Brady Guinn is a member of Troop 603 out of the Dallas, Texas area. But Monday morning, he was at the Kenai City Dock with about a dozen other scouts, braving a rainy Kenai morning to add new signage around the boat ramp.
The highly endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale is a coveted sighting in the Kenai River, for both locals and visitors. But boaters who aren’t looking out for the whales can pose danger to the pods when they're out on the water. That’s why new signs are going up at the boat launch and beach in Kenai, reminding boaters to watch out. Troop 603 is installing those signs.
The installation is part of Guinn’s Eagle Project, the final qualifier to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. After years of rank advancements, candidates have to design and execute their own service projects, then defend their work to a review board in hopes of ascending to the coveted rank.
Guinn is choosing to focus on beluga conservation for his project.
“Boaters that are coming off the dock in Kenai, they’re taking off and running into the belugas,” he said.
The group’s scoutmaster said Troop 603 was already interested in taking an Alaska trip, and Guinn started looking for a possible Eagle Project to complete in the area. He reached out to the Alaska Wildlife Alliance — which tracks the endangered whales in an effort to protect them — to collaborate on a whale conservation project.
The signs, designed by Guinn, are bright green, and tell boaters to slow their wake and watch for endangered belugas in the Kenai River and Cook Inlet.
“This looks perfect,” Teresa Becher with the Alaska Wildlife Alliance said, looking at a sign. “It stands out, it’s clear, I think it will draw the eye, I think everyone will want to see it.”
Becher said the signs aren’t really meant for local boaters, like commercial fishermen, who she said are usually well-aware of the belugas. Instead, they’re directed at visitors who don’t launch in the Kenai often, and sometimes drive right through pods.
She said Cook Inlet belugas are identifiable by their scar marks.
“There are many reasons for the scars, and one of them is boat strikes,” Becher said. “So anything we can do to help the belugas not have a boat strike is perfect.”
In addition to warning for boats, the sign also includes information about registering for the beluga text alert program. Becher said there are about 700 people signed up to get texts about belugas in the Kenai and Kasilof rivers.
“We have monitors all over the area around the mouth. And generally we know when belugas come in, and as soon as we see them come in, we’ll put out a text,” she said. “And that gives people an idea of where they can come to see the belugas if they want to.”
Monday morning, the scouts finish hoisting two signs at the city dock, and prepare to add signs at North Kenai Beach as well.
Becher said the City of Kenai has been a strong supporter of the project, providing suggestions for sign locations.
