“The Whale and the Supercomputer: On the Northern Front of Climate Change”

Charles presents an exploration of two kinds of knowledge about environmental change in the Arctic : scientific study, which uses field work and computer modeling to compile a picture of the Arctic system, and the traditional knowledge of Inupiat hunters, whose holistic appreciation of the dynamics of this system is based upon a millennia of experience and community sharing.

Charles Wohlforth is a life-long Alaska resident and, since 1993, a full-time freelance writer. After receiving a degree in English from Princeton in 1986, he worked as a newspaper reporter in Alaska . He was the lead reporter for the Anchorage Daily News on the Exxon Valdez oil spill and has written for many publications, including The New Republic , Outside and National Wildlife. Charles has four books in print, not including ghost writing and publications of his works which are included in anthologies.

Published by North Point Press / Farrar, Straus & Giroux in April 2004, Whale won The Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology, the American Meteorological Society’s Louis J. Battan Author’s Award, and the Alaska Library Association’s Outstanding Alaskana Award. It was cited for the Overseas Press Club of America’s Whitman Bassow Award, was a finalist for the Kiriyama Prize, and was listed as one of the year’s best books by Library Journal.

Wohlforth is married with four children. He also served two 3-year terms on the Anchorage Assembly, representing the city’s downtown area.

World Wildlife Fund
Senior Climate Change Scientist
Lara Hansen

Climate Change at the Top of the World – Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Lara shows us how climate change is literally changing the planet on which we live. The changes are being noticed from pole to pole, on land and in the water. This presentation will overview the effects we are seeing, some projections of what we might expect, and suggestions for appropriate conservation responses.

Dr. Lara Hansen has directed research on the biological effects of global change since 1990.  Her primary focus is the redesign of conservation strategies to incorporate responses to climate change. She is the principal investigator on a number of studies designed to assess the effects of climate change on coral reefs and evaluate possible adaptation strategies for responding to these effects.

She was the lead author/editor of a key text on the issue of natural system adaptation to climate change, Buying Time: A User's Manual for Building Resistance and Resilience to Climate Change in Natural Systems. Her research has also included examining the impacts of UV-B on marine organisms in Alaska , larval anuran species in California and marine bacteria in the Pacific.

She is the Chief Climate Change Scientist for World Wildlife Fund, leading their Impacts and Adaptations program. In addition to her research, she also shares her explanations of the effects of climate change to a broad audience including offering testimony to the U.S. Senate, lectures at academic institutions, and interviews with media outlets.

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University of Alaska Fairbanks
Professor of Forest Ecology
Glenn Juday

Climate Change and Climate Variability - Its Importance and Effects in the Forests of Alaska

Glenn will take us on an exploration of some of the terrestrial impacts of Climate Change. Glenn directs of the Tree-Ring Laboratory in the Forest Sciences Department in the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences at UA.

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Pacific Marine Environmental Lab Oceanographer
Carol Ladd

The Changing Bering Sea

Carol Ladd reports on observed and predicted changes to the Bering Sea which have been observed over the past few decades – including changes in winds, sea ice, and ocean temperatures. She will also discuss implications of this variability and projections for the future.

Dr. Carol Ladd is a physical oceanographer who’s worked for the Fisheries Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (FOCI) group at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. Her research focuses on the Gulf of Alaska, the Aleutian Passes, and the eastern Bering Sea.

Learn more about PMEL at http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/foci/

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Natural Resource Consultants Fisheries Biologist
Greg Ruggerone

Growth, Abundance, and Survival of Salmon in Response to Climate Change

Climate change is recognized as a key factor affecting salmon survival and abundance, yet potential mechanisms of how climate affects salmon populations typically lack empirical support. Several recent case studies are examined. The studies suggest that climate change effects salmon survival and abundance by influencing salmon growth and/or the abundance of predator or competitor species. Species interactions, life history patterns of salmon, and climate are important interactive factors that ultimately affect salmon survival. However, detection of these complex effects and interactions requires long-term data sets and adequate experimental controls.

Dr. Greg Ruggerone has studied salmon population dynamics, ecology, and management in Alaska since 1979. In recent years, he has been investigating the capacity of the ocean (and freshwater) to support salmon populations in response to climate change, interactions with other salmon species, and stock-specific life history patterns of salmon.

Visit http://home.comcast.net/~ruggerone/Publications.html.

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Native Village of Unalakleet
Watershed Coordinator
Henry Oyoumick

Evidence of Change

Henry will share information relating to the Unalakleet Climate Change project and how the community has seen changes over the life span of some of the town’s elders. Henry will relate the importance of the bond between the youth and elders and explain how we need to work together in order to continue preservation. Henry believes that it is through teaching and learning from each other that we can make an impact on a global level.

