Alaska's coastal region, world renowned for its productivity and scenic value, attracts a rapidly growing tourist industry. Fish produced in the region's coastal waters support commercial and sport fisheries worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually. This resource-rich area also supports the traditional, subsistence based lifestyles of many indigenous Americans. Nationally and globally significant populations of many waterfowl, seabirds, and marine mammals depend on the coastal regions of Alaska for all or part of their life cycles.
The Alaska RIT serves three functions in identifying and conducting projects related to the themes listed above: (1) acting as a forum to discuss resource problems and opportunities; (2) reviewing ongoing or proposed agency projects that originate outside of the Alaska RIT for possible inclusion as a Coastal America project; and (3) developing ideas for Coastal America projects and partnerships and their implementation.
Proposals for Coastal America projects are brought to the Alaska RIT by a lead federal agency. The Alaska RIT members from that agency must ensure that the proposal meets applicable Coastal America criteria. At least three Alaska RIT members must endorse each proposal without significant dissent before its inclusion on a Project Working List. The lead agency's representative on the Alaska RIT and endorsing RIT members then share responsibility for pursuing funding within their agencies and with other partners. The Alaska RIT recognizes that, on occasion, a proposal may originate from a non-federal partner outside the RIT. In that event, the Chairperson of the Alaska RIT takes the lead on coordinating proposal review, endorsement and funding with other RIT members.
The Alaska RIT monitors progress of approved projects and prepares status reports as requested by the NIT and the Coastal America Office. The lead agency representative is responsible for providing information to the chairperson for transmission to the NIT.
The current focus of the Alaska RIT's strategy is the restoration of freshwater anadromous fish habitats and nearshore marine habitats, and the protection of migratory bird and marine mammal populations. The Alaska RIT also favors an ecosystem approach to resource conservation, with an emphasis upon partnerships in their development. However, because anadromous fish, an important coastal resource in Alaska, may migrate hundreds of miles into interior Alaska and Canada, the Alaska RIT needs to define a coastal area in which to concentrate its activities. In general, the Alaska RIT will limit its activities to coastal areas within the existing Coastal Districts defined under the Alaska Coastal Zone Management Program. While Coastal America projects may occur anywhere within this extensive area, the focus of current projects is in South Central Alaska (Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound), the North Slope, and in the Aleutian Islands.
To date, the Alaska RIT has undertaken projects to benefit anadromous fish habitat through such efforts as bank stabilization and protection on the Kenai River. This particular project has also emphasized public outreach to educate the local community through their school system.