Free Tree and Shrub Workshop!!

Saturday May 12th 1-3 PM

590 University

Topics to be discussed include: 
- Native & non-native trees, flowering shrubs and fruit to plant this spring
- Plants available locally
- Ideas for adding color and winter interest to your landscape
- Attracting wildlife to your yard
- Planting techniques for bare root and container grown trees & shrubs 
 

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The first Tuesday in May is Alaska Agriculture Day. Celebrate the source of your food and fabric.

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Notice of Elodea Meeting

The Fairbanks Elodea Steering Committee will hold it's monthly meeting at North Pole City Hall on Tuesday, May 8th from 5:30-7:30pm.

Please contact 907-479-1213 Ext. 104 for more information. 

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Tree Sale Online Ordering!!!

To download the Tree Sale Brochure and order form, click here.

To view a simple list of our trees and shrubs for sale, click here.

Tree Sale 

May 26th, 11am - 4 pm

At the FSWCD located at 590 University Ave.

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Jerome "Jerry" Norum, 84, of Fairbanks, passed away Sunday, April 1, 2018, at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

FSWCD extends its deepest sympathies to Jerry's family, friends, and all who enjoyed and appreciated his tireless efforts to support our mission and all that we do.

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Agriculture in the Classroom Curriculum!

Alaska Agriculture in the Classroom is pleased to announce the release of our newest set of lessons on our website, our Alaska Indoor Gardening Curriculum. In the spring of 2017, AK AITC was awarded a grant from the National Agriculture in the Classroom organization to develop this resource. This work is supported in part by the Agriculture in the Classroom Grant no. 2017-38858 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. It was also supported by a grant from the Alaska Farm Bureau. 

This curriculum is a compilation of lessons developed by the Alaska Agriculture in the Classroom program, the National Agriculture in the Classroom (NAITC) organization, and educators throughout Alaska who have developed, reviewed, and piloted many these activities.  Please be patient with us. This is a work in progress, some links are currently in development and will be available soon.

Click HERE to go to the page.

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FSWCD is Looking for Two VISTA Summer Associates!

Looking for something amazing and rewarding to do this summer? VISTA stands for Volunteers In Service To America. This is a volunteer position that comes with a stipend as well as an education bonus upon completion of service. Many employers value VISTA service as an asset to your resume. Click HERE for more information about VISTA

Description: By educating the youth about gardening and providing opportunities for residents to grow their own vegetables, we hope to relieve some of the pressures of living in a food desert. Summer Associates will support the following projects:

• JP Jones Community Center – The Summer Food Service Program that operates when school is not in session provides congregate nutritional meals (breakfasts, snacks, lunches and/or dinners) for children and youth. Summer food service programs are generally available to youth age 18 and younger who live in designated low income areas. The SA will assist with the revitalization of edible food gardens around the JP Jones Community Center. The SA will be responsible for lesson development, scheduling plantings & harvesting activities, and teach lessons to children ages 6?12 years of age. They would be assisting with revitalizing the edible food gardens around JP Jones with the children attending the program.

• Fairbanks Youth Facility – During the summer months, the Fairbanks Youth Facility has a garden project with crops cultivated and harvested by their Treatment Unit residents and staff. The food from the garden is then donated to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank for distribution of fresh, locally grown produce to needy families. This project wouldn’t be possible without the assistance of the 4H and Youth Development program at UAF. The SA will assist with the on?site management and development of the garden and work with the residents on the day to day duties of the garden.

For more information about these positions and how to apply, click on the link below:

https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=79340&fromSearch=true

To apply for these positions, you MUST go through the VISTA application process. When you click on Apply Now, you will be asked to create a profile. This will be the first step. Feel free to contact us if you have questions.

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UPCOMING:  Free Streambank Restoration Workshop! 

Please contact Jim Barry (jbarry.fswcd@gmail.com, or 479-1213 ext. 107) to sign up and/or get more information about site visits. Hope to see you there!

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FSWCD has put together a short resource to help producers assess where they stand under the Produce Safety Rule, a portion of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This resource shows how to identify a producer’s current exemption status, and then gives an overview of the compliance requirements associated with each exemption status (fully exempt, qualified exempt, and non-exempt).

