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CIRCAC: celebrating 25 years in the Inlet
This year, Cook Inlet RCAC (CIRCAC) will celebrate 25 years since opening our doors on December 1990 in downtown Kenai.
CIRCAC's first Board of Directors immediately set ambitious goals. In 1991, our projects included navigation safety, developing an Environmental Monitoring Program, compiling an Annotated Bibliography of Cook Inlet Environmental Literature, conducting an inventory of Cook Inlet oil facilities, negotiating a Rule-Making Committee for Vessel Response Contingency Plans, conducting a Cook Inlet Contingency Plans/Volume Study, and evaluating drills by ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company) and Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response Inc. (CISPRI). We continued to set ambitious goals and have steadily built an impressive body of work. In the coming months we will mark our 25th anniversary by revisiting the past, as well as looking ahead to the future and the work that lies ahead.
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Alaska Marine Science Symposium
Each year, CIRCAC sponsors and participates in the Alaska Marine Science Symposium, considered to be Alaska's premier marine research conference. The event brings together scientists, educators, resources managers, students and interested members of the public to hear about and discuss the latest research being conducted in the state's waters. This year, CIRCAC exhibited a booth where we highlighted our nearshore habitat mapping program, contaminants monitoring projects, and other efforts that relate to Alaska's marine environment. Our partners at the adjoining ShoreZone booth exhibited stunning high resolution imagery taken during the coastal mapping program, including a selection from our earlier
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Science Director Susan Saupe demonstrates the Cook Inlet Response Tool at the CIRCAC booth.
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AFE to address oil spill risks, community participation in spill response
The 2015 Alaska Forum on the Environment (AFE) will have four presentations addressing oil spill risks; one for the overall State of Alaska, and one each in the focus areas of Cook Inlet, the Aleutians, and the Bering Strait. Tim Robertson with Nuka Research will present on Cook Inlet's Navigation Risk Assessment - focusing on oil spill risks posed by marine vessels transiting throughout Cook Inlet--and will share findings from technical studies, the final report and recommendations. The presentations begin at 2PM to 3:15PM, Feb. 9.
Also on Feb. 9, CIRCAC will take part in a session on community participation in spill planning and response, scheduled for 3:30PM to 4:45PM, where our Science Director, Susan Saupe, will demonstrate how users can access and use the Cook Inlet Response Tool (CIRT) to integrate and visualize coastal information and the high resolution ShoreZone imagery to improve oil spill planning and response activities. This on-line data portal was developed in partnership with the Alaska Ocean Observing System.
Both sessions will be held at the Dena'ina Convention Center in Anchorage. Click here for full session descriptions.
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Meet Bob Flint, representing Recreational Groups
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Bob Flint
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Recreational Groups are represented on CIRCAC's Board of Directors by Bob Flint, who has participated with CIRCAC in a range of roles over many years. He first became familiar with our organization through his job at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) and, following his retirement, has participated on committees as a public member and most recently as a Board Director. Read more.
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