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Floor Speech
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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.
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