Wild & Aware Girdwood - Bear Events

All community members are invited to Bear Aware Events during the week of April 22nd.  Please join in celebrating bears and sharing information on living and recreating bear-friendly in the Girdwood Community.

Bear Theatre on Tuesday 23^rd is from 6-8pm at the Hotel Alyeska in the Kahiltna Room.  Focus is Girdwood School students’ art, poetry and live skits about living in Bear Country.

Come listen to Bear Stories on Thursday, April 25th at 6:00 pm at the the Glacier Ranger District Office. Hear positive stories about human-bear encounters and enjoy some hot cider. Bear Stories features the stories of Girdwood School students.

The Bear Movie is a feature length film celebrating bears in their natural environment. It will show on Friday, April 26, from 7:00 - 9:00 pm at the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center.

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center presents Meet the Bears on Saturday, April 27 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. See the bears and the new exhibit. Learn about bear biology from the experts, while you sip your hot chocolate. You will also have the chance to observe a bear spray demonstration.

Participants in the events can complete their Bear Week Passport to enter in a drawing for bear friendly prizes. You may pick up a Wild & Award Passport at events during the week or by visting the Glacier Ranger District office (open Monday -Friday 8:00 am -5:00 pm.

For more information visit us at www.wildaware.org

Posters created by Girdwood School students.

Wild & Aware Girdwood is a community bear awareness campaign with a simple goal: Increase safety of people and decrease human bear conflicts in our Girdwood community through the voices of our youth.

This campaign would not be possible without the  efforts of many partners and community members including the Girdwood School staff and teachers and students, the parents of students, the Anchorage Bear Committee, USDA Forest Service (USFS), Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC), Hotel Alyeska, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Forest Fair committee and many volunteers.

Applicants Sought for National Forest Resource Advisory Committee

Applicants Sought for National Forest Resource Advisory Committee

February 12, 2013—Candidates for membership are needed for the Kenai Peninsula-Anchorage Borough Resource Advisory Committee advising the Chugach National Forest under the recently reauthorized Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Public Law 112-141).  The committee is chartered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and consists of 15 members and 3 alternates each representing a wide array of interests.  The committee has the following vacancies for members to represent the following interests:

Kenai Peninsula-Anchorage Borough Resource Advisory Committee (KPAB RAC)

• Organized labor or non-timber forest product harvester groups
• Developed outdoor recreation, off-highway vehicle users, or commercial recreation
• Commercial timber industry
• Regionally or Locally Recognized Environmental Organization
• Category A, B, and C replacements

Committee members review and make recommendations concerning project proposals on or benefiting the national forest to be funded under Title II of the Act.  In 2012, the committee made recommendations concerning projects in the Anchorage Borough, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough., Alaska with an estimated total value of $129,000. 

Individuals may nominate themselves or others, but the nominees must live within the State of Alaska.  The application form and additional information can be obtained from:

KPAB RAC - April Sanders, (907) 754-2313, amsanders@fs.fed.us

Or online at: https://fsplaces.fs.fed.us/fsfiles/unit/wo/secure_rural_schools.nsf/Web_Documents/9F0710BEAFA405E888256CDE007487A9?OpenDocument

Nominations and applications are due by February 28, 2013, and should be sent to KPAB RAC Coordinator, April Sanders, PO Box 129, Girdwood, AK  99587

Committee members serve without compensation, but they may be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses to the meeting location.  Meetings are typically held 1 or 2 times per year.     

Equal opportunity practices in accordance with United States Department of Agriculture policies shall be followed in all appointments to the committee.  To help ensure that the recommendations of the committee have taken into account the needs of the diverse groups served by USDA, membership shall include to the extent possible, individuals with demonstrated ability to represent women, men, racial and ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities.

The USDA prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.

Chugach National Forest Launches First Phase of Forest Plan Revision

Public invited to February forums to learn more and provide feedback on forest use and issues

Chugach National Forest officials announced today the beginning of the first phase of a three year planning process to revise the 2002 forest plan under a new National Forest System Planning Rule. The forest plan provides direction for managing resources and activities such as recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, historic and sacred sites, vegetation, mineral exploration and development, and timber.

