Our 2009 Top 20

As we count down to midnight on December 31st, it’s a common tradition to reflect on the events that have shaped our lives and actions over the past year.

The following “top 20 countdown” summarizes the major events and activities that have characterized the work of the SeaLife Center over the past year – it includes both the positives and the challenges we worked through – in all cases we learned valuable lessons that strengthen our organizational resilience and effectiveness.

Thanks again to all staff and volunteers, Board and Science Advisory Committee members, SeaLife Center Members and to our many partners and donors for your commitment and superb efforts to ensure the Alaska SeaLife Center has been able to continue to deliver important research, education, conservation and strandings outcomes for Alaska’s seas and beyond.

Our Top 20 Achievements in 2009

20. Reorganize & empower Senior Management Team; formalize conservation department and re-organize science, education and aquarium operations, expand diversity and recruit new SMT “mentee” to build succession capability.
19. Establish uniform organizational workplan process (GOSP) that define top 5 priorities by department and enable all individual staff business plans to be aligned to achieve organizational priorities and underpinned first standardized staff performance appraisal process in five years.
18. Internal communications and staff morale improved by circulation of monthly CEO reports and key updates, ASLC blog (http://sealifeceo.blogspot.com/), monthly all staff meetings and working groups on key topics (e.g. health care, green issues, etc.) and via team building retreats at Challenger Center in Kenai

17. Detailed online staff, visitor (interview) and member (online) surveys undertaken to better understand our strengths and opportunities for improvement as we prepare for a further decline in base federal revenue for the Center and for the 2010 tourism season which is expected to see further declines in cruise ship visitation to Seward (up to 17%)

16. Completed full organizational audit by a new independent external audit team with no adverse findings reported. We used this audit as an opportunity to further strengthen compliance systems and refine operational, risk management and HR procedures.

15. Alaska SeaLife Center invited to partner with Port and City of Anchorage and others to establish an Anchorage Salmon Learning Center – proposal proved not feasible at current time, but valuable intelligence was gathered and the ASLC profile raised in Anchorage

14. Regular discussions with State and Federal Government legislators and their senior staffers, active engagement with key government agencies and synchronization of ASLC lobby priorities with City of Seward; first meeting with Governor of Alaska in >3 years.

13. High profile rehabilitation activities with rapid response to mass walrus mortality event and successful transfer of trumpeter swan (“Marshmallow”) to Seattle, but loss of sea otter (“Skittle”) due to exhibit design failure – lessons learned in all cases and applied to future strandings activities

12. Active engagement of ASLC in National Aquarium and Climate Change initiative and Alaska Governor’s Climate Change Sub-cabinet, Alaska Coastal Communities Compact and via numerous public lectures and presentations, including a three day partner and staff training with Alaska Conservation Solutions.

11. Inaugural staff, volunteer and partner awards scheme established and funded by donations - first awards granted at annual staff dinner with Board

10. External communications dramatically expanded with first annual report in three years, two outreach newsletters (with combined circulation of 12,000 copies) and 30 refereed scientific papers published.

9. Deep Blue 2020 process established and underway – designed to establish a 2020 Strategic Plan for the Center; process led by team of senior staff and Board members and will be complete by mid 2010.

8. Staff incentives and reward scheme established to promote recognition of good ideas for costs savings and to acknowledge individual contributions to mission success. Led to an estimated $250,000 savings in operational costs and contributed to several winning project proposals from new donors, including the innovative seawater heat pump project currently in design

7. Lease Operating Agreement renewed with City of Seward on interim and long term basis after in-depth engagement with City staff and community; ASLC provided City use of Depot building for nominal rental and provided $150,000 in funding and volunteer labor for construction of new community pavilion

6. Board empowered to be an even more effective overseer and advocate for the Center – three new Board members added and formal link made between Board and Science Advisory Committee; Board actively engaged now in fundraising activities and two new Board Standing Committees established – Risk Management and Community Relations

5. Successful breeding of a Steller Sea Lion – the first such breeding effort in North America since 1987 – process involved meeting demanding permit protocols and complex husbandry and veterinary care for breeding animals – birth expected summer 2010.

4. Rapidly expanded efforts to secure new funding; Top 10 fundraising priorities list established and shared with donors; “Proposal blitz” team formed – meets monthly - 58 grant proposals submitted and >$800,000 of new funding raised mostly from new donors to the Center.

3. ASLC invited to exhibit at State Fair in Palmer for first time in 10 years – ASLC exhibit was in center of the path of fair attendees and we estimate >30,000 visitors participated in our activities; related promotional activities ensured that 2009 visitor revenue did not suffer same drop as other Alaska tourism operations.

2. Inaugural “Fish for the Future” fundraising event in Seward attracted some 140 participants and raised >$25,000 for ASLC activities and “Alaska Marine Gala” planned for January 17th, 2010. Gala is the largest fundraising event in ASLC history and is designed to both raise funds and profile of ASLC in Alaska. A key part of the event involves recognition of Alaska’s Ocean Heroes via sponsored awards.

1. ASLC core values defined and codified via participatory process led by staff – shared values now drive organizational behavior and improve accountability and risk management

Thanks again everyone –

lets plan to continue this very positive momentum into 2010!

Adapting to Climate Change Quickly - A Lesson from the Birds?

