Jim Nahmens
Naturalist/Photographer
Jim Nahmens is a wildlife photographer and guide from Redwood City, California. Each year he guides natural history trips to Alaska, British Columbia, Galapagos, and Hawaii. Jim has traveled throughout the Inside Passage over the past 12 years and has been guiding trips on the Alaska Adventurer since 1992. Jim has a particular interest in humpback whales and has worked with humpback whale researchers in Hawaii, Alaska, and Western Australia.
Several years ago, in recognition, of his years of service aboard the M/V Alaska Adventurer, Captain Horchover in the shadow of Mt. Sumdum proclaimed in a short ceremony which was not very well attended, that Jim Nahmens should forever be given a title--a title of distinction. In his remarks, Captain Horchover said "You have served on this vessel for many seasons. You have shared the wonders of nature with our passengers. You have answered many questions with some dumb answers. Therefore, by the powers vested in me, from this day forward, as long as the rivers shall run and the sun shall rise and set, you shall be know as "Sumdum Guide." Nahmens in his emotional acceptance speech remarked "I accept with honor your precious gift. Now that I have this respectful title, people will know I'm not just any guide, I am Sumdum Guide." Unfortunately, his speech and the festivities were cut short by a clogged head.
Dr. Adam Pack
Dr. Adam A. Pack
Assistant Professor, University of Hawai’i Hilo
Co-founder and Vice President, The Dolphin Institute
Adam Pack, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii Hilo with a joint appointment in psychology and biology. He is also the co-founder and vice president of The Dolphin Institute, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to scientific study of whales and dolphins and to the education of people whose activities affect these animals. Dr. Pack has been researching marine mammals since 1983 focusing on humpback whale behavior and biology, the sensory perception, cognition, and communication abilities of bottlenose dolphins, and the behavior of wild spinner dolphins. He has co-authored over 40 scientific publications on whales and dolphins. These publications cover such diverse topics as memory and learning in sea lions; male-male competition, sexual behavior, migration, song, social and reproductive behavior, mating systems, and the role of body size in determining potential mates in humpback whales; and social cognition, concept formation, symbolic communication, referential understanding, self awareness, imitation, and abilities for cross-modal recognition using vision and echolocation in bottlenose dolphins. Discoveries made by Dr. Pack and his colleagues have been featured in television documentaries (e.g., National Geographic’s “Wild Chronicles”, PBS’s “Dolphins with Robin Williams”, and the BBC’s “Dolphins: Deep Thinkers with Sir David Attenborough), magazine articles (e.g., Smithsonian Magazine, National Wildlife), and two IMAX films.
Dr. Pack is a research advisor to several organizations including the Northwest Chapter and National Branch of the American Cetacean Society (ACS), the Wild Dolphin Project in Florida, and Pacific Cetacean Group in California. Dr. Pack also serves as the research chair for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council.
"What really stands out for me is the knowledge that there is a place where people love what they do and are enlightened enough to find a way to share that with the rest of us."
David Y. Mt. Prospect, IL
Dan R. Salden
Dan R. Salden, Ph.D. Whale Researcher
Dr. Salden is Emeritus Professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. For sixteen years, he served as Chair of his academic department. In 1997, he returned to full-time teaching in order to allow more time for his research activities with the Hawaii Whale Research Foundation, and in 2000, he retired from the university in order to give the foundation his full attention. His study of humpback whales and other marine mammals began in 1978. After several years of independent work, Dr. Salden co-founded with Clancy Greff of Captain Zodiac Expeditions the Hawaii Whale Research Foundation in 1987. In 1988 he applied for and received a National Marine Fisheries Service Research Permit. Subsequent permits were issued in 1993 and 1998. The principal focus of his humpback research in Hawaii and Alaska has been on long-term social affiliation patterns. Most of his work has concentrated on an attempt to discover such relationships on the winter breeding/calving grounds in Hawaii.
Dr. Salden has directly participated in field work for 25 years. Over this period he has amassed over 6000 hours of research time on the water. Results of his studies have been reported to peer reviewed scientific conferences (such as the Society for the Study of Marine Mammals and the Animal Behavior Society) and/or published in scientific journals (such as Marine Mammal Science, the Canadian Journal of Zoology, Journal of Wildlife Management, etc.). As a result of his speaking engagements, Dr. Salden has distinguished himself before numerous national and international organizations, such as the Whales Alive programs sponsored by Earth Island and the International Dolphin and Whale Conferences. Similar presentations and seminars have also been given at universities throughout the United States and before many non-academic civic and environmental groups.
