NOSB 2003 Research Project: Coastal Community Development

2003 student research papers

Historically, the economy of Alaska has been strongly dependent on resource extraction and utilization, including oil, timber, fish, precious metals, and fur-bearing mammals. Facing restrictions or limited supply of these raw resources, coastal communities must seek out new approaches to achieve a sustainable economy and healthy coastal ecosystem. Many of Alaska's coastal communities are small and lacking in the basic infrastructure common in the lower 48 states, and thus, solutions will not be easy. However, the alternative response of abandonment of established communities, as experienced by the mining industry in interior Alaska or military establishments in the Aleutians, would be even more devastating.

Coastal communities in western Alaska, which depend on salmon for commercial, sport, and subsistence harvests are struggling to survive because of poor returns, unpredictable harvests, and low prices driven by competition with foreign salmon farms. In southeastern Alaska, many coastal communities have been economically hard hit by restrictions on timber harvesting in the Tongass National Forest. In southcentral and southeastern Alaska, the tourism industry has brought increasing demands on coastal resources and water quality. Coastal communities in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands will likely see significant impact on the groundfish fisheries in response to the provisions of the Endangered Species Act enacted to protect the threatened Steller Sea Lion.

• 2003 student research papers

• Research project description

• Document preparation guidelines

• Judging criteria

• Why a research project?

• Past research papers (archives)

The Research Project

This project will count as 50 percent of the 2003 Alaska Region NOSB competition. The document will be worth 25 percent and the oral presentation of the project will count as 25 percent toward the 50-percent total.

The Topic
The research project for the 2003 Tsunami Bowl will be to:

1. Determine the most important challenges or problems facing your coastal community (or a coastal community that your team chooses) and the coastal ecosystem supporting that community;

2. Develop a novel development plan for addressing one or more of those challenges that minimizes impacts of human-induced changes on the coastal ecosystem while providing a means for sustainable coastal economy. Your plan should include research and educational needs, as any new industry or major changes in the existing ones should strive to involve the local population and resources.

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