The mission of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies is to foster responsible interactions with our natural

surroundings and to generate knowledge of the marine and coastal ecosystems of Mission Kachemak Bay

through environmental education and research programs.

Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc. 2OO8 ANNUAL REPORT

Bringing You the Nature of Alaska since 1982

CelebratingYears ofEducation, Stewardship, and Researchin Kachemak Bay

25

Honoring the Past Three “Octopus Octogenarian Awards” were pre-sented to Barbara Hill, Daisy Lee Bitter, and Toby Tyler (shown above), volunteers from the begin-ning. Founders Michael & Diane McBride, Steve Yoshida, and Janet Klein were also honored.

Looking Forward to the FuturePlanning for the next 25 years is underway. CACS received the sponsorship of the Rasmuson Foundation to take part in a “pre-development project” that will bring the planning resources needed to envision and create the blueprint (and reduced carbon footprint) for the Peterson Bay Field Station of the future.

Still GrowingCACS reached more than 12,000 people di-rectly in 2007, an 18% increase over 2006. In the last decade, participation has more than tripled! School and coastal stewardship pro-grams reached 25 Alaskan communities in 2007 and thousands of visitors from throughout the world were immersed in our unique Kachemak Bay environments.

I am proud to end 2007 as the President of the CACS Board – although Kat Haber’s hard work and dedication is a hard act to follow!

CACS is our “diamond in the rough.” We have a jewel to which hun-dreds of volunteers and staff have given unselfishly. We have grown into an internationally- recognized organization that has provided a variety of field trips, opportunities, and experiences to more than 12,000 people in 2007.

I’m certain that CACS has made a difference in thousands of lives over the past 25 years. With our volunteers and an expanded staff, we have grown and left a large positive footprint in our community and Kachemak Bay. We have also become an important force in Alaska, the state we all love. With your continuing support, our organization will continue to grow and expand.

There are many ways to continue your support - volunteer two-five hours/month during the busy summer season, contribute to the financial support for our great staff and programs, establish a planned gift as a legacy of your love and concern for the environment – all will make CACS sparkle!

Board & Staff

2007 Board of DirectorsKathryn Haber, President

Derek Stonorov, Vice-PresidentBusiness Owner/

Bear Viewing Guide

Karen Marquardt, SecretaryRealtor

Lorna Olson, TreasurerRetired Financial Planner

Michael AllenDev. Director, Cook Inletkeeper

David AplinEducation Program Coordinator

World Wildlife Fund

Barbara HillRetired Teacher

Curt OlsonRetired Financial Planner

W. Scott PegauResearch Coordinator,

Kachemak Bay Res. Reserve

StaffMarilyn Sigman

Executive Director

Elisa Russ & Alida DunnBusiness Managers

Bree MurphyProgram Coordinator

Beth TrowbridgeWNC Coordinator/Educator

Wynn Nature CenterJean Gilson

Emily Johnson Naturalists

Chloe Birnel, Intern

Peterson Bay Field StationKara Johanssen

Courtney JohnsonEnvironmental Educators

Dan Pascucci, Summer Program Coordinator

Katie Gavenus, Naturalist

David Jacob, Intern

CACS is thriving and strong after 25 years as a community-based non-profit organization. Our longevity dem-

onstrates that the original vision was compelling and that it inspired the day-by-day, year-by-year, decade-by-decade work to implement it. Our success is measured in the people we reach, but it depends on what people bring and give of themselves to the organization to make it what it is and what it will be. Most of all, you, our support-ers, have contributed your passion - for the wonderful, rich, natural place that is Kachemak Bay; for perpetual discovery, and for sharing the natural world with children and anyone else willing to take a walk and experience and learn.

Cayenna AndersonDave AplinCatherine Baker, VFAHeather BeggsPoppy BensonLarry BonfiglioMartha BriscoDolores ButlerSusan ClardyRob Clark, VFAMick ColgrovePhilip CowanKevin DevaneyDaniel DoolitteBrenda & Kathryn DolmaPatrick Doolin

Miriam ElizondoLayton EmkeCraig FeinsteinBarrett & Iris FletcherShelly FogelKatie GilsonDana GuidiThe Haber FamilyJohn & Rachel HannanFred HarnischIngrid HarraldKathy & Roger HerrnsteenBarbara HillJohnnie JonesRich KleinlederRichard Krieger

