UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
This agreement is made for the purpose of providing education and employment to local youths from Nome and Unalakleet, Alaska as stimulus to an economically depressed region, as well as developing invasive plant management plans and stewardship ethic for the Salmon Lake and Unalakleet River.
The activity to be undertaken through this agreement is in furtherance of the recipient's and BLM's mission by the providing the following benefits:
1. Encourage long-term stewardship of the land. It is our hope that by introducing students to botanical techniques and ecological theory we will encourage their long-term commitment to monitoring, managing and protecting the subsistence resources that their communities rely on for food and livelihood.
2. Protection of the environment. BLM sections of the Unalakleet WSR will be surveyed for non-native plant species as part of this project (the Salmon Lake SRMA survey will be funded by grant award L09AC15872). Both the Unalakleet River and Salmon Lake provide passage and spawning habitat for wild salmon populations. Early detection of and rapid response to incipient weed populations in these environments will help maintain the health of the watersheds.
3. Training and employment for local students. Approximately 20 students (10 from Nome and 10 from Unalakleet) will be trained to identify invasive plant species expected to occur in their areas. Under the supervision of AKNHP botanists, a subset of these students (approximately four students from Nome) will survey the Salmon Lake Campground, partially funded by grant award L09AC15872, and four students from Unalakleet will survey the BLM-managed sections of the Unalakleet WSR for the occurrence of non-native plant species. Students will be hired and paid (under announcement ARRA-BLM-AK-RFA-10-1805) for all hours spent in travel, training and survey. This academic and employment opportunity aims to both stimulate the local economy and encourage interdisciplinary and long-term stewardship of the subsistence environment.