He has also assumed an active role in promoting cooperative research ventures among colleagues in the North Pacific Working Group, which is an assembly of active humpback whale researchers from Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. This cooperation in field data collection and the resulting mutual publication efforts has enabled significant progress in promoting knowledge of the humpback whale and its needs for survival.
Lisa Strong-Aufhauser
Lisa Strong-Aufhauser
Naturalist/Photographer
Lisa Strong-Aufhauser owns and operates Strong Mountain Productions, a small digital video production company in Boulder Creek, CA specializing in nature, science, and the outdoors for museum exhibits, multimedia, and the web. During summer 2003, she shot and produced the promotional DVD for Alaska Sea Adventures. Sheþs worked on projects for Discovery Channel Online, the Exploratorium, and the National Park Service, among others. Lisa is also a nationally published writer and still photographer. A former Yosemite resident, Lisa has worked as an instructor-naturalist for the Yosemite Institute, a Yosemite High Sierra Camp loop trip leader, and a seminar instructor for both the Yosemite Association and the Sequoia Natural History Association teaching photography, natural history and leading backpacks. She holds BAs in environmental biology and environmental studies from UC Santa Barbara, and a graduate degree in science communication from UC Santa Cruz.
Here's what she says about SE Alaska, "It's astonishing! Like pulling the Pacific Ocean into the High Sierra. Snow-capped mountains drop straight down into ocean waters filled with whales, for heaven's sake! It's a challenging photographers' paradise."
Jodi Shepherd
Jodi Shepherd
Photographic Guide
Jodi Sheperd is a photographer based in Australia. She has owned her own studio for the past 10 years. During the winter months in Australia, Jodi takes on travel, for excitement and photojournalism. Her photographic trips include, Africa, America, Vietnam, China, and recently beginning a photographic book on the Humpback whales of Alaska.
" The book began as a hobby, however my first trip to Petersburg Alaska including 8 days aboard the Alaska Adventurer now has me hooked and returning every year. Kayaking amongst the whales and wildlife is certainly an invigorating experience" Her interest in Whales, Alaskas heritage, the people and other wildlife grows more intense with each visit. Her friendly, outgoing nature will ensure an unforgettable trip.
Terry Fifield
Terry Fifield
USF Archaelogist
Terry Fifield has been the "Zone Archaeologist" for the Forest Service districts on Prince of Wales Island since 1994. Since coming to the Tongass National Forest from positions with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and National Park Service Fifield, who holds an M.A. in Anthropology from Eastern New Mexico University, has facilitated archaeological research efforts on the forest and worked to bring Native American residents of southeast Alaska together with researchers and managers. In recent years Fifield has directed two important rock art projects near Prince of Wales Island, which seek to view these places as parts of both the ancient and modern cultural landscapes. The Kosciusko Island project of 2004 is part of an ongoing effort to gain cross-cultural perspectives on rock art sites.
Jack Eddy
Jack Eddy
Naturalist and Guide
Naturalist and guide Jack Eddy has lived in Alaska for more than 30 years. He is a high school biology teacher and part-time instuctor for the University of Alaska Southeast. Among the university classes he has taught are ornithology and marine mammals of Southeast Alaska. He is also an outdoor survival instructor and trained as an EMT.
Jack is a charter member and active participant in the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center.
Jack and his students have conducted several research projects around the Petersburg area. Included are "Plankton Studies in Wrangell Narrows and Duncan Canal," "Amphibans of Mitkof Island and Surrounding Area," and the ongoing "Water Profile Study in Frederick Sound."
Jack and his wife Karen have raised three kids in Southeast Alaska. Two of his kids have returned to live in Petersburg after completing college.
During his free time in the summer, if he is not out tromping in the wilderness or commercial fishing his 20' boat, then he and Karen may be found at their remote cabin, enjoying life in the bush.
Jack loves the Alaska wilderness and he enjoys sharing it with others.
Copyright 1996-2007 Island Voyages, Inc. and Natures-Spirit Photography, reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is strictly prohibited and a violation of law. Alaska Sea Adventures operates under Special Use Permit from the USDA Forest Service, Tongass National Forest.
