The Glacier Bay ecosystem in Southeast Alaska is seemingly pristine, with recently deglaciated environs, old-growth forests, productive estuaries and marine waters, and diverse plant and animal populations. This coastal ecosystem supports a variety of nationally declining or sensitive species with nearly 25% of the Nation's population of Kittlitz's murrelet, the majority of the endangered marbled murrelet (which breeds in old-growth forests in Glacier Bay National Park and surrounding lands), and critical sea duck, fish, whale, harbor seal, and Steller sea lion populations. However, both the aquatic and terrestrial components of this ecosystem are experiencing impacts from human activities, including increased vessel (cruise ship) traffic, commercial and recreational fisheries (halibut, salmon, crab), subsistence hunting and fishing, greatly expanding tourism, air and water contamination, offshore oil and gas leases, mining and large-scale clear-cut logging on adjacent lands.

These important issues facing the Glacier Bay ecosystem cannot be adequately addressed at the individual resource management agency or landowner level. In response, the Biological Resources Division in the U.S. Geological Survey (formerly the National Biological Service) initiated in 1994 the Glacier Bay Ecosystem Initiative, whose purpose is to develop ecosystem-based approaches to science. With start-up funding from the U.S.G.S., the Glacier Bay Ecosystem Partnership was created, bringing together resource managers and scientists from Federal, State of Alaska, and tribal organizations to address resource management issues with better communication, cooperation, and collaborative scientific research efforts.

To assure continuity of the partnership, the Memorandum of Understanding for the Development and Operation of the Glacier Bay Ecosystem Partnership was developed in 1995-1997 and has thus far been signed by 7 Federal agencies, 3 State of Alaska agencies, and 2 Native organizations (see "Ecosystem Partners").

The goals of the Glacier Bay Ecosystem Partnership are to:

• 1. Improve and actively maintain good communications among partners .
• 2. Identify opportunities to meet common objectives.
• 3. Gather and share information about natural, cultural and other resources and uses of the Glacier Bay region.
• 4. Identify issues and information needs and cooperate to fill information needs.
• 5. Involve the public, especially people living in the Glacier Bay region, in the identification of ecosystem issues, the interchange of information, and the collection of data through communication, education, and outreach efforts.
• 6. Cooperate with scientists, universities, industry, private organizations, and others interested in the Glacier Bay region to identify ecosystem issues and information needs.

The partnership group has identified important resource management issues for their agencies in this region and has started working collaboratively to address these issues and their scientific needs.

To support the work of the Glacier Bay Ecosystem Partnership, information products have been produced by the U.S.G.S. Biological Resources Division (formerly NBS), thus far including the:

• Bibliography of Research and Exploration in the Glacier Bay Region, Southeastern Alaska
• Metadata Catalog of Spatial and Non-Spatial Data for the Glacier Bay Ecosystem
• Glacier Bay Geographic Information System (GIS) - on CD-ROM available (see further information below)
• Updated Ice Coverages (GIS Data Layers)

For further information and to acquire a copy of the CD-ROM contact:

Dr. Joy Geiselman
Glacier Bay Ecosystem Initiative Coordinator
USGS - BRD
Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office
1011 E. Tudor Rd., MS 701
(907)786-3668
fax (907)786-3636
email joy_geiselman@usgs.gov