This alliance was formed in 2000 with a focus on science education in this region. The alliance envisioned an environmental education system of excellence in Kachemak Bay that would inspire life-long learning and commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability among Kachemak Bay residents and visitors. Alliance members collaborate in priority projects designed to 1) protect fragile educational field resources from overuse by identifying all possible educational sites within the Kachemak Bay watershed and developing a process to effectively coordinate and disperse pressure from formal and informal groups visiting the watershed for educational purposes, 2) organize citizen-monitoring programs for efficient data collection and dissemination, 3) develop and maintain a needs assessment process for long-term decision-maker/coastal manager training workshop planning, and 4) evaluate existing coastal and estuarine teacher activities and to design new, exemplary estuarine/marine/environmental education materials based on needs identified by user groups (especially K Ð 12 teachers), alliance members, and coastal mangers.