Eagle Scout - AWA Collaboration to Reduce Vessel Strikes on Critically Endangered Cook Inlet Beluga Whales
This summer, AWA partnered with Brady Guinn, an Eagle Scout candidate with Scout Troop 603, who is working to reduce propeller strikes and noise disturbance for critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales.
Over the past few weeks, Brady and AWA worked together to design signs that remind boaters of belugas in the Kenai river and give them tips to reduce their impact on these endangered whales. The City of Kenai has been a strong supporter of the project, providing suggestions for sign locations and approving their installation on the Kenai docks.
Brady also built a GoFundMe page to raise $1,500 for the project. He is still a few hundred under his goal - click the link to help! All funds go towards materials for his project, and any extra funds will be donated to the Alaska Wildlife Alliance to support our beluga recovery work. Thanks to our members and volunteers, AWA has worked to improve Cook Inlet beluga populations through a variety of programs: community monitoring, Endangered Species Act listing, research, and our beluga text alert system for the Kenai and Kasilof rivers.
Last weekend, Brady and his troop printed and installed the signs with AWA’s Kenai Coordinator, Teresa Becher. Check out Riley Board’s coverage of the installation, Texas scout troop visits Kenai to promote beluga protection!
Thank you to Boy Scout troop 603 for helping us make the Kenai river a safer place for these beloved whales, to the volunteers who keep eyes on this important habitat, the City of Kenai, KDLL, the AWA staff and volunteers who coordinated this effort, and AWA members for making this work possible!