On the eve of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (COP 15 - see http://en.cop15.dk/) it is disappointing to see so little light at the end of what has been a long tunnel of preparation meetings and conferences.  Expectations for the event are being dialled back daily and it now looks like there has to be even more unfocussed meetings and delays before global leaders link arms to address the most pressing threat to the future of humanity. 
I appreciate that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a difficult task, but the world has previously acted in unison to address critical threats to our life support systems (e.g. Montreal Protocol on CFCs)... so what is holding us up now?
As a reforming scientist, I have been fascinated by recent attempts to obscuficate the science of climate change.  In a presentation to the City of Kenai last week (see http://www.webcasting.com/kenai/player.php?clientname=kenai&eventname=-board&eventdate=11.24.2009), I explained that the science of CC is clear - we are now in new climate territory and so need to think differently.  In that regard, I have been delighted by the willingness of many Alaska Councils to sign on to a Coastal Climate Change Compact that creates momentum towards climate change adaptation (see http://www.akmarine.org/pressroom/alaska-coastal-communities-global-climate-change-compact/).

Its a pity that such collaboration is apparently so much harder to achieve at higher political levels, but always the optimist, I am still hopeful that humans will make the adjustments we need to make (and have the capacity to do so) in time to avoid creating an unlivable planet.  I'll be watching the Copenhagen debates with great interest and truly hope that we can take positive steps to make the changes we need to make in time to avoid the worst effects of warming.

This week an article was posted about how nature has begun to make its own change - see http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/british-birds-rapid-evolution-signals-human-impact/article1387804/.  In the article, a combination of warmer temperatures and human feeding of birds in Britain has led to marked changes in the physiology of blackcap warblers (pictured in center frame above) in just a  few decades!

The article is fascinating reminder that species such as birds can adapt quickly, but will likely need a helping hand... one can only hope that the importance of such principles is not lost on those diplomats gathering in Copenhagen.

COSEE and a New Alaska SEANET website

As many of you know, the Alaska SeaLife center is a key participant in the COSEE Alaska program - a new initiative between ocean scientists, communicators and educators from the Alaska Ocean Observing System, University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, UAF Center for Cross Cultural Studies, Alaska Sea Grant, Alaska SeaLife Center and the Anchorage School District.


COSEE Alaska is the newest center in the national network of centers for ocean sciences education excellence COSEE, aimed at helping ocean scientists reach broad audiences with their research. The COSEE AK theme is People, Oceans and Climate Change, focused on weaving together traditional knowledge and western science to share place-based knowledge of ocean climate change in the north.  Full details are on the website - http://www.coseealaska.net/


SEANET is the Ocean Scientists and Educators in Alaska Network under COSEE and has the goal of promoting Alaska ocean and climate change literacy. The group is open to everyone with an interest in communicating about research and traditional knowledge about Alaska's seas - scientists, educators, outreach, communication, and media specialists; students of all ages, and community members.

For more information about participating in SEANET, contact Marilyn Sigman, msigman@alaska.edu, or Nora Deans, nora.deans@nprb.org, or just go and check out the site directly - its a very easy to navigate platform, has some nice material ready to use and is geared towards open discussion of topics - see http://oceanseanet.ning.com/.

Coastal America Partnership

Over recent weeks, we have been actively engaged with various partners in the Coastal America partnership to both better define our role and initiate a range of new collaborative activities. 

As the Coastal America web summary notes:
"The Coastal America Partnership is an action-oriented, results-driven collaboration process dedicated to restoring and preserving coastal ecosystems and addressing critical environmental issues. The partnership brings together people and resources from federal agencies, state and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to collaboratively address our nation's coastal environmental challenges. With a goal of better management of coastal resources, the partnership coordinates the statutory responsibilities and combines the resources and expertise of 16 federal agencies, 23 Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers, and hundreds of corporate partners".

Just 2 weeks ago, Nikki Nelson, our Education Program manager, attended the annual partnership meeting in Washington State to define key priorities for collaboration.  While there, Nikki joined the high level welcoming ceremony for the newest partnership member, the Vancouver Aquarium which is a globally significant aquarium and science center.  I had previously met with the Director, Dr John Nightingale, to discuss potential collaboration.

During the ceremony to admit the Vancouver aquarium, various US and Canadian agencies and Coastal America network partners made pledges.  Our commitment was "ASLC will work with the Vancouver Aquarium and other CELC Partners on collaborative projects focused on the Arctic". 

That commitment was consistent with both our geographical and scientific niche and reflects our shared interests in arctic issues which are increasingly prominent both in Alaska and globally.

We encourage all ASLC staff, members and partners to visit the Vancouver aquarium and let them know how much we are looking forward to working more closely with them and welcome your feedback on this new partnership.

PICES 2009 - sharing knowledge to share understanding

As most of you know, this past week after visiting with the Yeosu Mayor (see blog below), I joined Dr Clarence Pautzke, Executive Director of the North Pacific Research Board, at the Annual North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) 2009 meeting in Jeju, South Korea. PICES is the premiere marine vehicle for science/fisheries collaboration between the six North Pacific Countries (Russia, Korea, China, Japan, the USA and Canada). NPRB is an active partner in PICES activities. My attendance was primarily in support of my role as Chair of the NPRB, although I did manage to get a little Sealife Center business done while here!

This year’s PICES meeting was one of the largest ever – 490 delegates from 17 countries, 272 oral presentations and another 147 posters – full program details are available at http://www.pices.int/meetings/annual/PICES-2009/2009-background.aspx, and presentations and reports will be uploaded to that site over the next 3-6 months. The theme of the conference was ‘Understanding ecosystem dynamics and pursuing ecosystem approaches to management”.  The conference pointed out the challenges of understanding marine ecosystems as climate change effects such as warming and acidification occur.  Even in long studied systems such as the Sea of Japan we have such a limited understanding of species and ecosystem status that differentiating climate chnage effects can be very difficult.
I managed to attend 41 oral presentations and also delivered a presentation (jointly prepared with Kerrie Wilson and Hedley Grantham) on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) that was well received… despite being on the last afternoon of the last day of the conference! MSP is a key topic globally and is a specific focus of the current President’s Task Force on Ocean Policy.

