The alaska sealife center will implement the second phase of its wildlife disaster preparedness training program

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Seward Association For The Advancement Of Marine Science, doing business as the Alaska Sealife Center, $1.187 million on September 1, 2026, under the National Leadership Grants program (CFDA 45.312) to implement the second phase of its Wildlife Disaster Preparedness Training Program.

The Alaska Sealife Center will update curriculum from its earlier partnership with the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis, to be available in both in-person and hybrid formats. The project will create two new training modules focused on marine mammal and marine bird field observation and assessment, expand training to new participants using a train-the-trainer model to sustain delivery across institutions, and develop an updated responder database enabling incident commanders to rapidly identify and deploy wildlife disaster response specialists.

The project runs through August 31, 2029, with performance at the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward, Alaska. The National Leadership Grants program supports projects that address critical needs in the museum and library fields and generate results—including models, tools, research findings, services, practices, and alliances—that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated.

Based on their earlier work with karen C. Drayer wildlife health center at the university of california, davis, that established a nationwide network of ZOO and aquarium professionals trained to respond to wildlife disasters, this project will address training gaps identified through real-world deployment experience. Staff will update program curriculum to be available in both in-person and hybrid formats and create two new training modules for marine mammal and marine bird field observation and assessment. The team will expand training to new participants and utilize a train-the-trainer model to sustain training delivery across institutions. As a result of the project, an updated responder database will allow incident commanders to identify and rapidly deploy specialists when wildlife disasters occur.