If you are curious about how a producer’s exemption status is determined and what could cause it to change, or if you would like an idea of the farm safety practices the Produce Safety rule advocates for, then please check out this resource here 

Thanks!

Click HERE for a PDF of the FSMA procedures and exemption help guide.
 

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Local WATER group has formed to help residents with information on issues related to environmental water health.

    ELODEA - ALASKA'S FIRST NON-NATIVE INVASIVE AQUATIC PLANT 

Elodea is the first non-native invasive aquatic plant to become established in Alaskan water bodies. It has been found in waterbodies in Anchorage, Cordova, the Kenai Peninsula, the Matanuska-Susitna area, and the Fairbanks area.  It was first detected in the Chena River system in 2009. Surveys conducted in 2011 and 2012 revealed that the lower 10 miles of Chena Slough which runs through North Pole is heavily infested with Elodea. In addition, Chena Lake, at Chena Lakes Recreation Area was found to be infested with Elodea, and a few isolated patches of Elodea were found in the Chena River. In 2015, Totchaket Slough, a slackwater slough located about 60 miles downriver of Fairbanks, was found to be heavily infested as well. 

In Alaska, Elodea infestations in water bodies can be expected to increase sedimentation, displace native vegetation, reduce biodiversity, degrade sensitive fish habitat, and interfere with safe river travel and floatplane operation. Elodea can be spread readily via boats and floatplanes, and because it reproduces vegetatively, a single fragment is all that is needed to start a new infestation. The Fairbanks Elodea Steering Committee propose to use diver-assisted suction dredging in the Chena River, and aquatic herbicide treatments in Chena Slough, Chena Lake, and Totchaket Slough. For more details please follow the links below. 

• Control Options for Elodea spp. in the Chena Slough near Fairbanks, AK: a complication of potential treatments 
• Chena Slough Elodea Control Trials: 2013 Overview 
• Integrated Pest Management Plan for Eradicating Elodea from Water bodies in Interior Alaska
• Environmental Assessment for the Interior Alaska Elodea Eradication Project
• Finding of No Significant Impact- Interior Alaska Elodea Eradication Project
• DEC Pesticide Use Permit for treating Elodea infestations in Chena Slough, Chena Lake, and Totchaket Slough with the aquatic herbicide fluridone:

1. Permit Application 
2. DEC Decision Document 
3. DEC Responsiveness Summary

Chena Slough Elodea Treatment 2017

The Elodea infestation in Chena Slough (between Plack Rd crossing and the mouth of Chena Slough) will be treated with the aquatic herbicide fluridone (Sonar^TM) starting in June 2017. Liquid fluridone will be delivered via an herbicide injection system at a concentration of 5-8 parts per billion (ppb) over a 12 week period starting on June 19th. Pelleted fluridone will be applied by boat on June 20th and 21st. There will be a follow up pellet treatment on August 8th -9th, 2017. For answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Chena Slough Elodea Eradication Project click here.  

At the target application rates, there are no restrictions on drinking, swimming, fishing, or livestock/ pet consumption of slough water.

If you use water directly from the slough for irrigation, there are some restrictions that may apply during the treatment period. For plants within the Solanaceae Family such as tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, and potatoes, do not use slough water if the measured fluridone concentration is greater than 5ppb. We recommend that you switch to an alternate irrigation source (e.g. well water) for these crops. 

Water sampling to test the concentration of fluridone in slough water will be carried out weekly over the course of the season. Please check HERE for updates on slough water fluridone concentration and irrigation restrictions. 

For results of fluridone analysis of well water samples please CLICK HERE. 

To see the results from this summer at a glance CLICK HERE. 

Photos from summer 2017 elodea treatments:

FSWCD employees conducting the second herbicide application in Chena Slough on August 8th, 2017 

The pink tips are indication of post-treatment damage to elodea (July 27th, 2017) 

Divers from Test the Waters Dive Shop are conducting mechanical 

control of a small patch of elodea in the Chena River

FSWCD Goals

1. Prevention and Eradication of Noxious & Invasive Species

2. Conservation of Plant and Soil Resources
3. Sustainable Agricultural Resources & Economy
4. Conservation/Maintenance of Water Resources
5. Conservation of Forest Resources
6. Education, and
7. Promotion of Affordable Energy