Overall, I was very impressed by both the quality of the research presented and the organization of the meeting – PICES have a tremendous secretariat and worked very well with local hosts from KORDI and other local institutions to maximize the synergies between PICES members. I learned a lot about trends in ecosystems dynamics in Alaska and across both sides of the North Pacific. I was especially pleased to be able to spend time with key Alaskan/North Pacific researchers such as Drs David Fluharty (UW), Andrew Trites (UBC), Bill Sydeman (Farallon) and Franz Mueter (UAF). I also appreciated the chance to connect with new colleagues from Europe, China, Korea, Japan and Australia. I was especially impressed with work being done in Norway by Dr Erlend Moksness on approaches to modeling and assessing coastal ecosystem functions – the work is described further at http://www.spicosa.eu/.

I am looking forward to sharing what I learned with NPRB Board members and ASLC Board and SAC members and staff and would be happy to provide further details on any aspect of PICES if anyone wants more information. PICES is clearly a forum ASLC researchers should be more engaged with going forward….

The impressive ICC Conference Center in Jeju - PICES venue

The spectacular coastal basalt cliff scenery in front of the conference venue is also a site for traditional marine resource harvesting by female marine divers. Jeju is very proud of its world heritage listing - coastal volcanic features are a key reason for that designation.

The marine produce harvested locally and quickly made available to passing tourists - not cheap ($25/lunch), but very fresh!

Water Water Everywhere... but do we take it for granted?

This is a view of where my local water comes from - the stunning Lake Eklutna just up behind our house in Chugiak.  Through a combination of snow melt, forest and gravel filtering and only minimal engineering intervention we receive some of the purest water on the planet, all for @$30/month!  A bargain!  I almost feel bad using it to water the garden or wash my car as it seems a waste of an increasingly scarce global resource.

The "ecosystem services" provided by the Eklutna watershed are typical of most such services in that we often take them for granted or (even worse) under value and under appreciate them.  Economists such as Bob Costanza have tried for a long time to estimate those values.  Costanza and his colleagues estimated that all such services are valued at some $33 trillion c.f. $18 trillion for all global GNP - see http://www.uvm.edu/~gundiee/publications/Nature_Paper.pdf.

Those huge umbers can be hard to fathom and are subject to much debate among academics, but the "true value" of the drinking water we enjoy in Alaska really became apparent to me at Gimpo airport in Seoul the other day as I poured a paper cup of enhanced water.  The photo below shows what it takes to replicate the purity of water that the Eklutna watershed provides "for free". 

Think about it next time you fill a glass...

아름다운 Yeosu (beautiful Yeosu): Seward's Sister City in South Korea

I just had the pleasure of spending two days in Yeosu, Seward’s sister city in South Korea. Yeosu is located on the south coast of Korea, about 45 mins flight south of Seoul - see http://www.yeosu.go.kr/en/. My visit coincided with a field trip by the evaluation committee of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World Club (http://www.world-bays.com/) who were evaluating the nomination by Yeosu to join the club.

Yeosu has 900 km of shoreline, 317 islands and is bordered on three sides by the sea so clearly has all the attributes to be Korea’s first designated beautiful bay!

I was joined for the final day of my visit by Dr Clarence Pautzke, Executive Director of the North Pacific Research Board. I was traveling with Dr Pautzke to Jeju for the annual North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) Conference and so it was convenient to stop by Yeosu en route.

Yeosu was founded in the 6th century and has some magnificent historical sites, including the ancient Hyangiram Buddhist temple and the famed Jinnamgwan Hall (the HQ for a famous naval battle in the 16th century). The natural heritage of Yeosu is equally remarkable – the city covers some 500km2 of which 62% is still under forest (and contains beautiful azalea and camellia forests).

Of special note are the various dinosaur fossil sites such as Sado Island which have now been nominated for World Heritage status.

The city’s economy is dominated by manufacturing – Yeosu is rapidly emerging as an important regional petrochemical center, with some $14b of exports in 2008. Fisheries and agriculture are the other major employers.

Yeosu city international relations and expo staff were gracious and very welcoming hosts. Yeosu became a sister city with Seward in 1996 and they hold that relationship in high regard. My visit followed a visit by Seward Mayor Willard Dunham in May this year. The Mayor of Yeosu, Mr. Oh Hyun-sup has encouraged us to expand cooperation – during my meeting with him on Friday evening, he again reiterated his desire to build stronger links with Alaska generally and with Seward in particular.

The BIG news for Yeosu is that it has been selected by the Bureau of International Expositions to host the 2012 World Expo from May 12th – August 12th. The Expo will be the third largest international event hosted by Korea (after the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 World Cup) and construction is proceeding around the clock to get the site ready – some 8 million visitors are expected! Massive infrastructure works such as a new high speed rail line connecting Yeosu and Seoul are underway. Of particular note is that the Expo has a theme of “Living Ocean and Coast”. The site will feature a range of ambitious marine technologies and projects, including South Korea’s largest aquarium.

