Cook Inlet, 25 years after the spill
This past month, Alaskans marked the anniversaries of not one, but two life-altering experiences: the 1964 earthquake and the Exxon Valdez oil spill-both of which happened on Good Friday, 25 years apart. While the focus of the 25th Anniversary of the Exxon Valdez has been fixed on Prince William Sound, it's important to remember that Cook Inlet and other areas were also changed significantly because of the spill. Read more.
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Industry partners get CIRT-ified
Two on-line tools, the ShoreZone Alaska website and
 | | Joan Yeager (CISPRI) manipulates CIRT screen at Tesoro training. |
the Cook Inlet Response Tool (CIRT) data portal, have more than once demonstrated their value during oil spill drills and other planning exercises. Their value during real incidents has also been proven, in particular during the Kulluk incident when responders relied on the information provided by high resolution imagery to "see" shoreline where the rig went aground, more than 12 hours before they were able to provide overflight imagery to Incident Commanders.
These lessons aren't going unnoticed, and Cook Inlet RCAC, along with other ShoreZone partners have been asked to conduct training sessions in how to apply these powerful tools to aid in emergency response. This month, Science Director Sue Saupe provided hands-on training to Tesoro and Hilcorp Alaska personnel on how to use the Alaska ShoreZone website and CIRT, by demonstrating specific drills scenarios and recent events. Read more.
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Alaska Oil Spill Symposium 
Cook Inlet RCAC staff attended the first Alaska Oil Symposium held in Fairbanks, hosted by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Oil Spill Recovery Institute, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The goal of the symposium was to bring researchers together with industry and agencies to better understand the gaps that exist between research and the end users of the data.
 Interest in the symposium was so high that the group quickly outgrew the original venue at the UAF campus and it was moved to a facility at the Birch Hill Recreation Ski Area. Attending were leading arctic and sub-arctic oil spill researchers, preparedness specialists, and response professionals from state and federal agencies, Oil Spill Removal Organizations (OSRO's), oil industry, and universities. Read more.
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CIRCAC continues to monitor lease sale
Cook Inlet RCAC is monitoring the 2014 Cook Inlet Areawide lease sale being conducted in conjunction with the Alaska Peninsula Areawide lease sale. The sale, conducted by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, will begin with bid submissions commencing on May 5 in, the Atwood Building, followed by bid opening on May 7, in the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, both in Anchorage. The Cook Inlet Areawide lease sale area encompasses approximately 4 million acres divided into 815 tracts, ranging in size from 100 acres to 5,760 acres. The sale area consists of state-owned uplands, tidal and submerged lands lying between the cities of Houston to the north, Homer to the south, the Chugach and Kenai mountain ranges to the east, the Aleutian Range to the west, and within Cook Inlet. The sale area is located within the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and the Municipality of Anchorage.
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