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Economic Development and Advocacy for Southwest Alaska
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February 2013
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Greetings!
Some of the latest...
- Senator Lisa Murkowski will deliver the Opening Remarks at our regional energy
 workshop on February 20th, starting at 10AM. As the Ranking Member on the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Murkowski will outline her vision and goals for Alaska's energy future. - Tim Meyers, a serial entrepreneur and the heart and soul of Meyers Farm in Bethel, will share his amazing tale of sustainable farming in rural Alaska, and how agriculture can become an economic opportunity in even our most remote corners of the state. Catch him at lunch on February 21.
- At lunchtime on the 22nd, Dr. Daniel Schindler from Univ. of Washington's School of Fisheries Science will describe his unique research which recently analyzed a 500 year historical account taken from core samples in the Bristol Bay watershed & Southwest Kodiak freshwater systems, all to understand salmon productivity. You can read more here or listen to his interview with KDLG.
- Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell will give Opening Remarks to the Conference at 8.30AM on February 21st and participate in a shipping and logistics panel.
- To see all that and more, VIEW THE LATEST AGENDA.
 Hurry...Early registration ends on
February 8th!
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Economic Indicator - Halibut Harvest Limits
This past week the International Pacific Halibut Commission met in Victoria BC to set the 2013 Halibut Harvest Limits. As has been the case since 2004, the total harvest was cut to a total of 31 M pounds, a reduction of 56% over the nine years. While all regulatory areas were cut in the SWAMC region, some of the hardest hit eastern regions actually showed a slight increase of 3.3%; hopefully this provides an early indicator that the downward slide in harvest may be approaching a low, in at least some areas. Unfortunately, IPHC commissioner and NMFS Alaska Director Jim Balsiger indicated we are are not there yet: "We made a small step in a conservation direction this year and reduced the catch by some 2 ¼ million pounds - but I don't think it is likely that we will be able to retain those small steps towards conservation into the future. The likely risk in a one year period with these long lived animals is not that great, but in multiple years that risk gets greater. So we have some difficult years ahead of us." SWAMC will be closely monitoring this important fishery. Follow this link to see the described IPHC Regulatory Areas.  | | Click on image to enlarge |
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From the VISTA Desk: STEM Education Update 
There are a lot of interesting STEM opportunities around Alaska, from Salmon Camp in Dillingham, to Build-a-Plane in Talkeetna and school wind turbines in Anchorage, Kodiak and elsewhere. Southeast especially seems to have a lot of the state's great STEM programs, and this is in large part thanks to the work of the Juneau Economic Development Council. JEDC has created programs that emphasize creativity while teaching science and engineering concepts and introducing students to potential STEM careers. They've been a huge success so far in Southeast, and we're very happy to be partnering with JEDC to bring them to Southwest for the first time. This month, Kodiak School District will hold a workshop for elementary teachers to incorporate engineering into their lessons, and on February 5th, Kodiak will hold a "family science night" with involvement from the Coast Guard, Seafood and Marine Science Center, NOAA, JEDC and others. Expect to see some photos of air-powered paper rockets and other experiments in next month's installment. Thanks to support from American Seafoods and JEDC, we will also be sending SeaPerch underwater robotics kits to teachers in Newhalen and Kokhanok. We hope to send more of these kits to more schools in our region, and we're all looking forward to seeing what the students build! |
Stay at the Hotel Captain Cook for $99/Night: But Do it Soon!
 The 2013 Conference will be held as usual at the Hotel Captain Cook in downtown Anchorage. The hotel offers SWAMC guests an affordable rate of $99/night for the duration of the conference. Just use the code SWAMC13 in the group code section to receive the discount. The hotel is no longer holding the room block, so book soon to still get the group rate. Additionally, those who register for the conference and stay at the hotel receive a $30 discount off registration fees. |
Interested in Having an Exhibitor Booth? Act Now! 
Just a couple of exhibitor spots remain for the SWAMC Conference. Having a booth is a good marketing opportunity if your entity is offering new products or services, wants to become more familiar with Southwest communities, or if you just want to keep your name out in front of the region's constituents. If you are interested in having a booth, fill out this form and send to our office via email or fax to 888.356.1206. Just show up early on February 21st to set up, around 7.30 AM. Alternatively, you can always become a sponsor if you are looking for additional ways to market your company or organization to SWAMC's members. Contact our office for more details. |
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Thanks to These 2013 Conference Sponsors!
Skipper
PenAir Federal Reserve Bank of SF
First Mate
ASMI Pebble Limited Partnership
Deck MasterThe Aleut Corp. Bristol Bay Native Corp. City of King Cove City of Unalaska Wells Fargo Deck Hand AIDEA Alaska Scallop Association APICDA Crowley Petroleum City of Kodiak Kodiak Island Borough Coffee Break Aleutians East Borough Aleutians Housing Authority Boyd, Chandler, Falconer Bristol Bay Borough City of Adak Northern Economics Nushagak Elec. Cooperative HDR Alaska
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Flying in for the Conference?
Use these partner airlines!
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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
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SWAMC Staff Andy Varner
Executive Director
Erik O'Brien Economist; Development Specialist Cameron Dean STEM Education Coordinator / VISTA |
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| Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember | |
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As always...
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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.
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