I have undertaken to make a presentation to the ASLC staff and the Seward City Council and public on my return and to work with the City and State of Alaska to evaluate options for City and SeaLife Center engagement in the 2012 Expo – please stay tuned as we work through the details and I welcome ideas and inputs on how we can help our Sister City… this could be a very exciting partnership, but… Han-gung-mal yŏn-sŭ-p'ae-ya dwoe-yo!!! (= I will have to practice my Korean)

International Arctic Fisheries Symposium

I spent much of the past 2 days participating in the 2009 International Arctic Fisheries Symposium which is conveniently being held at the Captain Cook hotel just over the road from our Anchorage office.  Its terrific to be able to literally walk across the street and be able to rub shoulders with some of the top scientists, policy makers and indigenous leaders from all Arctic nations.

The conference agenda (http://www.nprb.org/iafs2009/) has been organized to allow systematic discussion of options for future management of the arctic ocean which is facing both unprecedented change and rapidly increasing demands from Arctic coastal states and beyond.  As climate scientists have pointed out, the poles are changing faster than anywhere else on earth.  This may be good news for some fish species who are expanding their range and productivity, but there are many species that are also threatened by these changes, particularly marine mammals and seabirds.  Additionally, with recently observed rapid increases in ocean acidification in the North Pacific, there is a clearly a strong case to be made for precautionary approaches to resource exploitation... but what exactly does that mean?

Options canvassed during the conference so far range from an expansion of the current US Arctic fisheries moratorium (which drew much praise) to a High Seas agreement to cover the areas beyond national EEZs (shown in the photo below - very similar to the Bering Sea donut dilemma that was addressed some years ago) which may be open to fishing in 15+ years when ice cover is lost, to a comprehensive new Artic Treaty (a bit like the Antarctic treaty).  Clearly there is a long way to go in the process and there are extraordinary scientific issues to be resolved and diplomatic/policy challenges ahead... but it was great to part of this new approach early on - it has huge implications for how the Alaska SeaLife Center defines our future role in Artic science, education, conservation and strandings response.

Bering Sea Integrated Research Program

I had the privilege to join the North Pacific Research Board's annual Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program (BSIERP) Principal Investigators meeting at the Alyeska resort yesterday on the way home from Seward.  Tara and Kellee had joined the first day - part of the hundred or so participants in this amazing research process.  The BSIERP (see http://bsierp.nprb.org/) is a 5 year (2007-2012) $50 million partnership between NPRB and the National Science Foundation designed to better understand how climate change is affecting the system.

Work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) includes:

• Climate, oceanography, and lower trophic levels
• Social science research

Work supported by the North Pacific Research Board (NPRB) includes

•  Climate, oceanography, and lower trophic levels:
• Forage species: Euphausiids, myctophids, and capelin
• Fish: Arrowtooth flounder, Pacific cod, and walleye pollock
• Marine mammals: Fur seals, walrus, and broad-scale whale distribution
• Seabirds: Thick-billed murres, black-legged kittiwakes, and broad-scale seabird distribution
• Local and traditional knowledge (LTK) 
• Education, outreach, and communication

Work supported by both NSF and NPRB

•  Ecosystem modeling
•  Data management

Obviously with such a diverse and ambitious program coordination is key.  The annual PI meeting is a great oportunity to bring the various key researchers together to both share knowledge and discuss cross-cutting questions. 

I was impressed with the dyamic nature of the conversations I was engaged in - especially the impressive interactions between traditional resource users from Bering sea communities and diverse groups of scientists (who often only have one or two opportunities to visit these areas).  Clearly, as this Nelson Island poster indicates, the rate and nature of change in those areas provides a great basis for a conversation!
I left with a renewed sense of commitment to supporting those scientists and resource users through my work as Chair of the NPRB and high hopes for our own annual science colloquium!

Ocean Acidification Update on Aquariums & CC Site

I just posted this update on the Climate Change and Aquaria common site - http://www.aquariumsandclimate.com/.  This new site is one of the major outcomes of the climate chnage and aquarium summit I attended with Ned Smith last December and will likely become the pre-eminent place for material on CC related to our institution - you have to sign up to be allowed access, but that is a simple matter and well worth the 3 min process!!
Posting...
Ocean Acidification is happening much faster in the North Pacific than we previously realized (http://www.sfos.uaf.edu/news/story/?ni=280). We are now moving faster to address the issue as part of our climate change education and research activities. Two recent activities include:
1. we just screened the new film "A Sea Change" here in partnership with other NGOs in Alaska and I'd highly recommend you contact the producers to host a screening in your institution/community - see http://www.aseachange.net/ - it has a lot of great material to draw from, is a very easy to follow movie and really motivated the community we shared the movie with to be more engaged in this issue!
2. we are planning a session on ocean acidification research, adaptation and comunication on 18th January as part of the Alaska Marine Science Symposium - see http://www.alaskamarinescience.org/ or email me (ian_dutton@alaskasealife.org) for more details.

Georgia (marine laboratories) on my Mind!

A classic Savannah downtown scene - there are 24 'squares' like this in the downtown historic area filled with beautiful gardens.

An edgy poster supporting recycling efforts in the Savannah area!














This week I had the pleasure of attending my first meeting of the National Marine laboratories Association (NAML - http://www.naml.org/) . NAML is the primary professional association for marine laboratories in the United States – the SeaLife center is a long standing member. The other active Alaska member is the Kasitsna bay lab run by NOAA and UAF (http://www.westnurc.uaf.edu/kbay.html).

Skidaways new LEED Gold Laboratories

This meeting was hosted by the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography which is part of the 36 member University of Georgia system and located just outside Savannah Georgia. Interestingly the Institute has a similar funding profile to the ASLC and raises $3 for every $1 of State government support! Skidaway is co-located with numerous marine partners, including the SE COSEE. Established back in the1960s, the Institute also operates the 92 foot research vessel Savannah, part of the UNOLS fleet.

