alaska

Mention to anyone that you traveled to or lived in Alaska, and they are immediately drawn to you with questions and curiosity. Even today Alaska embodies the pioneer spirit that drove generations of Americans to explore, tame and settle our great nation. The USDA Forest Service anticipates that type of attention to the dynamic segments they are posting to the USDA Forest Service Youtube channel beginning this week that highlight the features, resources, livelihoods and people who live in and around the Tongass National Forest.

USDA Rural Development has a long history of providing rural Americans with access to safe, sanitary and affordable housing.  In interior Alaska, quality housing is a basic need.  Temperatures regularly plunge far below zero, often to as cold as -60 F. Thanks to extra effort on the part of some dedicated USDA employees, this winter a number of rural families in interior Alaska communities will have homes they can be proud of.

It started as a three-quarter ton chunk of ice taken out of Mendenhall Lake on the Tongass National Forest in Juneau, Alaska.

Most people do not realize that more than half the water in the United States comes from watersheds managed on forests. Used in homes, on ranches, in industry and for energy production, water resources in forests provide important services to people, as well as habitat for a wide variety of aquatic life. Our rapidly changing climate, however, is challenging our watersheds with both wet and dry extremes - more severe droughts, more frequent and larger floods, more soil moisture stress and lower stream flows during the dry season, less of a snowpack reservoir, and other effects. In a unique pilot project, 11 national forests around the country are assessing the vulnerability of their water resources and watersheds to such changes.

Yuut Elitnaurviat – People’s Learning Center (YE) is a non-profit vocational training center created by regional leaders to address the unique training and vocational education needs of the primarily Native residents of the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Region of southwestern Alaska. YE has been carefully designed and is community driven.

Written by Bill Wood, State Biologist, AlaskaLet’s say you’ve just awakened from a restless 6-month nap. You check on the kids and it seems like everyone is really hungry. On your way to the grocery store you pass a chicken take-out joint and the smell of those fryers is irresistible. With kids in tow, you perambulate into the unattended shop; by all appearances, it seems you may have discovered the proverbial “free lunch.” Who could say no?

One of the best things about living in Alaska and working for USDA is seeing how our programs improve things for the folks who call this region home.  Other than electricity and running water, nothing improves the quality of life more than broadband.

Several months ago, Vice President Biden said:   “I’m pleased to report that the administration is laying the foundation for a clean energy economy that will create a new generation of jobs, reduce dependence on oil and enhance national security.” If you want proof, check out USDA’s   Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).  USDA Rural Development awards grants through this Farm Bill program on a competitive basis and they can be up to 25 percent of total eligible project costs. Grants are limited to $500,000 for renewable energy systems and $250,000 for energy efficiency improvements.  The program also provides loan guarantees.

Talkeetna is unincorporated, but hundreds of Alaskans call it home and live there year-round. It has all the amenities you would expect in a small town, including a school, library, post office and a clinic. It also has community water and sewer service.

We wrapped up the final of four USDA-led jobs forums Monday in Anchorage.  As in Fairbanks, Kotzebue and Juneau, area leaders joined with Alaskans from all walks to life to provide input on what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to job creation and retention, especially in rural Alaska.