[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 189 (Thursday, December 19, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S7238]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  25th ANNIVERSARY OF KACHEMAK BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine 
Research Reserve, or (KBNERR), has enhanced appreciation and 
understanding of Alaska's Kachemak Bay ecosystem for a generation, 
allowing for tremendous research, partnerships, and educational 
programs to develop. Given it is the 25th anniversary of the Reserve, 
it is appropriate to acknowledge the importance of protecting and 
studying the area, while also commending the work done across the 
National Estuarine Research Reserve System.
  The establishment of this Reserve in 1999, which is the largest in 
the system, has ensured that 372,000 acres of Kachemak Bay's coasts and 
estuaries are studied through place-based learning and locally driven 
research questions. Research and long-term monitoring of the bay's 
complex ecosystem and surrounding watershed provide communities the 
information they need to be stewards of natural resources in the region 
and respond to changing conditions. Additionally, as a sentinel site 
for the Gulf of Alaska, work done at KBNERR informs natural resource 
management across Alaska and the Nation.
  As part of the University of Alaska Anchorage's Alaska Center for 
Conservation Science, KBNERR researchers actively participate in 
community outreach and, through training and education programs, ensure 
that scientific information is available to decision-makers, the 
public, and younger generations.
  KBNERR and its NERRS counterparts have contributed greatly to habitat 
protection and economic growth. Across the country, these Reserves have 
produced thousands of jobs and research positions, protected millions 
of acres of land, and secured the continued vitality of fisheries and 
natural infrastructure.
  Thank you to the university and KBNERR staff and communities 
surrounding Kachemak Bay who make it possible to enhance our 
appreciation and understanding of Alaska's coastal lands and waters, 
ensuring our natural resources remain healthy and productive well into 
the future.

                          ____________________