Alaska Chapter

Our goal is to further the RMS mission by providing a network for members to expand their knowledge of river management through participation and involvement in RMS Alaska Chapter activities across Alaska! We represent a variety of professionals in the private and public sectors, from federal, state and local agencies to educational non-profits and consultants.

The most recent RMS Journal with an Alaska focus is Spring 2019. To read all of our back issues online, All RMS Journals are archived and are available along with other Society publications on the members-only side of the website. Check out our Alaska Chapter Bylaws for more information about our chapter, or reach out directly to your officers!

Upcoming Alaska Chapter Trips

Mid-May (date to be set in early April) - Campbell Creek Cleanup, Anchorage

This is an annual event held every May! Hundreds of volunteers throughout Anchorage put on boots and gloves or go out in canoes and kayaks to clean tons of trash from local streams and waterways. This effort improves habitat for fish and other critters and helps humans thrive too! Anchorage Waterways Council organizes this event each year through generous financial and in-kind donations from businesses and individuals, including generous support from Matson’s "Caring for Alaska" program and ConocoPhillips Alaska. The effort was first organized in 1984 when Mayor Tony Knowles called for a group of citizens to come together and improve the health of creeks. The event spawned the Anchorage Waterways Council which still tirelessly protects, restores, and enhances the creeks of Anchorage.

The Alaska Chapter of RMS will take-on a segment of Campbell Creek for this year's cleanup -- hope to get last year's section from the Lake Otis put-in to the New Seward highway. Last year we ran the section in packrafts and a small cataraft and pulled nine 33 gallon bags of trash from the river (along with a pile of discarded political signs). River is usually running 50 to 70 cfs, so boating is marginal and you do more walking than paddling, but the boats are good floating dumpsters. You need to wear warm clothes and chest waders.

This usually occurs in a two week window in mid May. The council will provide us with picker devices, gloves, and bags, which we will organize and pick-up/drop-off. The more hands the better; it took us about four hours to do our section last year. We can end the trip with a burger and brew at the Peanut Farm or Arctic Roadrunner. Contact: Doug Whittaker, dougwhitalaska_at_gmail.com.

May 28-29: Heavy Raft and Swimmer Pick Up Training - Klutina River

This course is for you if you'd like build your skills for heavy oar raft operation, such as those used on multi-day excursions, in Class II and Class III waters. We will cover 1) Managing boat spacing and executing swimmer pick ups and 2) mastering momentum, pre-planning, oar setup, and angles of attack with a loaded raft.

L earn more here.

Are you interested in serving as an Alaska Chapter Officer?

If you are interested in serving as an officer for this chapter, please complete the officer nomination form to let us know! It’s a great opportunity to get to know your peers and help shape the chapter’s success. Officers serve a three year term in one of three positions in the Alaska Chapter: President, Vice President, Secretary. They play a critical role in connecting regional members and driving our mission to support professionals who study, protect and manage North America's rivers.

We invite you to nominate yourself or a colleague. Once the nomination period for a chapter closes, we'll hold an election. Voting and holding office is restricted to Lifetime, Individual, and Student members, as well as the key contacts for Organizational memberships.

At RMS, we value diverse perspectives, backgrounds, orientations, abilities, and experience levels. These are essential for strong partnerships and bold thought in an era of a generational shift, institutional challenges and the demand to mitigate the effects of climate change.

With questions about the joys, challenges, and responsibilities of serving as a chapter officer, we encourage you to reach out to your current chapter officers, members of the national board, or our Executive Director at [email protected].