace project. Last year, the Lieutenant Governor honored the six Alaska schools who participated, and Highland Tech, the state champions, went on to Washington DC to pit their light sport aircraft wing design against teams from around the country. No Southwest school has yet fielded a team, but they'll have a secret weapon against more experienced teams: the Kodiak Launch Complex and the aerospace experts who work there. Teams work with engineer mentors to develop their designs, and we're lucky to have so much aerospace experience in our region. We want to see a Southwest team go to DC.
|
Business Spotlight: COASTAL TRANSPORTATION This month we hear from a new SWAMC business member:
Coastal Transportation is a locally owned U.S. flagged marine transportation company that offers weekly, scheduled sailings between Seattle, WA and ports along the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. Transit time between Seattle and Alaska is one week. Their self-sustaining cargo vessels average 260' in length and 100,000 cubic feet of sheltered capacity, along with deck space for oversize cargo. Coastal Transportation offers year-round scheduled service to Chignik, Sand Point, King Cove, Cold Bay, False Pass, Akutan, Dutch Harbor and St. Paul. They also service Atka, Adak, Kodiak Island, and other ports not listed on the sailing schedule & at-sea service.
Over the years the shipping industry has witnessed many changes through increased fisheries regulation and rationalization, which directly affects the transportation of goods. Established in 1984, Coastal Transportation has a terminal in Seattle, WA and Dutch Harbor, AK and has about 120 employees. Find out more at www.coastaltransportation.com. Coastal Transportation became a SWAMC member this year.
|
Community Spotlight: ALEKNAGIK
Bristol Bay's world-class sockeye salmon harvests may have the Village of Aleknagik to thank. By the early 1900s it was realized that the Bay was returning the world's largest run of Sockeye salmon. Prior to 1919, more than 22 million fish were returning annually, but a lack of a cohesive management strategy and biological accounting led to a population crash of 10 million returning salmon by the mid-1940s. With the hope of bringing the salmon runs back to their original level, the fishing industry commissioned Dr. W.F. Thompson, Dean of the College of Fisheries at the University of Washington, to investigate factors influencing the dramatic decline in salmon abundance in southwestern Alaska. UW's salmon research program in Alaska began in 1946, and during 1947 a permanent field station was constructed at Aleknagik in the Wood River system, a series of five interconnected lakes stretching over 200 kilometers (km) and flowing into Bristol Bay. A year later, the Fisheries Research Institute was established on the University of Washington campus as a base for salmon research in Alaska. Many basic techniques for counting salmon and understanding their life-history patterns were developed at Aleknagik and other early camps, and the data was used for the management of salmon runs. Today some of the most advanced biological models in the world are used to manage the sustainability of the returning Bristol Bay Sockeye, still the worlds largest run.
Aleknagik is the only regional village with a road link to Dillingham, a 25-mile (40 km) stretch which connects to the south shore of Lake Aleknagik. The "New Aleknagik" airport is a State-owned 2,070' long by 90' wide gravel airstrip located on the north shore, and regular flights are scheduled through Dillingham. The north shore of the lake is not road accessible; residents use skiffs to travel to town on the south shore. However, the community will soon benefit from a bridge crossing over Wood River that will connect Aleknagik directly to the road to Dillingham, bypassing the lake crossing and providing for more safe and efficient transport to and from the village. This bridge should open up new opportunities for the local residents, including tourism and education. Moody's Aleknagik Seaplane Base, also on the north shore, accommodates float planes. There are two additional airstrips, the public Tripod Airport, a 1,250' turf-gravel airstrip located 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Aleknagik, and the Adventist Mission School Airport, a 1,200' gravel/dirt airstrip with a crosswind runway. The State owns and operates a 100' dock on the north shore of Aleknagik Lake. A breakwater, barge landing, boat launch ramp and boat lift are available on the north shore. With these and other assets, not to mention its historical roots in a healthy Bristol Bay salmon fishery, Aleknagik has a bright future in the Bay.
|
UAF Offering Rural Tourism Class via Distance Education
Thinking about starting a tourism business in the Bush? UAF is offering a class entitled Rural Tourism: Planning and Principles for the Spring semester of 2013. The class will introduce students to many of the planning and management topics necessary for tourism operations in rural Alaska, including workforce, marketing, some key agencies, and other opportunities related to the industry. In addition, the Alaska Forward Initiative and their partners are addressing workforce development needs within the tourism industry in Alaska. Business leaders can participate in The Visitor Industry Survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Alaska_Forward_Visitor_Industry_Survey
|
|
|

|
Current SWAMC Members
Adak, City of Adak Eagle Enterprises* AIDEA Akutan, City of Alaska Airlines Alaska Aerospace Corp.* Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers* Alaska Cruise Association Alaska Groundfish Data Bank Alaska Housing Finance Corporation Alaska Scallop Association ASMI
Alaska Village Electric Coop. Aleknagik, City of Aleutians East Borough Aleutian Housing Authority Alyeska Seafoods APICDA At-Sea Processors Assoc. Atka, City of Becharof Corporation Belkofski Tribal Council Boyd, Chandler & Falconer BBEDC Bristol Bay Borough Bristol Bay Campus- UAF Bristol Bay Housing Auth. Bristol Bay Native Assoc. Bristol Bay Native Corp. Coastal Transportation Inc* Commercial Fishing & Agriculture Bank (CFAB) Crowley Petroleum Dist. Curyung Tribal Council Dillingham, City of DOWL HKM* Egegik, City of False Pass, City of First National Bank Alaska The Foraker Group Grand Aleutian Hotel
HDR Engineering High Tide Environmental & Exploration*
Icicle Seafoods
Karluk Village Council Katmailand, Inc. Key Bank King Cove, City of King Cove Corporation Kodiak, City of Kodiak College- UAA Kodiak Inn - Best Western Kodiak Island Borough Koniag, Inc. Lake & Peninsula Borough Magone Marine Service Manokotak, City of Marine Advisory Program Marine Stewardship Council McDowell Group New Stuyahok, City of Northern Economics, Inc. Nushagak Cooperative
Old Harbor, City of Ouzinkie, City of Pacific Seafood - Kodiak* Pacific Seafood Processors Association Pebble Limited Partnership Pedro Bay Corporation Petro Star, Inc. Pilot Point, City of PND Engineers, Inc. Port Lions, City of Qagan Tayagungin Tribe* St. Paul, City of Sand Point, City of Shumagin Corporation Southwest Alaska Vocational Education Center (SAVEC) Statoil* The Aleut Corp. Unalaska, City of UniSea, Inc. Vitus Marine LLC* WACDA Westward Seafoods
*Denotes new member.
|
Some of Our Partners

|
We're a member of
|
Visit Southwest Alaska

|
SWAMC Board of DirectorsShirley Marquardt, Pres.
Alice Ruby Glen Gardner Joe Sullivan Kathleen Totemoff Lamar Cotten Layton Lockett Louise Stutes Patrick Jordan Paul Gronholdt Trevor Brown
|
SWAMC Staff Andy Varner Executive Director
Erik O'Brien Economist; Development Specialist Cameron Dean STEM Coordinator/VISTA
|
|
Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember |
|
As always...
|
Thanks for your support of SWAMC. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts, ideas, concerns and events. For previous newsletters, click the link below.
| |
|
|
|