COASTAL AMERICA RECOGNIZED

[FIGURE] Dr. James Baker, Mr. Robert Perciasepe, and Ms. Katie McGinty at the Hammer Award Ceremony

Ms. Katie McGinty, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality, presented the Coastal America Partnership with the National Performance Review’s Hammer Award at a ceremony in the Indian Treaty Room at the Old Executive Office Building on September 18, 1998. This award is Vice President Al Gore’s special recognition to teams of federal employees who have made significant contributions to reinventing government. Ms. McGinty presented the award, a plaque with a hammer, to Dr. James Baker, Under Secretary of Commerce, and Mr. Robert Perciasepe, Assistant Administrator at EPA, former Chair and current Chair of Coastal America. Ms. McGinty complimented the partnership for . . . “rightly being recognized for your leadership . . . in breaking down walls.” She noted the power of the partnership process in overcoming barriers among federal agencies, and in working collaboratively with communities to achieve their vision of the future.

At the ceremony, Dr. Baker presented hammer plaques to the Principals of each of the federal partner agencies, and Mr. Perciasepe presented certificates and hammer pins to the National Implementation Team, Regional Implementation Team Chairs, and Coastal America staff. Both Dr. Baker and Mr. Perciasepe noted the value of the partnership, and that the recognition was well deserved. In closing, Mr. Perciasepe noted that he had enjoyed his tenure as Chair of Coastal America and announced that Mr. Terry Garcia had been selected by the Principals Group to be the new Chair.

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ALASKA SEALIFE CENTER BECOMES 9TH LEARNING CENTER

[FIGURE] Mr. Terry Garcia and Mr. Kimbal Sundberg (holding plaque) with Regional representatives at the Alaska SeaLife Center designation.

The Alaska SeaLife Center was designated as the ninth Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center on September 28, 1998. The designating official was Mr. Terry Garcia, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, who signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Mr. Kimbal Sundberg, Executive Director of the Center. “What makes this partnership so important is our ability to achieve shared educational goals,” said Mr. Garcia. The Honorable Mike Navare, Kenai Peninsula Burrough Mayor noted the importance of the partnership to Alaska, which has over half of the nation’s coastline. Ms. Molly McCammon, Executive Director of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council which provided substantial funding for the Center, also spoke. “Our future is definitely brighter as a result of this partnership,” she said, noting the importance of education about coastal issues.

Presentations by regional representatives of the federal agencies included a walrus head mount, many posters, videos, books and research publications, speakers for Center programs, funding for a summer intern, and links with many of the federal web pages.

At the ceremony, Mr. Sundberg presented a plaque to Ms. Elsie Whitmore, a pioneer in marine education who taught in Seward for over 40 years. He said, “she is an example and an inspiration to the staff.”

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COASTAL AMERICA RETREAT

The annual Coastal America Retreat was held in Cooper Landing, Alaska, September 28-30, 1998. Over 40 representatives of the National Implementation Team, Regional Implementation Teams and the Coastal America staff discussed a wide range of issues affecting the partnership.

Mr. Terry Garcia, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and the newly selected Chair of Coastal America, spoke to the retreat participants. Coastal America can assist agencies to develop crosswalks between conflicting statutes, and provide stakeholders with “one-stop shopping.” Also, he noted, it is important to “reject the choice between a healthy environment and a healthy economy,” because both are linked. Mr. Garcia also discussed several ongoing administration initiatives including recommendations from the National Ocean Conference, the Clean Water Action Plan, and reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act. He stressed the importance of ”sound science” as a key to successful coastal programs.

Awards Dinner

Duck Creek Presentation

At an awards dinner on Tuesday, September 29, 1998, three RIT Chairs were recognized for outstanding performance. William Hubbard, Chair of the Northeast RIT, was presented with the National Leadership Award for his support of regional team efforts across the country. James Reese and Owen Mason, past co-chairs of the Northwest RIT, were given the Regional Leadership Award for re-establishing that team, and bringing the Regional Principals together twice in the last year.

After dinner, Dr. K.V. Koski, with NOAA’s Auke Bay Laboratory, described restoration efforts at Duck Creek in Juneau, Alaska. This creek, suffering from decades of development, is impaired by sedimentation, high iron levels, low oxygen levels, and generally poor water quality. Restoration efforts to date include construction of ponds and wetlands, and enhancing bridges and culverts to increase stream flows for migrating salmon.

