NRCS Alaska News

April 30, 2007

In This Issue

NRCS Resumes Assistance to the Nushagak Mulchatna Watershed Council

Crystal Leonetti, Statewide Native Liaison

The Nushagak-Mulchatna Watershed Council’s (NMWC) 10 year anniversary is approaching in November and the members are preparing to celebrate and showcase their successes.  This dynamic, locally-led council began its journey toward its many accomplishments with a simple NRCS planning process presentation in Anchorage. 

Former Assistant State Conservationist for Programs Jim Schmidt participated in a meeting where several agencies were asked to describe their watershed planning processes. A few weeks later, Schmidt got a call from Bristol Bay Native Association’s Natural Resources Director informing him that NRCS had been chosen to provide planning assistance to help establish NMWC.  So Schmidt began the planning process, facilitating the watershed’s Tribes, village corporations, regional corporation and non-profit, cities, boroughs, and other invested stakeholders. 

The council began by cleaning up their own backyards, creating a vision for quality water, and by prioritizing subwatersheds within the larger Nushagak-Mulchatna watershed.  The council has since become a role model for surrounding villages and watersheds.  Even after his departure from Alaska, some Schmidt’s early advice has been ingrained in NMWC keeping them on the road of neutrality, objectivity, and fact-based information.  All members come to the table with a common vision.  The Council doesn’t make decisions unless they’re unanimous.  Everyone is held accountable for the quality of water in their own villages.  They work together as a team.

The most recent NMWC meeting took place April 18 and 19 in Ekwok, 30 miles up the Nushagak River from Dillingham.  For the past five years NRCS has been somewhat absent from the region except for an occasional appearance from State Soil Scientist Joe Moore as his staff have progressed in the Nushagak-Mulchatna Soil Survey.  At this meeting the NMWC invited several NRCS employees and asked the agency to become more active. 

State Conservationist Bob Jones attended the meeting to become more familiar with NMWC.  Jones also brought Schmidt all the way from North Dakota to remind the NMWC of their beginnings and to transition the role of facilitation over to Crystal Leonetti, NRCS’ Statewide Native Liaison.  Soil Survey Party Leader Stephanie Schmit attended and explained the soil survey process, and that they would be mapping the lowlands of the lower Nushagak watershed this summer with a party of three Soil Scientists and three Botanists.

Luki Akelkok, Chair of NMWC was a gracious host, allowing the Ekwok Youth Environmental Group to make our lunch, and giving us a tour of Ekwok’s environmental building which was dedicated to him.  The most poignant take home thought came from the daughter of BBNA’s CEO Ralph Anderson, who told her dad and the attendees of a state-wide Alaska Federation of Natives conference, “We have to know who we are and where we come from in order to know where we’re going.”

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Envirothon Draws Record Student Participation

The 2007 Envirothon – Alaska’s largest high school environmental education competition -  held last week at Chena Hot Springs Resort drew a record 84 students from high schools in Homer, Nikiski, Kenai, Fairbanks, North Pole, Kodiak,  and Palmer who tested their knowledge in Forestry, Soils and Land Use Planning, Wildlife, Water Ecology and Renewable Energy. 

Homer team members won every individual event and the Homer Team took first place overall, qualifying them to represent Alaska at the national Envirothon taking place in Geneva, New York in late July. 

NRCS staff on-hand for the event included State Conservationist Bob Jones who judged the team presentations, Soils Scientists Stephanie Schmit and Andy Oxford who operated the soils station, Soil Conservation Technician Cassidee Hall who assisted in the forestry station, Soil Conservation Technician Daniel Fisher who operated the Water Ecology station, and Public Affairs Specialist Cassandra Stalzer who helped coordinate the testing stations and score-keeping.  NRCS staff also helped throughout the year by providing coaching to teams in preparation for the competition.

Additional partners of the event include the State Division of Forestry, Alaska Association of Conservation Districts, Dr. Bill Wall and Alaska Village Initiatives, Gwen Holdmann and Chena Hot Springs Resort, Anchor Point Greenhouse, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Alaska Chapter of FFA.

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Record Snowpack Measured in Snettisham Hydroelectric Power Plant Watershed

Snow Survey Hydro-Technician Dan Kenney traveled to the Long Lake SNOTEL site April 17 to measure the winter’s accumulation of snow and precipitation. The site is located 60 miles southeast of Juneau. From the few reports received from the site, we knew there was about 14 ft of snow there.  The shelter is 12 ft tall and the precipitation gauge is 16 ft tall.

The snow had settled somewhat and the measurement taken at the snow pillow was 148 inches deep with 67.3 inches of water content; the average is 48.9 inches of water content.  The previous record was 141 inches of snow depth and 61.8 inches of water content on April 30, 1975.  The site had received 108.9 inches of precipitation since October 1, about 108 percent of average.  The winter temperatures have been just cold enough for most of the precipitation to come as snow as opposed to rain.

Alaska Electric Light and Power Company draws water from Long Lake to produce electric power for Juneau and the surrounding area. Because of the current lack of water in the reservoir, diesel generators are being used to produce power.  This will change in the near future when the snow starts its melting process.

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New Ecological Site Maps for Seward Peninsula Herders

NRCS has completed an Ecological Site map for the Stebbins and St. Michael areas owned by these two Native corporations.  When the SCS mapped ecological sites on the Seward Peninsula in the early 1980’s these areas were not included because they are actually several hundred miles south of the Seward Peninsula.  These two villages do continue to have a thriving reindeer herd, and currently have an EQIP contract to manage their herd and protect ecologically sensitive areas on their range that have been traditionally overused by the deer. 

The joint Reindeer Council requested assistance from the NRCS to map their rangeland resources.  Fieldwork was completed in 2005, and the final map was developed during the winter of 2006/2007.  This, along with the utilization and trend maps developed last year, will help them to know what kind of rangeland and lichen supporting sites exist on their lands, and will give them an idea of how many reindeer their land can sustain. 

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Personnel Actions

Opening

• Budget Analyst, GS-0560-07/09, Palmer, Closes May 11.

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