Small Boat Harbor

The Planning Associates Class of 2013 completed a week long course at the Alaska District on Small Boat Harbors. The course covered all aspects of USACE planning for a small boat harbor study. Planning Associates were taught small boat harbor planning from a national perspective that included examples from California, the Great Lakes and Alaska. The class learned about the basics ( such as defining a small boat harbor) to more complex components ( such as USACE policies, economics, environmental considerations, and incorporating recreation into a study).

During the class the associates gained understanding of Water Resources Development Act of 2007, Section 2006 guidance for remote and subsistence harbors and how Alaska harbors fit into this authority. An understanding was also gained of the economic principles and procedures applied in small boat harbor studies. Planning Associates participated in SMART Planning class exercises that consisted of writing a report synopsis, preparing a risk register and preparing a cost allocation for a small boat harbor study. The class participated in a field visit to a small boat harbor in Nome, AK, where they discussed the harbor design study and subsequent USACE navigation improvements.

Intergovernmental Coordination

The Planning Associates Class spent time with the Tribal Liaison for the Alaska District, who talked to the class about working in rural Alaska. During the course, she gave the class an overview of the Alaska native tribes and discussed the following topics: subsistence, cultural perceptions, tribal liaison roles, government to government consultation, and working with the Alaska native communities. The class participated in a field visit to an Alaska native village in Teller, AK, which is located on the western side of the state approximately seventy miles north of Nome, AK.