NRCS Alaska News

November 9, 2006

In This Issue

Summary of 2006 Ortho-Imagery Initiatives Funded by NRCS Alaska

Palmer Field Office Leads the Charge on Local Work Groups

UAF Natural Resources/Natural Sciences Career Day

Wasilla High Students Get Annual Soils Education

NRCS Supports On-Line Private Landowner Resource

Personnel Actions

Summary of 2006 Ortho-Imagery Initiatives Funded by NRCS Alaska

• A $ 45,000 contract was awarded to Port Graham Development Corporation to provide archived Digital Globe ortho-ready scenes for 14 villages.  Akhiok and Old Harbor will be new tasking delivered as ortho-photography to 1:12000 National Map Accuracy Standards (NMAS) using ground control and shuttle dems. The villages included in the contract are Akhiok, Alakanuk-Sheldon Point, Beaver, Bettles/Evansville, Birch Creek, Eagle, Hughes, Kobuk, Kotzebue, Koyukuk, Old Harbor, Point Lay, Saint Marys, Stevens Village, Venetie and Wales.  These images can be shared with state, federal, tribal and local governmental partners.
   

• A $1.42 million contract was awarded to Arctic Slope Research Corporation (ASRC) to acquire satellite imagery over 54 areas of high-interest (villages, etc) and 900 targets in rural Alaska. The primary purpose of this acquisition is to support Alaska’s inclusion into the annual National Resources Inventory (NRI) process. The imagery will also provide an important base map for conservation planning and engineering efforts.  Imagery for the villages will meet NMAS at the 1:12,000 scale, while more remote acquisitions will meet NMAS at the 1:24,000 scale. Delivery of this 1 meter color imagery is expected to be staged over a 4 year period beginning in 2006.  Village imagery will carry a license from Digital Globe that will allow NRCS to share it with our partners. The areas included in the contract are Allakaket, Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Buckland, Chefornak, Chevak, Dillingham, Elim, Gambell, Grayling, Holy Cross, Huslia, Kaktovik, Kaltag, Kasigluk-Nunapit-Atmaut, Kiana, King Cove, Kipnuk, Kivalina, Kotlik, Koyuk, Lower Kalskag, Manokotak, Marshall ,Minto, New Stuyahok, Newtok, Noatak, Nondalton, Noorvik ,Nuiqsut Nulato, Point Hope, Quinhagak, Ruby, Russian Mission, Saint Mary's, Saint Michael-Stebbins, Sand Point, Savoonga, Scammon Bay, Selawik, Shishmaref, Shungnak, Teller, Toksook Bay-Tununak, Tuluksak, Tuntutuliak, Tyonek , Valdez and Wainwright.
   

• NRCS Alaska obligated $375,000 to the Aerial Photography Field Office (APFO) to acquire conventional color film-based digital ortho-photography quadrangles (DOQ’s) over developed portions of Interior Alaska.  DOQ’s will provide a final ground resolution of 0.6 meters. The initial award was eventually expanded to include a total of 74 full size quads. Cost inclusive of administrative fees averaged $23 per km2.  
  
  A separate task order was awarded in late August for an additional 41 color DOQ’s over Afognak Island in South-Central Alaska. This purchase was funded with an additional 50,000 dollars from national funds to support a progressive soil survey on the island.  Imagery was successfully acquired in late August.  All imagery will reside within the public domain.
   

• NRCS committed $30,000 in a cooperative agreement with the State of Alaska and Bristol Bay Borough to develop 1 foot resolution color ortho-photography in Southwestern Alaska. The contract was awarded in the spring of 2006 and survey work for ground control commenced in the summer of 2006.  Once developed, all imagery will be in the public domain.

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Palmer Field Office Leads the Charge on Local Work Groups

Michelle Schuman, District Conservationist

The Local Work Group objective is to assist landowners and land managers to implement conservation practices that address resource concerns within the Palmer District.  The Palmer District spans the entire 2,070 square miles of the Matanuska Watershed.  Resource concerns are not ranked and are all considered to have equal importance.

In April of 2006 I first proposed that the Palmer District Board develop a local work group for the Palmer District.  As encouragement to start this process, I prepared information packets for each of the Palmer District Board Members and the District Manager that included examples local work groups in Washington, excerpts from the General Manual explaining locally led conservation, and all associated EQIP documentation including ranking sheets and cost lists/practices.

