After the 2023 Cook Inlet Water Quality Summit in Anchorage, we surveyed Summit participants to get feedback on the most helpful follow-up gathering. Overwhelmingly, folks requested community-level discussions about water quality across Cook Inlet. This October several organizations are again partnering to host Cook Inlet Water Quality Summit follow-up community discussions in Anchorage and Homer, representing upper and lower Cook Inlet, for the purposes of:

Clarifying who is working on what locally, regionally, and Inlet-wide;
Identifying general information needs and data gaps across groups and determining if an existing group/project has information to fill that need/gap; and
Building connections and identifying potential collaborations at the local, regional, and Inlet-wide levels to address pressing needs.

Our target audiences are representatives of organizations and agencies whose work is related to, or affected by, Cook Inlet’s water quality, as well as participants from 2023 Cook Inlet Water Quality Summit. For each discussion topic, select individuals will provide a brief overview of their work relating to that topic, what their limitations are, and what they see as pressing needs, then there will be an open discussion about other pressing needs and potential collaborations. A report synthesizing the information obtained from all the meeting discussions will be shared with attendees and the general public via posting on AWA’s Cook Inlet Water Quality Summit webpage. Registration is free but required, please scroll down to register by October 25th.

AGENDA

9:00 - 9:10: Welcome, Introduction of Organizers, Meeting Goals, Review of Agenda Format

9:10 - 9:40 Introduction of Participants

9:40 - 10:10 Discussion Topic 1: Status of Cook Inlet Waters

10:10 - 10:20 Break

10:20 - 10:50 Discussion Topic 2: Status of Human Activities Affecting Cook Inlet Watershed

10:50 - 11:20 Discussion Topic 3: Status of Cook Inlet Fish & Wildlife

11:20 - 11:50 Discussion Topic 4: Regulatory or Political Issues of Cook Inlet’s Water Quality

11:50 - 12:00 Wrap-up, Next Steps, Thank You

LOCATIONS

October 28th, 2024: BP Energy Center, Alder/Cottonwood Room, 1014 Energy Ct, Anchorage

October 29th, 2024: Kachemak Bay Campus, Pioneer Hall Rooms 201/202, 533 E. Pioneer Ave, Homer

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST

Attendance is free but space is limited, so registration is required. NOTE: All information included below will be made public during the meeting and in the report to facilitate building connections and collaborations. Do not include information you do not want shared with others.

Select the community location you are registering for *

Anchorage - October 28th

Homer - October 29th

Your name as you want it to appear in printed materials *

First Name

Last Name

Your organization/affiliation *

Email *

Select the category that best describes your work within the Cook Inlet watershed (select all that apply)

Status of Cook Inlet Waters (including waters feeding into Cook Inlet)

Status of Human Activities Affecting Cook Inlet Watershed (includes Restoration/Pollution- Reducing Activities)

Status of Cook Inlet Fish & Wildlife

Regulatory or Political Issues of Cook Inlet’s Water Quality

None of the above - My work is not associated with Cook Inlet or its watershed

Select the general region of Cook Inlet where your work is focused (select one):

Cook Inlet-wide

Upper Cook Inlet

Lower Cook Inlet

None of the above - My work is not associated with Cook Inlet or its watershed

Is your work conducted in Cook Inlet or in the watershed feeding Cook Inlet?

My work is conducted in Cook Inlet or along its shoreline

My work is conducted in the watershed feeding Cook Inlet

None of the above - My work is not associated with Cook Inlet or its watershed

Please provide a brief (2-3 sentences) snapshot overview of what your work/interests are as it relates to Cook Inlet’s water quality

Do you have a specific update, identified data need, research study idea, collaboration request, or else something pertinent to the topic of Cook Inlet’s water quality that you would like a couple minutes to briefly share with the group? If yes, please identify which discussion topic you’d like to share that information. *

Yes - Status of Cook Inlet Waters (including waters feeding into Cook Inlet)

Yes - Status of Human Activities Affecting Cook Inlet Watershed (includes Restoration/Pollution- Reducing Activities)

Yes - Status of Cook Inlet Fish & Wildlife

Yes - Regulatory or Political Issues of Cook Inlet’s Water Quality

Are you interested in moderating one of the discussion topics? If so, which topic (select all that apply)?

Yes - Status of Cook Inlet Waters (including waters feeding into Cook Inlet)

Yes - Status of Human Activities Affecting Cook Inlet Watershed (includes Restoration/Pollution- Reducing Activities)

Yes - Status of Cook Inlet Fish & Wildlife

Yes - Regulatory or Political Issues of Cook Inlet’s Water Quality

Anything else we need to know?

Please let us know if you have any allergies, accessibility needs, or general comments for the planning committee.

Thank you for registering! If you have any questions, please email mandy@akwildlife.org.

2023 Cook Inlet Water Quality Summit

October 24 & 25, 2023, 9am-5pm at the Marriott Anchorage Downtown in Anchorage, Alaska

Cook Inlet is the most populated watershed in Alaska, home to a diverse array of people, cultures, wildlife, and economic interests. In October, we co-hosted a FREE two-day informational summit, where we shared knowledge on Cook Inlet water quality, biodiversity, research, regulations, policy and more. At this Summit, we sought to:

Improve understanding of the status of Cook Inlet waters and ecosystems
Improve understanding of the regulatory framework regarding water quality issues, and engagement with decision-makers
Identify data gaps and opportunities for collaboration
Share data concerning Cook Inlet water quality, for the benefit of people and wildlife

Scroll down to view the Program Book, complete with the Summit agenda, speaker bios, presentation abstracts and presentation slides.

If you would like a high resolution copy of the slides, please contact Mandy@akwildlife.org

(Program Book also available here)

The Cook Inlet Water Quality Summit’s planning committee includes representatives from these and other organizations:

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