Barbara LandiKaren MarquardtMarianne MarquardtLee MayhanJake McCleanThomas McDonoughBree MurphyDave NelsonCurt & Lorna OlsonDavid OrabuttTed OtisGina PalmerThe Fedora-Palmer FamilyJani PepeLawrence RadcliffeSierra Roberts

Joyce RobinetteElisa & Chris RussJoan SmileySimyra TabackBeth Trowbridge & her familyLars TurnerToby TylerKyra & Neil WagnerElizabeth WassermanHelen WatsonDon WilliamsonBP Environmental TeamWest Coast ConnectionsTrinity Church GroupBoy Scout Troup 555

Total 2007 Volunteer Hours: 1680 hours, valued at $29,685

2007 Special Friends, Our Volunteers

Director’s Message

2 Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc. www.AKCoastalStudies.org

Marilyn SignmanExecutive Director

Curt OlsonPresident

President’s Message

2007 Kachemak Bay CoastWalk Set Records 397 Coast Walkers 1,003 Volunteer Hours 310 People reached by educational presentations 33 Miles of Beach Walked

1,800 Pounds of Trash Removed(compared to average of 1,000 pounds/year, 2001-2005)

The 23rd Annual Kachemak Bay CoastWalk was the most successful ever in terms of the number of people who

participated in the CoastWalk, the number of people reached through educational programs, and the amount of trash col-lected from Kachemak Bay beaches.

CACS CoastWalk Educator Bree Murphy spent 10 days in July on the clean-up of Gore Point within Kachemak Bay State Wilderness Park on the Gulf of Alaska. She returned eager to tell her story to inspire both beach clean-ups and choices to use less plastic, particularly water bottles. She and local reporter Michael Armstrong, who also volun-teered for the clean-up, created a Pow-erPoint presentation and assembled a collection of “artifacts.” Containers and fishing gear with words in English, Jap-anese, Korean, and other languages illustrated the global na-ture of marine debris and the prevailing ocean currents that bring marine debris to Gulf of Alaskan shores.

I never knew that trash was plastic, and now that I think about it a lot of things you see in trash is made

out of plastic! I am going to try real hard to cut down on the plastic I am using.

I learned that trash can travel far, like across the world.I learned that a lot of nets and plastics that fall

into the ocean can harm our animals.When I’m growing up, I want to clean parts of Alaska too. -comments from students

Talking Trash . . . and Taking Action

CACS awarded $14,000 through eleven marine debris “challenge grants” to schools, tribes, and organizations

in Homer, Seldovia, Kenai, Soldotna, Seward, Kodiak, Haines, Unalaska, and Anchorage (Gore Point clean-up).

CACS standardized the reporting of the results of the clean-ups which documented 22 miles of beaches and 13 miles of streams cleaned up by 670 volunteers, who contributed more than 2100 volunteer hours. Just over 6.5 tons pounds of debris were collected by the community groups in addi-tion to 21 tons collected at Gore Point.

First Alaskan Coastal Stewardship Conference Held in Homer

60 people | 13 Alaskan coastal communities

Beth Trowbridge coordinated a CACS-sponsored coastal stewardship conference in Homer on February 16-18,

2007. The conference featured keynote presentations on the issues of marine debris and the effects of climate change on the spread of marine invasive species. Presentations on tools and methods for addressing these issues and for citizen sci-ence monitoring followed. CACS staff facilitated discussions about priority issues and needs for resources to address the issues at the local level.

In addition to CACS, partners providing presentations and items for a commu-nity response “tool kit” included the Ma-rine Conservation Alliance Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Ka-sitsna Bay Lab, Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, Cook Inletkeeper, the Sea Otter Commission, and the University of Wash-ington Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) program.

K-12 Coastal Stewardship Education

As a partner in the revision of what was formerly known as the Sea Week program, CACS hosted and helped in-

struct a two-week teacher workshop at Kasitsna Bay Lab in June. Nine teachers from around the state wrote new Alaska Seas and Rivers teaching units that are available online and aligned with state education standards.

As a result of CACS involvement and Homer teacher Sheryl Sotelo, the grade 5 unit, “Humans and the Ocean,” will include activities related to a CoastWalk-type survey and clean-up of beaches or streams, and follow-up stewardship actions.

