Each spring 20,000 gray whales migrate up to 6,000 miles from their winter calving grounds near Baja, Mexico, all the way to Alaska’s Bering and Chukchi seas for the summer feeding season. This annual migration brings these giants right past Resurrection Bay, near Seward and Kenai Fjords National Park.
Again this year, Kenai Fjords Tours, which is owned by CIRI, kicks off its summer tourism season by offering gray whale-viewing tours now through May 6 that depart from Seward and allow an up-close view of the gray whales. The four hour cruise on Kenai Fjords Tours departs from Seward and provides the perfect opportunity to photograph gray whales from outdoor viewing decks or from the heated comfort of inside passenger areas that offer oversized windows.
Kenai Fjords Tours has been promoting this soft-adventure cruise on Anchorage radio and television with the intriguing “They’re Coming” advertisement. Since the cruise began in mid March, passengers have had opportunities to see gray whales, humpback whales, orcas, sea otters, sea lions, Dall porpoise, goats, and birds such as eagles, cormorants, murres, and black oystercatchers.

Jena Kalli joined the staff of Kenai Fjords Tours recently as the new education coordinator. In this position she is responsible for writing the wildlife reports for the Gray Whale Watch tours as well as managing the Seward and Whittier Marine Science Explorer programs. The Marine Science Explorer program is an award-winning program that has been operating for 10 years through Kenai Fjords Tours in Seward and for three years in Whittier on Prince William Sound Cruises & Tours. More than 31,000 people have participated in the programs since formation.

Kalli has a degree in anthropology from the University of Oregon where she completed a two-year education internship at the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History. She moved to Alaska in 2003 after working for Pan-American Consultants, Inc. as an archeological field technician.
Over the past 10 years, Kenai Fjords Tours’ education programs have received state and national recognition from The National Education Association of Alaska, The Alaska Land Manager’s Forum, and The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation.

The Marine Science Explorer Program combines creativity, science, and the spectacular learning environments of Seward and Whittier to create a floating laboratory for students of all ages. Students take water samples, examine plankton underneath microscopes, view mammals and sea birds in their natural environment, and learn about glacial ice, bird counting and observation, weather and navigation, and the geology of the regions.

Information about these tours and other offerings through Alaska Heritage Tours is available at www.alaskaheritagetours.com or by contacting Jena Kalli at (907) 224-4554 or kftscience@ciri.com.