The meeting was an excellent chance to meet with some 40 marine institute directors from across the USA and Europe – there are some exciting proposals to expand global marine collaboration emanating from Europe. Mike Thorndyke from Sweden walked us through an ambitious initiative known as the World Association of Marine Stations (WAMS) which is a process of the European Marine Institutes and Sciences (MARS) Network – see http://www.marsnetwork.org/.

We received a number of useful presentations from each regional chapter of NAML (we are part of the Western Association of Marine labs) as well as updates from partners such as the organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS – http://www.obfs.org/). We agreed to renew a focus on improving government relations efforts at the federal level in the year ahead. I also made some very helpful personal contacts with our peers that may lead to closer collaboration with some institutions. In classic fashion, I also had the chance to spend time with new UAF Seagrant Director, Dave Christie (pictured shucking oysters – we are working on a plan to bring the 2010 WAML meeting to Alaska!

Enjoying some roasted oysters on the riverbank!

Shucking oysters - a great way to encourage conversation between strangers!

Mossy trees - one of Savannah's enduring images

OK - just one more image of the trees up close!

A Sea Change Gives New Insight to Ocean Acidification

Last night Howard Ferren and I had the pleasure of co-hosting, together with Alan Parks from the Alaska Marine Conservation Council (http://www.akmarine.org/) the Seward premiere of "A Sea Change" (http://www.aseachange.net/) a new award winning documentary about ocean acidification. The screening was held in the AVTEC theater and despite competition from City budget meetings (or perhaps because of same...), we attracted an excellent crowd of more than 70 people.

According to the film promoters, “A Sea Change is the first documentary about ocean acidification, directed by Barbara Ettinger and co-produced by Sven Huseby of Niijii Films. Chock full of scientific information, the feature-length film is also a beautiful paen to the ocean world and an intimate story of a Norwegian-American family whose heritage is bound up with the sea. A Sea Change is also a touching portrait of Sven’s relationship with his grandchild Elias. As Sven keeps a correspondence with the little boy, he mulls over the world that he is leaving for future generations. A disturbing and essential companion piece to An Inconvenient Truth, A Sea Change brings home the indisputable fact that our lifestyle is changing the earth, despite our rhetoric or wishful thinking".

I was struck by three things in the movie. First up, there was a big focus on Alaska and Alaskans who are at the forefront of this issue such as Dr Jeff Short (pictured in this excerpt photo) who is a member of our Science Advisory Council and Deborah Williams who led a series of climate change trainings for our staff and partners earlier this year. Secondly, it was evident that relatively few people know about this issue – a straw poll of folks at this premiere suggests that ocean acidification is a much less appreciated issue than climate change generally and yet equally as alarming. Finally, I was as pleased a punch that one of the key solutions promoted in the film is the same sea water heat pump technology that we have been promoting for 8 months (and which we made a presentation to the Denali Commission on just 2 days ago)!

In all a compelling film and one that we really ought to promote even more widely as this is an issue of huge concern to all Alaskans. Our next co-hosted event is slated for the Anchorage Museum at 7pm on November 12th – hope to see you there… or you can buy a copy online for $25 and host your own sea change event!

AZA 2009 - Day 3 reflections

Just back in Anchorage after a long day at the conference and then flying back home on the last plane out of Portland.  Day 3 of AZA was a great chance to engage substantively in sessions - I attended an excellent session on "Connecting Visitors to the Ocean Through Partnerships with Ocean Protected Areas" that featured the great work being done under the NOAA National Marine Sancturaries program.  These 14 'flagship' MPAs cover 150,0000 square miles (larger than the US National Park Estate) and have a major emphasis on working with others to promote ocean literacy.  They have begun some fascinating partnerships with aquariums and others on education activities as diverse as a ride simulator to explore undersea areas to a really neat "Sanctuary Sam" video program in CA - I have a swag of ideas to follow up on from that session.  Interestingly, there are no National Marine Sanctuaries in Alaska, although there are certainly significant areas and features that would qualify.

The next session I joined was focused on one of my pet subjects - evaluation. Titled 'Ready... Shoot... Score", this session featured great work being done in Cleveland and San Diego to better understand the visitor experience.  I picked up some great new tools including a much simpler survey form and some ideas for using new cell phone polling software - beware visitor services team!

During morning and lunch plenaries, we had the chance to hear about the diverse work being done under the AZA grants programs and to recognize some true champions in the national zoo and aquarium community.  My personal favorite was the replay of the best zoo and aquarium advertising videos for 2008-09!  Check out the hilarious Columbus Zoo No More #2 advert featuring Jack Hanna available on You Tube!

The final session of the day was our panel on Climate Change.  Working with the Monterey and New England Aquarius and the AZA, we bought together a  great panel to discus a "Common Framework for Climate Change Action by Zoos and Aquariums".  I moderated the panel and present a paper jointly with John Anderson from NEAq on CC training (a copy of the presentation is posted on the S drive under my folder).  The session focused on both follow up to the Aquariums and CC conference in Monterey that Ned and I joined last December and on the bigger question of how zoos and aquariums can work towards promoting greater public understanding of CC issues.  There are now proposals for new AZA working groups on this - stay tuned!

