NRCS Alaska News

June 12, 2007

In This Issue

Arbor Day Celebrated in Aniak

On May 22 the Kuskokwim Native Association (KNA) Youth Farm in Aniak held a tree planting event honoring Arbor Day.  Using oversized shovels, school children from the area planted 140 seedlings (20 birch, 60 blue spruce, 60 white spruce) purchased from the Cook Inlet Chapter of the Society of American Foresters. The KNA Farm intends to grow the seedlings into a windbreak.

Over the past several years, the farm has become an important part of the Aniak youth culture.  The youth are involved in every phase of farm activity from preparing the soil, planting crops, fertilizing, weeding, and irrigating, to harvesting the crops during the Interior Rivers State Fair. Age-appropriate tasks are assigned to all young volunteers who want to participate.  Potatoes are harvested and the bulk of the crop is donated to elders. Other crops are harvested by the youth and given to elders or sold at the Interior Rivers State Fair in August. 

In 2003 the KNA Farm was awarded the Outstanding Youth Involvement Award by the Pacific Rim Region Association of RC&D Councils.

NRCS assisted in the installation of an irrigation system at the farm that continues to work like a Swiss watch, but is in need of expansion. 

The KNA Farm is an excellent example of local volunteers making a positive difference in their community. By working with the Farm, NRCS is truly “Helping People Help the Land.” 

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Asian Pacific Islander Appreciation Event Held

Renowned chef and author James Beard said, “Food is our common ground.” If that’s so, state office staff covered a lot of ground during the Asian Pacific Islander celebration held May 30.

Budget Officer Mani Gomez, who is originally from Laos and serves as the Asian Pacific Islander special emphasis program manager,  treated state office staff to traditional cuisine from Vietnam, Laos, China, Korea and Thailand.  Mani discussed the importance of food in Asian culture.

Up at 2 a.m. to begin preparations, Mani arrived with Vietnamese egg rolls with sweet and sour sauce; steamed rice; sticky rice; fried rice; kimchee; Chinese BBQ pork with orange mango marmalade; chow mein with beef and broccoli; hot and sour soup with black mushrooms and tofu;  and Thai red curry with halibut.

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Invasive Plants Conference Scheduled

The 8^th Annual CNIPM (Committee for Noxious and Invasive Plants Management) Workshop is scheduled to be held at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge and Conference Center November 14 and 15. The agenda will include workshops, posters, and presentations by state and national speakers. More information is available at http://www.uaf.edu/ces/cnipm/.

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Walk a Mile in My Boots

The Walk a Mile in My Boots program is a partnership between the National Association of Conservation Districts, NRCS, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that provides government employees and producers with substantive, on-the-ground work experiences in their respective professions.  Under the program, any producer or agency employee may participate. 

During the exchange, ranchers and farmers will shadow a selected NRCS employee in an NRCS field office, state office, or national headquarters for a period of up to two weeks.  The producer is signed up as ET volunteers while on the program. 

Conversely, a selected NRCS employee will trade places with the producer, working the land on a daily basis.

The following link provides further information on this program:

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/volunteers/walkmile/walkamile.html.

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Personnel Actions

Transfer

• Yvonne Magnuson, to Budget Analyst, Palmer State Office

Temporary Summer Employees

• Beatrix (BJ) Haggard, Biotech (Soils), Delta Junction
• Lindsey Moritz, , Biotech (Soils), Delta Junction

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