School Beach Steward Awards:Sheryl Sotelo & McNeil ElementaryMargi Blanding & Homer Middle SchoolBrenda Dolma & Fireweed Academy

Coastal stewardship activities were supported by grants from the NOAA Community-based Marine Debris Clean-up and Prevention Program, National Fish and Wildlife Founda-

tion, World Wildlife Fund, and UAF Alaska Sea Grant.

““

Statewide Leader in Community-based

Coastal Stewardship

2008 ANNUAL REPORT 3

CACS Headquarters Building978 people served

The Headquarters Building at 708 Smokey Bay Way pro-vides year-round administrative and logistical support,

storage, and seasonal housing for staff. It also hosts dis-plays and special programs. In 2007, these included 25th anniversary events, a photographic exhibit of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a Shorebird Festival reception, a CoastWalk kick-off event, and volunteer gatherings and trainings. More than 500 people dropped in to learn more about programs and the organization.

The Headquarters Building is the CACS base for outreach beyond its facilties. Outreach occurs through publica-tions, on the web at http://www.akcoastalstudies.org, at conferences in other communities, and with partners at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center.

Education & Stewardship at Wynn Nature Center

4090 people served

4 Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc. www.AKCoastalStudies.org

Wynn staff and volunteers were busy all summer complet-ing projects:

New benches at the entrance dedicated as a a memo-•rial to Carl WynnAn expanded deck on the Daisy Lee Bitter cabin•Completion of the Billie Fischer Cottonwood Trail (be-•gun in 2006) with the help of the West Coast Connec-tion youth groups, the BP Environmental Team, and other volunteersCompletion of tactile signs and a rope pathway for the •Visually Impaired Trail leading from the parking lot and around the boardwalk

Wynn staff also began conducting interviews for the Carl Wynn Oral History Project funded by a grant from the Alas-ka Humanities Forum. The collection of interviews will tell the story about the ecology, land use and changing atti-tudes of homesteaders and traditional users of the area in and around the Carl E. Wynn Nature Center.

Chloe Birnel reads to the Knee-high Naturalists.

It was an exciting year for growth in visitation and participa-tion in programs at Wynn Nature Center. Compared to 2006,

twice as many self-guided hikers enjoyed the wildflowers and views, twice as many BioKids (ages 5-10), and four times as many Knee-high Naturalists (the pre-school set) listened to a story, did a craft and went on a short hike to explore butter-flies, wildflowers, bears, and more. A successful Wildlife Wyn-ners program included a bear presentation by Elizabeth Was-serman with the National Park Service, digital photography of wildflowers with photographer Richard Kreiger and Dutch Oven cooking with Craig Feinstein. The food and participation were great at monthly wild/edible potlucks.

Activities at the Wynn Nature Center are not just confined to the summer! Throughout the year Wynn sponsored programs and events that educated people about the plants and animals of the Wynn Nature Center. Once-a-month preschool story hour presentations at the Homer Public Library focused on topics such as moose, snowshoe hare, snow, and spruce trees and reached more than 307 kids and parents.

During September and October, DeWaine Tollefsrud and Cath-erine Baker, volunteer from England, led school field trips for another 350 Homer students in grades K-6 about habitats, tra-ditional uses of plants and forest succession.

Other programs at the Paul Banks Elementary School for Math/Science Nights, Summer Program Fairs and winter programs up at the Wynn Nature Center reached 216 people.

Activities at Wynn Nature Center are supported by the Carl E. Wynn Foundation and several individual donors.

Education & Stewardship at Peterson Bay Coastal Science Field Station

1874 people served

2007 was an especially far-reaching school group season. 1,054 students from 21 Alaska communities participated

in one – three day Alaska Coastal Ecology, Onboard Oceanog-raphy, and Beluga Wetlands field trips. They came from Kenai Peninsula schools, from Anchorage, Palmer, Talkeetna, and Fairbanks; and from as far away as False Pass and Holy Cross.

The dynamic programs offered by the Centerfor Alaskan Coastal Studies have incredibly long

lasting and positive impacts on students of all ages. -Talkeetna teacher Joe Page, veteran of 25 years of Kachemak Bay field trips

School program support was provided by the Alaska Conservation Foundation, ConocoPhillips Alaska, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, the Studebaker Environmental

Education Fund, and American Seafoods, Inc.

The Field Station hosted 664 participants in summer tours and special education programs, including those in special pro-grams provided to groups such as the BP Environmental Pro-gram Team, Girdwood Science Camp, Project GRAD and a Gore Range Natural Science School leadership group.