Overall - was the conference worth the time and $ invested?  I'd say a big yes for two reasons - (1) as my first AZA meeting this was an invaluable networking opportunity - the zoo and aquarium community is incredibly diverse and doing a lot of cool things that we don't hear much about otherwise - I really like the idea of expanding our horizons and learning from peers.  (2) there is a LOT of momentum in marine conservation and ocean literacy (as evidenced by the huge NOAA presence at this meeting) - being at this meeting gave me a much better sense of our current niche and possible directions. 
Bottom line... are we joining AZA?  Good question - its a complex process and would take a lot of effort - the payoff is, however, significant and so I'll be meeting with our SMT and Board to assess their appetite for this and with AZA staff when I am next in DC to further assess what is involved in the process.

AZA 2009 - Day Two Notes

Day 2 of AZA is a riot of activity and people! From an early morning breakfast to sort out session details with my co-presenters on climate change and aquaria the day quickly became a procession of meetings, presentations and information exchange. Like all good conferences its overload… but in a good way!
Jane Goodall’s presentation this morning was a superb reminder of the power of the zoo and aquarium community to influence people’s attitudes. Now 75, Dame Jane (she was just made a Dame of the British Empire by the Queen), recalled with great clarity her first visits to the London Zoo as a precocious 4 year old and how they shaped her thinking about animal intelligence. Going back there to work for a year before she began her famous chimp studies in 1960, she developed an empathy with great apes that has been the rudder of her career over the past half century (see http://www.janegoodall.org/). Her new book “Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species are Being Rescued from the Brink” expresses optimism for the future of wild species.
After the opoening session, I joined sessions on AZA Accreditation, the Coastal America Coastal Ecosystems Learning Center (CELC) Annual partnership meeting and a session on capacity building for aquarium staff – all of which have provided me with both excellent technical updates and a wide array of new contacts. It has been especially helpful to meet with AZA staff and the many Aquaria Directors who are natural partners of the ASLC such as Dr John Nightingale CEO of the Vancouver aquarium which was just admitted as a CELC partner institution.
Below are a random selection of photos from the large exhibition Hall – posters and commercial exhibits – I think the next time I come to one of these I’d better bring a bigger bag to carry home all the materials on offer – SMT members beware – your inboxes will be filling with ideas next week!

A cheap options for getting people around Seward? - electric with solar - runs 50 miles on a charge

Getting into invasives - lots of interest here in the issues we have begun to grapple with in AK.

Oregon Zoo Green Team is doing a great job promoting sustainability actions and principles - I got my green stamp today by committing to 10 of those practices while here - read them online at
www.oregonzoo.org/aza2009

An interesting analysis of AZA member mission statements with all the words compiled into a graphic and the relative size shows frequency of mention... a quick assessment showed me we had most of the key terms covered...

Finally.. lots of aquaria are using citizen science as a key tool for engaging members and the public in their research and conservation work.

AZA Conference 2009 - Day One

This week I’m attending my first AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquaria) Annual Conference – all 1600 delegates can tell this because on the bottom of my name tag in big gold letters is “First Time Attendee”… apparently that is to help me network, but I learned years ago at conferences that no one usually wants to talk to newbies and so we’ll see how effective that is!
Right below my name tag is another big green badge – “Speaker” – that is because the main reason I am here is to help present a session on Climate Change and Aquaria. That session is the culmination of a process that began last December when I joined Ned Smith to attend a climate change and aquaria summit at the Monterey Aquarium. Since then I have been actively involved in a range of follow up activities such as national webinars and various proposals to help the aquarium community deliver climate change information effectively – polling shows that aquaria are trusted sources of information on such subjects.
My other main reason for being here is to “suss out” AZA accreditation – the Alaska SeaLife Center has never sought AZA accreditation. Reasons for this are not fully clear, but relate to the fact that because of our research orientation, we are not like other aquaria and becasue of costs – apparently accreditation is a complex and cumbersome process. I want to leave Portland with a clear understanding of what is involved and whether the benefits outweigh the costs to the Center.
The conference program looks terrific – see http://www.azaconnect.com/connect/2009annualconf/ - I’m especially looking forward to Jane Goodall’s keynote address tomorrow and the various sessions on climate change and on how to develop more effective institutions. If anyone has a request for me to attend a specific session, please let me know. I just attended the Marine Mammal Technical Advisory Group Meeting at Carrie Goertz and Brett Long’s suggestion and immediately made some great connections – a lot of AZA folks know us and there is tremendous interest in the marine mammals of Alaska.
I’ll be adding daily blog updates, but thought you might enjoy seeing how Portland is positioning itself as a green city – from its terrific public transport light rail system (the Max – only $2.50 from the airport and free in downtown) to increasingly energy efficient urban design in the renewal areas, this city has a lot to offer us to think about.
Stay tuned!

ASLC Inputs to Ocean Policy Task Force Hearing in Anchorage

Last Friday, we had the opportunity to present testimony directly to the first public hearings of the President's Task Force (see http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans/ for both details of the work of the task Force and to locate our written submission). The afternoon was a fascinating experience - there is an a huge public interest in the future of Alaska's oceans as evidenced by the >400 attendees!

With more than 60 public speakers, we were restricted to just 3 mins and so our comments were necessarily short! My comments were focused on (a) ocean literacy and (b) the challenges of not allowing aquaria to access stimulus funds.... the text if my comments is provided below...

Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force
Listening Session
Anchorage 21 August, 2009
Comments by Ian Dutton
President and CEO, Alaska SeaLife Center

Madam Chair, Distinguished Task Force members,
The Alaska SeaLife Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to understanding and maintaining the integrity of the marine ecosystem of Alaska. We achieve our mission through research, rehabilitation, conservation, and public education.
We previously made a submission to the Interagency Task Force related to Ocean Zoning/Marine Spatial Planning.
Today, I’d like to amplify two particular points in relation to that submission.
Firstly, in relation to the complex issues we are addressing here today. We believe, and our research here in Alaska supports that belief, that there is a genuine lack of public understanding of our oceans and of their importance to the quality of life we enjoy. This lack of ocean literacy is both a major impediment to the ability of the public to engage in a process such as this and an impediment to improved ocean management generally. Funding for programs that address that need at a meaningful level are currently ad hoc and insufficient. For example, in partnership with the Anchorage School District and private donors, we have conducted a Sea Train marine education program over the past 5 years that has provided instruction to some 10,000 5th grade students in South Central Alaska. Due to budget restrictions this year that program has had to been cut back to less than 250 students. We urge the Task Force to give priority to rapidly upgrading ocean literacy in Alaska and America generally and point out the unique role played by aquaria in providing an insight into otherwise inaccessible marine life.

My second point relates to the first – as the Task Force may be aware, aquaria are specifically prohibited from receiving any stimulus funding. That has made it very difficult to compete for research, education and conservation infrastructure such as the innovative ocean thermal energy project that we have ready to go and which would enable us to achieve massive fuel oil and carbon savings and demonstrate a new renewable energy technology for Alaska. We find it unacceptable that a museum or even a visitor center in a National Park is not subject to the same restrictions. We urge the Task Force to employ its influence to ensure that aquaria operate on a “level playing field” with other educational institutions to help us promote the ocean literacy which must underpin any improvements in ocean governance.

Thank you for the opportunity to give these inputs – we’d welcome the opportunity to show you our cutting edge work when next you come to Alaska.

A Close Encounter with Green Fluorescent Protein

Some months ago we received notification that Dr Roger Tsien, the Nobel Laureate from San Diego, would be visiting the Center in August. During his visit, he hoped that we might be able to provide him with a chance to see one of the bioluminescent jellyfish that has made his work on protein marker so famous.

According to Richard, ..."the jellyfish in question is Aequorea , probably A. victoria up here, and the common name is water jellyfish. Even though they can grow 7” or so across they are hydrozoans rather than scyphozoans like the large moon jellies and lion’s manes. I’ve never seen their polyp/hydroid stage but they apparently live on mussels". There is an excellent description of the jellyfish by a long time researcher in Washington State, Dr Claudia Mills at http://faculty.washington.edu/cemills/Aequorea.html

With his usual penchant for detail, Richard immediately set in train a summer long search for the jellyfish - a search that proved fruitless until just the day before Dr Tsien's visit. Jared, Nathaniel, Heather and Asia were out in the SeaSearcher yesterday in Humpy Cove south of the Center on a collecting trip. Richard asked them to take a look for these and... as he says "boy, it was a lucky break they found ‘em since no one was giving me much hope elsewhere we tried. On the trip yesterday, they also came across some juvenile prowfish and a juvenile crested sculpin using the lion’s mane jellies for cover".

Given this build up, it was with some trepidation that I went down to the holding tanks with Dr Tsien, Richard, Jared and Nathaniel... I'm so glad I did - with the aid of a special flashlight, Dr Tsien was able to show me the amazing green luminescent ring inside our newest jellfish - WOW!

Bioluminscence has always fascinated me and discussing the evolutionary advantages of this and related phenomena with Dr Tsien made the encounter even more memorable.

Ask our amazing aquarists if you too can get up close and personal with a GFP loaded jellyfish sometime...

p.s. the image here is for illustration purposes and was clipped from the Google Image bank - our jelly was much more spectacular!

Summer Reading

Karla and I just attended a family wedding back in MA. Long plane trips on aircraft that are not fitted with inseat videos are always a great chance to catch up on non-work reading. I tend to think of magazines and newspapers as "mind snacks", and of books as meals... and so was happy to fill my backpack with an eclectic collection of light eating (Time, Newsweek, Economist, etc.) and the more hearty gourmet dinners that I had been collecting for months but not really found time to read...

Given that I am bored with most contemporary fiction works (don't you just hate paying $20 for a novel then working out where it is headed at the start of page 2?) and that we have had a couple of great authors visit the Center recently (and left me a copy of their new books), its not surprising that my summer reading tends towards new insights into the natural world and how humans interact with that world.

My three traveling companions could not have been better chosen as each has that core theme.

First up was Cold - the stunning debut novel from our newest SAC member, Bill Streever, a biologist who lives in Anchorage. Bill has a big hit on his hands - Cold was reviewed well in both the NY Times and in this week's Economist and deserves the accolades. I won't spoil it by describing the subtle plot or how Bill brilliantly overlays an incredible array of scientific facts against a back plot of life in Anchorage with a rare dry humor... but for those who like being teased, tantalized or tricked then this one if a keeper! My only slight criticism was the ending - a bit too subtle, but maybe that is just me?

The next selection is a perfect plane read. A series of short stories by one of the best story tellers in the business, Alaska's own Nick Jans. Many of the stories feature the infamous Mendenhall Glacier wolf, Romeo who has quickly become the stuff of legends - this book formalizes the Romeo folklore. Nick just spent a week with us developing some stories about the Alaska Sealife Center and after reading Glacier Wolf, I have an even more eager sense of anticipation for what he will write about us. His writing style is sublime - the way he describes every day events has a Steinbeck like quality. When he gets into his favorite Alaskan settings and situations he holds a mirror up to all of us that is both comforting and provocative - kind of like realizing that really is how we look/live!

