Surfrider Washington Policy Manager, Peter Steelquist, just returned from an amazing visit to Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula! He met up with the Kenai Peninsula Chapter for the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. Set amidst the backdrop of beautiful Homer, whose incredible landscapes and waters are threatened by the Trump administration’s mandated offshore drilling lease proposals.
Surfrider’s first Alaska chapter was started two years ago by a group of diehard volunteers who wanted to bring Surfrider’s recreation and conservation ethos to Alaska’s cold waters. The chapter has been hosting monthly beach cleanups on the Homer Spit and around the Kenai Fjords. The waters surrounding the Kenai Fjords are teeming with wildlife, including sea otters, puffins, beluga whales, orca whales, and hundreds of species of migrating shorebirds that return every year because of the pristine landscapes and nutrient-rich waters.
Alaska is the seafood capital of the world, and it’s no secret that the entire region relies on clean water and healthy ecosystems to support community resilience, commercial fisheries, tourism, Alaska Native communities, and a huge recreation economy. Homer and the surrounding Kenai Peninsula are also hotspots for outdoor recreation, including surfing, kite surfing, wing foiling, and free diving.
The waters off the Kenai Peninsula are included in the Trump administration’s offshore drilling proposal. The idea that this pristine place could be dotted with offshore oil rigs, see increased tanker traffic, or, in a worst-case scenario, experience a catastrophic oil spill, is unthinkable. The dangers that offshore drilling would bring to this area are immense.
Alaska is already ground zero for the effects of climate change, experiencing some of the fastest rates of warming in the country. The Frontier State is the front line for sea level rise, melting permafrost, and changes in weather patterns - investing in more fossil fuel extraction will only exacerbate these problems.
During our recent Coastal Recreation Hill Days, Surfrider Alaska was able to leverage the strength of our chapter into meetings with the offices of Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Alaska’s sole House member, Congressman Nick Begich III, to discuss the importance of clean water for recreation, including surfing, diving, and dip netting. We also spoke extensively about the importance of NOAA funding for everything from weather forecasting programs, to the Kachemack Bay NERR (National Estuary Research Reserve), to AK Sea Grant. These programs provide cutting-edge research that directly helps Alaska’s fisheries and maritime industries function. We also had productive conversations about the overreach of federal mandates to increase offshore drilling and the disproportionate number of leases located in Alaskan waters.
Our Alaska Hill Days delegation meeting with Senator Murkowski's office
It’s inspiring to see such dedicated volunteers protecting some of the wildest and most spectacular shorelines in the world, in a place where the relationship to the ocean is deeply interwoven with daily life. A huge shoutout to our Kenai Peninsula Chapter for all of their hard work and dedication to protecting Alaska’s ocean, waves, and beaches.