Alaska region FY 12 coastal operations report: Status of operations update

Jones, Tahzay

Eleven of 14 national parks in the Alaska Region can be considered coastal parks, meaning the parks have coastline and/or coastal watersheds that contribute to ecosystem function along the coastal areas of Alaska. In 2011 a regional coastal programs coordinator was hired to coordinate efforts, provide expertise, and support accomplishing the goals set forth in the existing regional strategies to address existing or developing resource concerns that included both environmental and human caused concerns such as acidification, climate change, permafrost melt, erosion, external resource development and extraction, marine traffic, and coastal use. However, resource budgets, staff, and time available to address coastal issues are extremely limited, throughout the region, even compared to other regions with coastal parks in the National Park Service. Additionally, logistical restraints associated with field endeavors can be extremely limiting particularly with existing infrastructure, scale and remoteness considerations, and wildlife concerns. Regardless of these constraints, there has been a significant amount of progress, both in gaining the information necessary to conduct coastal management operations within the Alaskan National Parks, and in conducting operations within the coastal areas of the Parks. Coordinated efforts by the new oceans and coastal program in the Region included: addressing monitoring and clean-up of Japanese tsunami debris with other federal agencies, the state, and NGO partners; engaging in a project (ShoreZone) to image and map the gross physical and biological features from Cape Prince of Wales to Point Hope in Northwestern Alaska, by partnering with the Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, Bureau of Ocean and Energy Mangement, and the State of Alaska to accomplish these efforts; supporting regional engagement of coastal climate change concerns through background research and participation in the climate change scenario planning workshops and the national coastal adaptation to sea level rise training efforts; participating in, and supporting the development of, the lagoon monitoring protocol for the Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Program through planning, field efforts, and data analysis; and participating in a managment review of the Oceans Alaska Science and Learning Center and the hiring process for the new director. The Inventory and Monitoring (I & M) program is providing a significant amount of baseline work in relation to coastal issues in most coastal parks, with the notable exception of Wrangell-St. Elias. The I&M program; however, has its own limitations and does not provide all the science necessary for management to base decisions. Park efforts are variable and scaled to staff size and expertise, and reduced by other driving issues parks are facing. Much more progress is needed to gather enough information to give resource managers solid scientific footing for making management decisions in most of the Alaskan coastal parks. The Alaska regional oceans and coastal program has worked throughout fiscal year 2012 to meet with coastal park managers and staff to develop a background of concerns each park faces with for resource management. Efforts are now initiated for a regional strategic approach towards providing parks with the assistance necesssary to address individual park issues and to group multi-park issues to a regional strategy. This report also summarizes by park, founding legislation in relation to the coastal environment, current threats (natural and human), current operations, and planned future studies and efforts. Efforts are separated by discipline. This report is deesigned to give management at all levels a single reference to understaning ongoing Alaska regional park coastal resource operations.

Alaska region FY 12 coastal operations report: Status of operations update

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