Henry Oyoumick is a retired high school science and math teacher from the village of Unalakleet .  He works with the Native Village of Unalakleet as their watershed coordinator and also coordinates WWF Coastal Communities for Science projects in his community. Henry currently holds “too many” titles and has been given the task of being the acting general manager for Native Village of Unalakleet. Henry, an Inupiaq Eskimo, has a strong bond to our natural environment and relies upon its resources for many reasons.

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Marine Mammal Experts
Brendan Kelly and Bruce Robson

Bering Sea Marine Mammals and Climate Change

Kelly and Robson will present an overview of northern fur seal foraging patterns in the Bering Sea and address the potential effects of persistent changes in water temperature on fur seal foraging patterns and the implications for the Pribilof ecosystem.  This will be followed by a brief summary of community-based research and monitoring projects on the Pribilof Islands .  These local efforts can serve as examples of potential monitoring frameworks for discussion of community-based strategies to understand and monitor the effects of environmental changes in the region.

Dr. Kelly is Vice Provost for Research and Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Alaska Southeast . Dr. Kelly has been studying polar marine mammals for the past 30 years. He spends spring months camped on the Arctic sea ice studying the ecology of ice-associated marine mammals.

Bruce Robson is a contract biologist with WWF with extensive Bering Sea experience acquired through employment with the National Marine Mammal Laboratory and work with St. Paul and St. George Island traditional councils.

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Supervisory Wildlife Biologist,
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Vernon Byrd

Vernon introduces Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge which was established for the conservation and restoration of marine mammals, marine birds, and other migratory birds including those unique to the region. To accomplish this the refuge biological program includes: a monitoring program to track changes in key species, research aimed at understanding of ecosystem processes that cause change, and invasive species management including preventing further introductions of invasive species (like rats) and eradicating non native species (like introduced foxes) in order to restore the native biological diversity on refuge islands.

Vernon had studies Sea Birds in the North Pacific, Aleutian Islands, and Bering Sea for over two decades with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Gary Kofinas

Local communities of rural Alaska today face a suite of rapid and extensive changes that threaten their long-term sustainability. I will explore aspects of today’s social-ecological community change, and present ideas on ways of linking monitoring, research, and co-management to build resilience at the local level. I draw on examples of several programs under way in northeastern Alaska and the Western Canadian Arctic.

Gary is a faculty member at UAF Department of Resources Management and the Institute of Arctic Biology, where he coordinates the UAF Resilience and Adaptation Graduate Program.  His research focuses on community sustainability, community-based ecological monitoring, and co-management.  See: http://www.rap.uaf.edu/kofinas/HRS/index.htm

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Alaska Conservation Solutions President
Deborah Williams

Facing the Future - Deborah will speak at Monday evening’s reception about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Deborah has been actively involved in conservation and sustainable community issues in Alaska for over 25 years. She is President of Alaska Conservation Solutions, an organization that is devoted primarily to addressing global warming.

Ms. Williams represented the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska. Between 1981 and 1994, Ms. Williams was the Executive Director of the Alaska Consumer Advocacy Program and of the Alaska Lung Association.

In 1994, Ms. Williams became the Special Assistant to the Secretary of Interior for Alaska, in which position she advised the Secretary about managing over 220 million acres of national lands in Alaska and working with Alaska tribes. For over six year, Ms. Williams served as the Executive Director of the Alaska Conservation Foundation.

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Henry Huntington Consulting, Eagle River , Alaska
Henry Huntington

Using Traditional and Scientific Knowledge Together

Henry will use examples to show how traditional and scientific observations of change are complementary. He’ll then explore how changes in society constrain adaptation and conclude with a discussion of communication needs.

Henry Huntington is an independent researcher from Eagle River , Alaska . His work usually addresses various ways that people interact with their environment, including subsistence, traditional knowledge, climate change, and conservation. He has worked in many communities in Alaska and also in other Arctic countries.

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Cook Inletkeeper
Sue Mauger

Studying Climate and Land-Use Impacts on Kenai Peninsula Salmon Streams

Sue will share Cook Inletkeeper's efforts to study climate and land-use impacts on salmon streams of the lower Kenai Peninsula during Tuesday’s core group meeting.

Sue joined Inletkeeper in Summer 2000, and has considerable experience in water chemistry, water quality monitoring and macro invertebrate assessment.  Sue holds a B.S. in Zoology from Duke University and a M.S. in Fisheries Science from Oregon State University .

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