National Program Updates

Representatives from the National Implementation Team presented updates on current partnership agency programs. Dail Brown from NOAA discussed efforts to characterize and map marine and freshwater habitat and species, the Sustainable Seas partnership between NOAA and the National Geographic Society and how to better use the Coastal Zone Management programs in project implementation. Craig Vogt from EPA pointed out opportunities for RITs to implement Action Plans developed under the National Estuary Program. Chris Killingsworth of the Department of the Interior followed with a discussion of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Coastal and Partners in Wildlife programs to help restore habitat and the Minerals Management Service’s Sand and Gravel Program to locate offshore sand resources for beach replenishment restoration projects.

Dan Smith of the Natural Resources Conservation Service discussed the use of a watershed approach to solving coastal problems and urged the RITs to establish relationships with local non-governmental organizations and Indian tribes. Steve Moreno of the Federal Highway Administration informed participants of opportunities for collaboration with State Departments of Transportation under the provisions of the Transportation Equity Act. Finally, Norm Edwards of the Corps of Engineers and Lew Shotton of the Navy noted opportunities including various funding sources and use of military personnel and expertise to implement projects as training exercises.

Improving Collaboration: Retreat participants also heard from two partnership projects outside Coastal America. Dr. Marty Miller of Hart Crowser, Inc., discussed the role of a private contractor as a facilitator in a cleanup project in Washington State. Gene Augustine and Dr. Brad Andres described their work with Partners in Flight, a partnership formed to protect neotropical migratory birds and their habitat. They noted that Partners in Flight has used innovative partnerships, including non-governmental organizations and industry, from the beginning to “keep common birds common.” They also discussed various institutional barriers faced by Partners in Flight, and ways to overcome them.

Dam Removal in Maine: Bob Wengrzynek of NRCS presented status reports on several dam removal projects conducted by the Northeast RIT. The RIT enlisted the help of private companies to fund the projects (with the donations going to a non-governmental organization) and used NRCS’s Watershed Habitat Improvement Program to help fund these activities. The removal projects themselves are being conducted as training exercises for the Army. Bob noted that community involvement is critical to the success of these projects, as is monitoring and follow up.

Education and Outreach Initiatives: Coastal America’s Education and Outreach Coordinator, Barbara Elkus, led a discussion about regional support to the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers. In the last year, four additional centers have been added to the network. Regional teams have assisted with teacher sabbatical programs, provided speakers for programs, and are working on exhibits for the learning centers. The next step is for the regional teams to establish sub-groups of education and outreach representatives from the federal agencies to support the learning centers.

Scientific and Technical Support: Jeff Payne, Deputy Director of NOAA’s Coastal Service Center (CSC), provided an overview of the Center’s programs and suggested the partners work together on their budgets to present a compelling story of the government’s environmental restoration efforts. Gary Keull, also from the CSC, outlined the Center’s support of Coastal America’s Homepage, and how it could be better used to market the partnership’s capabilities. Bill Klesch, Deputy Director of Coastal America, provided a preview of the Value Added Report, expected to be published this fall, and described the status of the newly established Scientific Technical Advisory Group.

Kenai Peninsula Field Trip

[FIGURE] Tony DeGange, US Fish and Wildlife Service, describes Kenai River restoration.

Retreat participants visited several Coastal America restoration sites on the Kenai River. Stream banks are eroded by fishermen climbing on the banks to reach the river. Restoration includes rebuilding shorelines with fiber logs and planting with willow and cottonwood. Elevated boardwalks are built so that fishermen can reach the river without destroying the revegetated stream banks. The partnership includes federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private landowners. During recent heavy rains, the restored stream banks withstood the flood waters better than other areas. The field trip included a visit to the Kenai River Center where several agencies are available to work with local landowners to develop restoration plans, and receive permits.

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COASTAL ECOSYSTEM LEARNING CENTER WORKGROUP RECOGNIZED

[FIGURE] Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center Workgroup

The first Coastal America 1998 Partnership Award was presented on September 8, 1998 to the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center Workgroup. At the ceremony, held at the Commerce Department, Mr. Terry Garcia, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, presented the awards. He commented that “the spirit of collaboration that they exemplified is a model for all of us.”

Directors of two of the first learning centers joined the celebration. Dr. Jerry Schubel, President of the New England Aquarium said that the learning centers are a model to emulate, as we need to build more strategic alliances. Since most peoples’ interaction with the ocean happens at the coast, education is needed to “make people aware, and make them care.” Mr. David Pittenger, Executive Director of the National Aquarium in Baltimore noted that the challenge is to get more people excited about the wonder and mystery of the oceans.

Awardees included members of the Education/ Outreach Workgroup who developed the initial proposal, and representatives of the first five learning centers. The group was recognized for creativity and innovation in development of the idea, and making the program materialize into a network.

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