Monitoring for Evaluation of Recovery and Restoration of Injured Nearshore Resources

Ballachey, Brenda; Bodkin, James; Kloecker, Kimberly; Dean, Tom; Coletti, Heather

The proposed project is designed to assist in the evaluation of recovery and restoration of injured resources in Prince William Sound. The primary objective is to initiate or continue recovery and restoration monitoring in the nearshore in Prince William Sound following the plan developed in Restoration Project 050750 and tested in Restoration Project 070750. The goal of this program is to evaluate the current status of EVOS injured resources and services (recreational, subsistence, and passive use), to determine when populations may be considered recovered, and to foster recovery of those resources by identifying and recommending actions in response to factors limiting recovery. The National Park Service and USGS began implementation of a similar nearshore monitoring plan outside of Prince William Sound (i.e., along the Katmai, Kenai Fjords, and Lake Clark National Park coasts, including both oiled and unoiled sites) in 2006. This program is collecting information similar to the data sets that have been used to assess recovery of injured resources in Prince William Sound (e.g., population abundance and survival of sea otters, population abundance of harlequin ducks and other nearshore birds, abundance estimates for mussels, clams, and other intertidal organisms). Contrasts among trends in injured resources in and outside Prince William Sound, including both oiled and unoiled areas will provide the primary means of resource evaluation. Funds for conducting some of these studies in Prince William Sound (e.g., bird and mammal surveys, D. Irons USFWS) are being sought by other proposals submitted to the Trustee Council and are not addressed herein. Our purpose is to implement a nearshore monitoring program in Western Prince William Sound related to EVOS injured resources and to make it comparable to the program being carried out by the National Park Service in the Gulf of Alaska outside of Prince William Sound. This proposed nearshore sampling in Prince William Sound, in conjunction with nearshore sampling and data management supported by NPS and USGS will provide the foundation of a comprehensive restoration monitoring program for the entire oil spill area.