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The Marine Debris Program Conducts Site Visits and Field Cleanups with Partners in Alaska

AUGUST 25, 2017--After a series of Congressional briefings with the Alaska delegation, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff met with long-term partner NGO's in Kodiak and Homer as part of a week-long visit to the region by the Program Director, Nancy Wallace. 

Two people walk down a path.
The MDP team traveled to Long Island off of Kodiak to conduct a debris cleanup with partner, Island Trails Network. Image credit: NOAA.

Nancy, along with Peter Murphy, the Alaska Regional Coordinator, met in Kodiak with Island Trails Network (ITN), a local group that blends a trail and wilderness conservation focus with marine debris cleanup operations throughout the Kodiak Archipelago. In addition to conducting field cleanup on a local outlying island, the MDP team met with local SeaGrant agents as well as an NGO that coordinates local recycling while providing jobs to individuals facing barriers to employment.

In Homer, the team met with Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies (CACS), a group that leads marine debris outreach efforts in Homer, the Kenai Peninsula and beyond.  Most recently, CACS has received MDP funding to initiate a zero-waste program in local schools, where students measure the waste generation in in their school and then identify ways to reduce that waste through direct action such as retiring single-use trays or utensils. To wrap up, the MDP visited the Peterson Bay Field Station, a CACS facility across Kachemak Bay that is used as a base for experiential teaching and field projects. This visit from the MDP demonstrated to partners and the Alaska delegation that the program is dedicated to addressing marine debris along Alaska’s remote and logistically challenging coast.

For additional information, please contact Peter.Murphy@noaa.gov.

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People meeting in a room.
The MDP team met with partners at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies in Homer to learn about their zero-waste program in local schools. Image credit: NOAA.
Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:51pm PST