The final part of my summer trilogy was a new book from another well know writer - author of Cod and other maritime classics. Mark Kurlansky is a NY based author who dabbles in New England history, arts and politics. The Last Fish Tale is a sweeping tale about the Massachusetts coastal city of Gloucester and how the fishing industry there has changed over the past 400 years... its like reading the rise and fall of the Roman Empire! Along the way he weaves in a bunch of fascinating facts about great artists such as Winslow Homer and TS Eliot (a person favorite - I didn't realize he spent his summers in Gloucester as a teenager and how they influenced his writings), Sicilian fishers and their culture(s) in America and Sicily, the ineffectiveness of New England fisheries regulators and the dire impact of technologies that changed forever our relationship with nature even when nature seemed limitless... needless to say I saw much in this book of relevance to Alaska.

Three very different books, but all with much in common - a true three course meal that satisfies and stimulates...

Aquarium of the Bay - PG+E Exhibit

During my recent trip to San Francisco to meet with potential sponsors and partners I visited the Aquarium of the Bay which is a key part of the San Francisco Pier 39 waterfront tourism precinct. My visit was hosted by Carrie Chen who is the Education Manager for the Aquarium of the Bay and who has been a key member of the team working with us to implement the follow up from the National Aquaria and Climate Change Summit held in Monterey in December 2008 (http://209.232.236.13/climatechangesummit/).

The Aquarium of the Bay has a most interesting history and recently, under the auspices of the Bay Institute, transitioned from a commercial aquarium to a non-profit facility with full 501 (3) (c) status (see http://thebayinstitute.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-official-tbi-has-acquired-aquarium.html).
The Aquarium of the Bay recently opened a new 1200 square feet climate change exhibit known as the PG+E Lab (see http://www.aquariumofthebay.org/%20pgelab.aspx?n=424904) which incorporated many of the messaging and design principles enunciated at the Monterey Summit.

It was really cool to see the creative way in which the Aquarium design and education teams have taken those ideas from concept to reality. The exhibit is an impressive fusion of simple, easy-to-engage and understand elements that are very “kid friendly” and some sophisticated messaging about energy use and climate impacts. The exhibit operates on many levels. From the innovative use of charismatic land animals like chinchillas and tree frogs to explain climate impacts on animals to purpose-built interactive software that enables users to better understand their energy consumption choices and impacts, the exhibit demonstrates how aquaria can (and should) better engage the public in understanding the many facets of change in our oceans.

I encourage all staff and members to visit the Aquarium and particularly this exhibit next time you are in the bay area – as we move forward with plans to develop our own climate change and oceans exhibit, we’d welcome your thoughts on what that should look like and how we can enable public understanding of this complex issue.

A (Vertical) Marathon Effort

There is an old saying that "in order to appreciate the view from the top of a mountain, one must first appreciate the mountain from below"...

The saying is often used as an analogy for life experiences, but in the case of Seward's Mt Marathon, it is a perfect statement of the significance of Seward's rugged mountain backdrop to those of us who gaze up again and again... wondering.

For months now, and especially since spring began, the mountain has been bugging me to "appreciate the view from the top". That nagging built up during my son Richard's visit in May - he went up to the top on a training run with Amy and Nancy and has let me know every week since then that "its a true test of fitness"! The nagging reached a crescendo on July 4th when Karla and I watched the Mt Marathon race and we saw an amazing cross section of humanity race up and down the mountain in unbelievable times (especially given this year's record heat)...
And so on Wednesday when I found out that a group of ASLC staff and Seward residents were making the trek up to show the mountain to novices, I finally (and with some trepidation) offered to join them.

There really is no way to prepare for an experience like Mt Marathon unless you are born with four legs, the front two of which are shorter than the others.

You get out of the car, and its up, up, up, up ... until you get to the halfway point and then its up, up, up, up and up... you get the idea! Cindy, Susan, Jessica, Nancy, Shiway, Patti, Mandy, Beate and I slogged our way up through the trees and shrubs, taking full advantage of shade and local knowledge about which trail to follow. As we slugged up through the berry bushes, my mind briefly wondered how we might deal with errant bears, but that thought was quickly cast aside as I struggled with the lack of oxygen! Perhaps that is the secret to all mountaineering?

I can truly say that reaching the half way point is a heck of an achievement and I strongly considered graciously calling it my 2009 pinnacle until an image of explaining that to Richard flashed across my mind... and so we continued up, up, up... until it actually felt as if one of my legs really was shorter than the other... blame it on the decreasing oxygen, that last reindeer sausage over lunch with Darryl and Randy or just a general lack of fitness?

The burden of my slow ascent was lessened by the convivial company of the group - they seemed to find a kind way of allowing me to bring up the tail without too much embarrasment...

Reaching the summit felt like an even greater achievement than many other mountains I have climbed - even scrambling up 13,000' Mt Fuji in Japan did not seem as big a deal as Mt Marathon (although that was on legs 20 years younger...).

To say that the view was well worth the effort is a true understatement - the view from the top is one of the most spectacular I have seen anywhere in the world.

From peering down into the deep blue of Resurrection Bay and watching the white plumes of returning boats, to tracing the jagged outline of Mt Alice and seeing the downy glory of the Harding ice field, the panorama is truly unbelievable!

Oh... and yes the return trip was down, down, down, down, down... quickly.... easy... could do it again tomorrow (once I learn to walk again...).

Thank you to my fellow mountaineers for introducing me to one of Alaska's most amazing experiences.

Check this video of the great downhill technique by Shiway - could this be the next big thing in sport??