And finally, on November 7, the Palmer Local Work was formed.  We had more than ten agency attendees representing resources from agriculture to wildlife.  In preparation for this meeting I developed a Palmer District Local Work Group Ranking Criteria template.  This template categorized resource concerns by the four resources (soil, water, plant and animal).  Within each resource I included at least one national priority, recognizing that several national priorities could be addressed within several resource considerations.  I also identified several concerns under each resource and when possible, identified EQIP ranking items. 

Because I had a draft already on my computer, with the use of a projector in the conference room we were able to make changes as we worked through each item.  At the end of this meeting the LWG had a final copy of the “Palmer District Local Work Group Ranking Criteria.”  This was a fantastic meeting with lots of discussion and engagement.  It seemed to take a lot of encouragement and preparation, but the NRCS Palmer Field Office is proud to part of this LWG.  If any one would like a copy of this template please let me know.

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UAF Natural Resources/Natural Sciences Career Day

Remember when you were a student wondering what in the world you would do upon graduation?  Numerous students still have that experience each year, and NRCS employees recently assisted in giving students in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Natural Resources and Natural Sciences department an opportunity to learn about our agency and explore the possibility of joining us.  Kristi Hicks and Cassie Storms, representing Human Resources, and Ann Rippy, Cassidee Hall and Trudy Pink providing technical information, met with approximately 50 students throughout the day to discuss employment opportunities, education requirements, application processes, the mission of our agency, and the nature of the work that we do.  Career employment as well as student employment opportunities were discussed and a great deal of interest was shown from numerous students.  

Alaska NRCS would like to provide more opportunities for students to work with us through the STEP (Student Temporary Employment Program) and possibly SCEP (Student Career Experience Program).  If you would to like to support a STEP or SCEP position in your office please contact Kristi at (907) 761-7743.  STEP students can be high school through graduate and professional degree students working part-time or full-time in any career field, while SCEP students must have a high school education and be continuing their studies in a career field that is in-line with their position working part-time or full time.  STEP students can be hired for the summer only.

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Wasilla High Students Get Annual Soils Education

Dennis Moore made his annual pilgrimage to Wasilla High School. He educated Cheryl Abbot’s three advanced student classes about soils, environment, and water quality. Dennis, once again challenged the students to think of something that they use in everyday life that doesn’t come directly or indirectly from soil, with the exception of moon, sun, stars, and heavenly bodies. He offered free food and a “get out of class free” card to anyone what can answer the question.

After sixteen years the eminence still stands: “Everything we use in everyday life comes directly or indirectly from soil”. With the students realizing that soil was now a little more important to then than the beginning of class, Dennis had Ms Abbot assist him in a demonstration on how much soil we have to produce everything we need. The demonstration consists of holding a big handful of soil. Seventy-five percent of the soil is discarded; it represents all of the earth’s waters. Next fifty percent more of the soil is discarded; it represents areas of the where agriculture productions is not possible, i.e., steep mountains, desert areas without irrigation water, and etc. Another ten percent of the soil is discarded; it represents buildings, roads, airports, and other human development. A point was made by mentioning that once land is coved by concrete and asphalt that the land is lost to agriculture production. That point was future emphasized by this question “Even if we removed the thousands of tons of concrete and asphalt and grew food on the Glenn Highway, would you want to eat that food?” If not, why?”

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NRCS Supports On-Line Private Landowner Resource

Resources First Foundation is a non-profit devoted to developing private sector solutions for the environment. The group developed and maintains the Private Landowner Network (PLN), www.privatelandownernetwork.org.  PLN is a database of conservation resources (RCD's, land trusts), service providers, and funding and technical assistance options, specifically designed for the private landowner market sector.  This database is searchable by zip code, thus landowners get connected to local expertise to navigate the complex ins and outs of conservation.  

NRCS has been a supporter and funder of PLN for the past three years.  Each states' program information is posted and leads the site visitor to local offices.  Additionally, the PLN IT specialist helped design and build the new energy estimator tools with NRCS.  The group also built the site Cooperative Conservation America (CCA), www.cooperativeconservationamerica.org for last year's White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation (August '05, St. Louis). 

Our goal is to have the most up-to-date and accurate information posted on the site. Alaska NRCS programs can be found at: http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/yellowpages/rfsearch.asp?searchtype=other&fieldname=State&fieldvalue=ak&itemname=Alaska . 

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Personnel Actions:

Promotion

• Crystal Leonetti – Tribal Liaison/District Conservationist (Anchorage) – GS 12

Performance Bonus Award

• Stephanie Schmit

Extra Effort Award

• Helen Denniston

• Calvin Steele

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