“The Chugach National Forest is the backyard for nearly half of Alaska’s population and provides opportunities for residents and visitors to live, work, and play across its 5.4 million acres. It’s an important place, and forest plan revision is the process in guiding management over the next fifteen years,” said Forest Supervisor Terri Marceron.
During phase one, also known as the “assessment,” the Forest Service will identify and evaluate existing information about ecological, economic and social conditions and trends related to the Forest and Southcentral Alaska. The resulting assessment report will provide a solid base of current information for phases two, drafting the revised plan and developing an environmental impact statement (EIS), and three, developing a monitoring strategy.
“Many trends and emerging issues like demographic shifts and climate change will require looking beyond our forest boundaries,” Marceron noted. “In the coming weeks and months we’ll be reaching out to other agencies, state and local governments, Alaska Native Tribes and Corporations and the public to make sure our plan takes into consideration the larger landscape around us.”
The public is invited to learn more about the process and provide feedback at nine Forest Planning Forums across the region.

During the forums, the Forest Service will ask:

• How the public uses the forest now, how might use and users change over the next fifteen years
• What the public sees as emerging issues and trends
• How the public can best be involved in the revision process

Last February the Chugach announced that it was selected as one of eight national forests across the country to revise its forest plan under the new planning rule. The Forest was selected because of its robust engagement with the public during development and implementation of the 2002 forest plan.
“Over the past decade, we’ve seen projects like the Spencer Whistle Stop and Chugach Children’s Forest emerge out of our previous collaborative planning efforts, and I’m looking forward to building on that tradition. These planning forums are just the beginning, and over the next three years we’ll be meeting with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, and working to get new voices, like youth, involved in the process,” Marceron explained.

Meeting Dates:

• Thursday, February 7
  • Alaska Forum on the Environment, Dena’ina Center (Anchorage), 9-10:30am
• Wednesday, February 20
  • Girdwood Community Center, 6:30-9pm
• Thursday, February 21
  • Seward Public Library, 6:30-9pm
  • Soldotna Sports Center, 6:30-9pm
• Saturday, February 23
  • Chugach National Forest Supervisor’s Office (Anchorage), 10am-12:30pm
• Monday, February 25
  • Cooper Landing Community Center, 6:30-9pm
  • Moose Pass Community Hall, 6:30-9pm
• Wednesday, February 27
  • Cordova Masonic Hall, 6:30-9pm
  • Thursday, February 28
  • Prince William Sound Community College (Valdez), 6:30-9pm

For more information, please visit:

• Chugach Forest Plan Revision “Spotlight” at www.fs.usda.gov/chugach
• New Planning Rule background at www.fs.usda.gov/planningrule
• To request information or sign up for the mailing list, email chugachplanrevision@fs.fed.us

RESULTS OF KENAI BROWN BEAR POPULATION STUDY RELEASED

A study conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service has produced the first estimate of brown bear population size on the Kenai Peninsula using local field data. Conducted in June 2010 on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and the Chugach National Forest, the study concluded that the best estimate is 624 brown bears. Prior to the study, land and wildlife managers lacked information on the number of bears in the area.

Scientists arrived at the final estimate for the Peninsula through two steps. First, they used field methods and DNA analysis to sample the brown bear population on a well defined study area that included 70% of the Peninsula’s available brown bear habitat. This yielded an estimate of 428 brown bears (with a 95% confidence interval of 353 – 539 bears) on the 2.9 million-acre study area. The scientists then used the best estimate of brown bears on the study area and expanded it to available bear habitat on the entire Peninsula, producing the estimated total of 624 bears.
Federal and State resource managers on the Kenai Peninsula have long recognized the importance of developing a population estimate to guide brown bear management. Terri Marceron, Forest Supervisor on the Chugach National Forest noted that the investigation was both valuable and timely. “Brown bears serve important functions in ecosystems on the Peninsula, and are highly valued by residents and visitors.” She added, “As we initiate Forest Plan Revision in February, our first phase will be sharing status and trend information on various resources, including this new data on brown bears.”

The study used a methodology called mark-recapture, which relied on identifying individual bears through analysis of DNA extracted from hair samples collected on a grid across the study area. Hair samples were obtained by attracting bears to barbed-wire enclosures, each of which surrounded a scented lure. The accuracy of the population estimate was improved using information from radio-collared bears known to frequent the study area; which was made available through independent studies being conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The estimate includes both cubs and adult bears. Using information on the average litter size of cubs accompanying radio-collared female bears on the study area and the overall sex ratio determined from this study, the estimate of 624 bears translates into approximately 200 adult female, 200 adult male, and 224 cubs.

Results of the study are detailed in the report The Kenai Brown Bear Population on Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Chugach National Forest. The study’s lead scientists, Dr. John Morton, supervisory wildlife biologist at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge; Martin Bray, a Chugach National Forest wildlife biologist; and Dr. Greg Hayward, wildlife ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service’s Alaska Region, were assisted by two experts in their respective fields. Dr. David Paetkau, who conducted the DNA analysis, heads Wildlife Genetics International, a renowned wildlife genetics laboratory in Nelson, British Columbia. Dr. Gary White, professor emeritus at Colorado State University, conducted the data analyses which generated the population estimate. Dr.
White is one of the world’s leading experts on wildlife population estimation using mark-recapture
methodology.

