Two University of Washington students will soon be traveling to Alaska to participate in one of several National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) workshops with communities on oil spill response, natural resource damage assessment, and incorporating traditional knowledge into decision support tools.  Students who took the autumn 2011 School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (SMEA) course, Marine Pollution Management and Policy, had the opportunity to apply for this prestigious opportunity.  The course focused on decision making under uncertainty: the environmental and human dimensions of risk from arctic oil development.

JD Ross Leahy (graduate, SMEA) and Elspeth Hilton (graduate, Evans School of Public Affairs) were selected to participate in the workshops.  The workshops will provide Leahy and Hilton with hands-on, practical applications to their coursework.  The two will spend their days participating in workshop activities and documenting participant discussions, while they will spend their evenings helping to compile workshop findings.  Following the workshop, Leahy and Hilton will contribute to the development of a workshop report.

NOAA and the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) will be hosting the workshops scheduled for this spring.  The workshops are envisioned as a means to help create a two-way dialog: to inform the local communities about these oil-related topics, and to hear their concerns and gather their input to make processes and tools most effective.

Dr. Mary Baker (NOAA Office of Response & Restoration) and Dr. Bob Pavia (Affiliate Associate Professor, SMEA) joined Dr. Thomas Leschine (Director and Professor, SMEA) in teaching this year’s course. 

Photo source: http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/arctic-could-contain-400-billion-barrels-of-oil.html