A new Whale Camp program for ages 9-12 was sandwiched between two sessions of Jr. Naturalist Camp for the same age group. Whale Campers, both kids and parents, spent two days at the Field Station engaged in interactive programs on whale natural history, behavior, adaptations and conservation. The camp culminated in a very exciting all-day whale-watching trip on the Bay.

Capital improvements to the Field Station involved building boardwalk trails between the yurts and the lodge building, re-building one yurt platform, building a new yurt platform, and commissioning a new yurt from Nomad Shelters in Homer. CACS volunteers, including 40 teens from the West Coast Con-nections Service/Learning Camp, moved five tons of lumber and built the boardwalks.

““

The Yurt on the Spit2285 people served

The Yurt on the Spit is the CACS facility on Homer Spit during the summer. It has become “the place to go” for

information about our summer programs and tours, to find octopus t-shirts and mugs, and to learn more about the or-ganization and its activities. Some 1,585 people “dropped in” at the yurt this summer.

The most fun you can have on the Spit for $5.

The yurt was also the base this summer for an additional 700 people to participate in Creatures of the Dock tours, led by Jane Tollefsrud in the Homer Small Boat Harbor, and in special events for Sea Fest and the Shorebird Festival.

Future Directions:More programming at Kasitsna Bay Laboratory, east of Sel-•dovia. In 2007, CACS piloted 16 days of programming for K-12 students, teachers, and lifelong learners.“Pre-development” planning for renovating and upgrading •the Field Station with support of the Rasmuson Foundation and Foraker Group.

2007 capital projects were supported by the Homer, Rasmuson, and Norcross Wildlife Foundations.

2008 ANNUAL REPORT 5

““

ACF Conservation Intern David Jacob builds boardwalks with WCC teen volunteers.

Katie Gavenus introduces Junior Naturalists to the world of sea stars.

General Support

Kachemak Circle$1,000 or more June & Daniel Constantine and BP Employer Match George & Lucy Cutting Shelby Collum Davis Foundation Gene Sykes/Sykes Family Foundation

Wildflower Meadow $250 - $999 Michael & Nina Allen Karin Borgh Neil & Cathy Borman Dr. Keith BrownsbergerRoger & Denise ClyneShirley Fedora & Bill Palmer BP Employer MatchSusan Cutting/Calvert FundArthur Gelfand Gelfand Family Foundation Richard & Leanne KriegerCat Larrea & Mark McDermottPeter & Flo LarsonJackie NorvellDavid & Marga Raskin

Mussel Bedfellows $100 – 249 Will Files & Martha Ellen Anderson Kat & Steve HaberFrank & Lisina HochKaren HolserBarbara & Pat McBrideDiane & Jim MahaffeyMilli MartinDenise & Mark Mulholland HSBC Employer MatchOsher Lifelong Learning Institute GroupDr. Bill & Kathy RobertsMichael & Lenore RobertsJoyce RobinetteFred & Carolyn Strand

SeedbankUp to $99The Brown FamilyMcKenzie HaberGeorge KapolkaNancy LevinsonSusan MacFarlanRichard O’DeaSteve SchultzMarilyn SigmanLarry & Sherilynn TeagueToby TylerLorraine Wells in honor of Roger ClyneDouglas & Katherine Zang

Land AcquisitionPeterson Bay Field Station

Octopus Circle $1,000 or more Michael and Diane McBride Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge Curt & Lorna Olson through the Homer FoundationDonna Wong

Sea Star Cluster $100 - 249 Dr. Ed & Janice Todd

Plankton Bloom$100 – 249 Karen Marquardt

Barnacle Colony Up to $99 Ed Bailey & Nina Faust Maureen “Mo” Didion

6 Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc. www.AKCoastalStudies.org

25th Anniversary Fund

Goal: $25,000Amount Raised: $30,932

Many donors helped us exceed

our goal of $25,000. The 25th

Anniversary Fund had three purposes:

general support, land acquisition, and

a viewing platfrom at Wynn Nature

Center.

Marilyn Sigman, CACS Executive Director, speaks to 200 people who celebrated the 25th Anniversary at a July Block Party in front of the Homer Headquarters Building.