Andy Loranger, Refuge Manager of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, described the importance of the study’s results. “Kenai brown bears are a highly valued wildlife resource. Enumerating bears in heavily forested habitats like those on the Kenai and over large areas encompassing millions of acres is extremely challenging. This estimate of the Kenai brown bear population is an important piece of scientific information that will help inform land and resource management decisions and benefit the long-term conservation  of this iconic wildlife species.”

A full copy of the study report is available at:
http://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/Kenai_brown_bear_population_estimate_2012.pdf
and www.fs.usda.gov/chugach

Seeing Blackstone Bay through My Ears

By Charles Rogge, Participant, Glacier Ranger District and Challenge Alaska Sea Kayaking Adventure on the Chugach National Forest



Blackstone and Beloit Glaciers. Courtesy of Travis Shinabarger



In cooperation with the Glacier Ranger District of the Chugach National Forest, Challenge Alaska has, for several summers, offered a yearly sea kayaking adventure in Prince William Sound to persons with different disabilities. Earlier this month, I had the privilege of participating in my fourth such trip with Challenge. This sea kayaking adventure to Willard Island in Blackstone Bay provided splendid opportunities, not only to see the natural wonders of this unique part of Alaska, but also to experience them with the other senses.

Read more in SourDough News.

Opportunity Gave Life Experience

By Clarissa Zeller, Biology Intern, Cordova Ranger District

After graduating from Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Summer 2011, I joined the ANSEP program (Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program). ANSEP was created to work with and help students go from middle school all the way through to a Ph.D. The objective is to effect a systemic change in the hiring of Indigenous Americans in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, with the intention of creating career paths for them.
           
My experience with ANSEP has been more than helpful. As an Alaska Native, I grew up in small villages the majority of my life. With a helping hand from ANSEP, I was able to enter a bigger world with confidence that I would succeed in both college and my career.

Read more of Clarissa's interesting story in SourDough News!

Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center Back in Action for Winter

 CNF Avalanche Information Center Crew:
Wendy Wagner, Graham Predeger, and Kevin Wright.
(not pictured: Alex Mclain)

Educational lecture series begins this Thursday, daily advisories start November 17

As winter sets in across Alaska, the avalanche season has already begun. The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center (CNFAIC) is back in action working to produce timely and accurate avalanche advisories for winter recreationists in Turnagain Pass and Summit Lake in the Chugach National Forest region.  We already have reports of skier triggered and natural avalanche activity in these  backcountry areas.

The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center is a collaborative effort between the US Forest Service and nonprofit Friends of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.  It is the only government agency in the state of Alaska that produces backcountry recreational avalanche advisories, warnings, and public education.  The forecasting team of Kevin Wright, Wendy Wagner, Graham Predeger, and Alex Mclain work throughout the winter to produce the highest quality avalanche information for the public. 

 

Highly skilled and trained professionals, as well as lifelong backcountry enthusiasts, during the winter months CNFAIC staff head into the field almost daily to bring you  up-to-date information. Intermittent advisories will be produced for the next two weeks.  A daily advisory schedule will begin on November 17th.  Check the website at www.cnfaic.org or dial the hotline at 907-754-2369 for the latest avalanche forecast.  You can also follow us on facebook—or twitter—https://twitter.com/CNFAvalanche.

The avalanche center offers free avalanche awareness education to the public.  A full schedule of local avalanche education opportunities can be found on the calendar page of our website.  November is Avalanche Awareness Month in Alaska, and to draw attention the avalanche center is hosting a free Fireside Chat lecture   this Thursday, November 8th at the Girdwood Ranger Station at 7pm. The first lecture, Introduction to Avalanche Awareness, is the first in a series The presentations are a great introduction for backcountry beginners and a review for seasoned winter enthusiasts.

We encourage everyone to tune up their avalanche skills and get into a routine of checking the avalanche forecast before heading into the mountains.  When planning your winter trip into the backcountry, don't forget these safety items: shovel, beacon, probe, and KNOWLEDGE.

Current Conditions-November 8th:

There is a very thin and weak early season snow cover. The snow that fell in mid October sat under clear skies for two weeks and has turned to facets (sugar snow) with some impressive surface hoar (1-20cm) growing on top. When this 3-20" of weak snow becomes overloaded with additional snow we could see widespread avalanche activity and a rapid rise in danger.