Toby Tyler Platform

Cottonwood Circle $1,000 or moreMarilyn Tyler CarruthersBillie FischerJohn & Rika Mouw

Willow Stand$500 – 999Barbara HillRichard & Leanne KriegerJane Little

Fireweed Family$100 - $499Billie Fischer in honor of: Daisy Lee Bitter Barbara Hill Toby Tyler

A Gathering of MossUp to $99Edith HawkeyJack & Mary LentferJon and Sara PetersonDon & Linda SusensToby Tyler

Other Major ContributorsJeannie SherwoodBarbara Baker Neal & Kyra Wagner AK Northern Lights

2008 ANNUAL REPORT 7

2007 Grantors & DonorsAlaska Conservation FoundationStudebaker Family Env. Ed. FundAlaska Humanities ForumAlaska Railroad CorporationADNR State ParksAlaska USA Fed.Credit UnionAmerican Seafoods, Inc.ConocoPhillips AlaskaExxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustees Council Kachemak Bay Research ReserveThe Homer Foundation City of Homer Non-profit Grant ProgramMoose Habitat, Inc.National Fish & Wildlife FoundationNOAANorcross Wildlife Foundation, Inc. Rasmuson FoundationShelby Collum Davis FoundationWells Fargo BankWorld Wildlife FundCarl E. Wynn Foundation

Special Thanks for Donations: Karl Stoltzfus and Julia Clymer, Bay Excursions, boat transportation

Curt & Lorna Olson, cabinets

Daisy Lee Bitter & Diane & Barbara McBride, Kachemak Currents radio program

Rich Kleinleder, bird identification trainings

Daisy Lee Bitter & Martha Briscoe, staff housing

Seldovia Village Tribe, Marine Migration dinner

Michael and Diane McBride, Kache-mak Bay Wilderness Lodge; Ric and Laura Betance, Halibut Cove Lodge; lodging for Gore Range group

Jon Faulkner, Land’s End fund-raising event

Barrett Fletcher, labor

And many individuals and business owners for auction items

Special Educational ToursWe arranged two special multi-day tours in August. Outgoing Board Presi-dent Kat Haber arranged a five-day benefit trip for Board members and supporters of the Gore Range Natural Science School in Vail, Colorado. They shared meals and stories with CACS Board members, stayed in across-the-bay lodges, went bear-viewing, took our Field Station natural history tour, and cruised the Bay to Seldovia during our fifth annual Otterly Decadent Ma-rine Migration fund-raiser.

A group from the Osher Lifelong Learn-ing Institute in Fairbanks spent a day in Homer and four days at Kasitsna Bay Lab. Marilyn Sigman and Bree Murphy led tidepooling at Jakalof Bay and ar-ranged whale-watching and kayaking tours and a guided historical tour of Seldovia.

Total In-kind Donations valued at $21,106photo © Jennifer Wardes

Volunteer Awards:Volunteer of the Year: Richard KriegerGolden Level Award: Ben GibsonWynn Trail Crew Boss Award: Toby TylerIron Chef Award: Craig FeinsteinYouth Service Award:

West Coast Connections, Volunteers for Alaska Lawn King: Larry BonfiglioPeterson Bay Ice-carving Awards:

Lawrence Radcliffe & David Aplin“Super Hosts” Award: Kat & Steve Haber“Cover the World with Paint” Beautification Awards:

Catherine Baker, Lorna Olson, Kat HaberBusiness Partner Awards:

Scott Burbank & Susan Aramovich, St. Augustine’s Kayaks and Tours; Jack Montgomery & Fran Quin-lan, Rainbow Connection; Nancy Hillstrand, Coal Point Seafoods

ProgramGrantsDonationsMembershipPromo/Other

Unrestricted Revenue and Support $509,080

Program 42%Grants 30%Donations 23%Membership 2%Promo/Other 3%

Individuals 53%Foundations 30%Government 12%Corporations 7%Other 3%

ProgramFundraisingGen./Admin.

Unrestricted Operating Expenses $459,102

Program 85%Fundraising 4%Gen./Admin. 11%

Alaska Community Share - workplace giving program including the Combined Federal Campaign

Homer Foundation - pass-through grants and donations

Special Thanks to:

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit #40

Homer, AK 99603

Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc.P. O. Box 2225Homer, AK 99603(907) 235-6667 (p) (907) 235-6668 (f )info@akcoastalstudies.org

www.AKCoastalStudies.org

Richard Krieger2007 Volunteer of the Year

Printed on 50% recycled paper.