RREA Reports FY2015 Compiled
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Title: Alaska RREA Program Sponsoring Agency NIFA Project Status ACTIVE Funding Source Renewable Resources Reporting Frequency Annual Accession No. 228614 Project No. ALK-12-02 Project Start Date 10/01/2011 Project End Date 09/30/2016 Reporting Period Start Date 10/01/2014 Reporting Period End Date 09/30/2015 Submitted By Michele Pogue Date Submitted to NIFA 11/03/2015 Project Director R Gorman 907-747-9413 [email protected] Recipient Organization Performing Department EXT - ALASKA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION Cooperative Extension Service 527 SEWARD DILLINGHAM, ALASKA 99576 DUNS No. 615245164 Non-Technical Summary This project addresses four Alaska strategic issues: 1) high energy costs in rural Alaska, 2) limited economic opportunities in rural Alaska communities and among rural Alaskans, 3) the need to increase knowledge and implementation of forest stewardship plans on private forest land as the way to sustain Alaska's private forest lands; 4) the need to sustain and improve habitat for forest wildlife and fisheries. Alaska forest resources are many and varied. Alaska forest resources may provide alternative energy through wood biomass. Individuals and communities may develop sustainable income-generating opportunities from Alaska forests by utilization of forest resources in consumptive and non-consumptive activities. Alaska forest landowners need increased awareness and knowledge of forest stewardship plans, and they need to implement those plans once developed. Forest wildlife and fisheries are critical to many Alaskans. Private forest landowners must collaborate with agencies and neighbors to sustain and improve forest wildlife and fisheries habitat. This project will use a variety of Extension outreach techniques to make indirect contact through social media, Internet-based information resources, newsletters and fact sheets to increase awareness of these issues and ways to address them. Workshops, short courses, conferences, direct contacts, web-based & other electronic educational activities will be conducted and participants will be tested to evaluate increased knowledge. Forest landowners and managers will be contacted directly to evaluate their implementation of practices and techniques that address the goals and objectives mentioned in this project. Extension professionals funded in part by this project are located in forested portions of Alaska. Their efforts will be concentrated in areas proximate to their work base as it is impossible for Extension forestry professionals to provide adequate coverage statewide. Extension information resources developed by this project to increase awareness of the goals and objectives will be available for all Alaskans. Extension will collaborate with other parts of the university and with federal, state and local government agencies, Alaska Native organizations and nongovernmental organizations to extend the reach of this project and to avoid duplication. Accomplishments Major goals of the project Goal 1 Reduce dependence on expensive imported fuels by substituting locally available wood biomass for energy: Objective 1a Increase awareness among Alaskans of space heating & energy systems using wood biomass compared to non- renewable and other renewable fuels; Objective 1b Increase knowledge among Alaska homeowners and facility managers about wood fuel space heating systems including fuel types, local availability, handling, storing, modern wood burning appliances, ventilation systems, installation, maintenance, known costs; Objective 1c Increase installation of new or upgraded energy systems using wood biomass by Alaska facilities and commercial establishments; Objective 1d Increase awareness and knowledge of sustainable management of forest lands used for biomass; Objective 1e Increase implementation of sustainable forest management practices by forest landowners for wood biomass harvesting. Goal 2 Increase economic opportunities of individuals and communities using local forest resources; Objective 2a Increase awareness of benefits from forest product processors and other income-generating opportunities of local forest resources to individuals and communities; Objective 2b Increase knowledge of forest landowners, community leaders & citizens of the contribution to local and regional economies using sustainably managed local forest resources; Objective 2c Increase the number of new or expanded existing forest resource based income-generating businesses. Goal 3 Increase number of private forest landowners completing and implementing forest stewardship plans: Objective 3a Increase awareness among forest landowners and managers of benefits and opportunities from forest stewardship practices; Objective 3b Increase the knowledge of the benefits and opportunities Report Date 11/03/2015 Page 1 of 4 Accession No. 228614 Project No. ALK-12-02 from forest stewardship practices; Objective 3c Extension support and/or involvement increases the number of forest stewardship plans initiated and/or developed; Objective 3d Extension and collaborators increase the number of forest landowners implementing at least one forest stewardship practice and increase the number of acres with improved forest management. Goal 4 Extension collaborates with partners to improve and sustain habitat for forest wildlife & fisheries resources; Objective 4a Extension and collaborators increase awareness of wildlife and fish habitat management principles and practices; Objective 4b Extension and collaborators increase forest landowners and managers knowledge of wildlife & fish habitat relationships; Objective 4c Forest landowners and managers implement at least one new wildlife and/or fish habitat management practice that increases acres or stream miles with improved habitat as a result of Extension collaborations. Outputs include the number of: educational events, contacts with new awareness, new or upgraded biomass enterprises, forest landowners implemented management practices, new or expanded forest resources based enterprises, forest stewardship plans developed, forest landowners who initiated forest stewardship practices, landowners who implemented new habitat management practice or acres or stream miles with improved habitat. What was accomplished under these goals? G1-Biomass: Obj1a, b, d accomplished 21 Educational Events including workshops, seminars, presentations and field trips statewide often with various cosponsors including Alaska State Forestry, the AHTNA Native Corporation, the US Forest Service, NRCS, BLM, ADF&G, the Ruffed Grouse Society engaging 127,587 contacts that were interested in and increased their knowledge of wood biomass use, projects, facilities design, construction, management, forest management and timber harvesting equipment for biomass fuels. In addition we continued collaboration with Alaska Energy Authority for staff support of the Alaska Wood Energy Development Task Group for feasibility studies, design and construction of 6 new public biomass facilities in rural AK; collaborated with Alaska Center for Energy & Power for ongoing public awareness of bio-energy projects in interior AK as well as regular multi-agency technical providers meetings on biomass facility and bio-fuels forest management and participated in other public meetings on biomass; Obj1c assisted public facility managers with proposals for future new biomass facilities and assisted existing facilities with air quality monitoring and field harvesting situations; Obj1e collaborated with state, federal, private and native forest managers and landowners, resource development councils, Fish & Game Advisory Boards, State Forest Citizen Advisory Boards, Logger Associations, school districts, Soil & Water Conservation Districts and citizen/community advisory board members to understand and implement silviculture based biomass harvesting while maintaining a renewable and sustainable multiple use resource and land base: more than 128,00 Alaskans attended or were indirectly involved in workshops, conferences, or were seeking information throughout the State concerning biomass/firewood/pellets/chips etc. to either save money compared to the cost of non-renewable fuel energy sources, enter or expand their biomass based businesses or diversify their local economies by utilizing local & regional biomass resources for home heating fuel. G2-Economic Opportunities: Obj2a.The participants of workshops, educational events, newsletters, blogs and podcasts learned of forest based economic opportunities related to biomass. In addition, provided technical assistance to more than a dozen forest based businesses on resource availability, product marketing and trends in biomass harvesting and processing equipment; worked with the USDA Forest Service to plan for and put up biomass based timber sale opportunities in SE Alaska for small operators that need timber/biomass. G3-Forest Stewardship Plans: Obj3a, b, c: Collaborated with AK Div of Forestry contacting 27 private forest landowners to increase awareness and the practice of forest stewardship with three forest stewardship plans being developed and one new forest stewardship project being implemented. G4-Habitat for Fish & Wildlife: Obj4a, b: Collaborated with AK Div of Forestry and National Forestry Foundation for statewide coordination of 5 Project Learning Tree and educator workshops on topics including forest habitat reaching 135 teachers and school administrators; Collaborated with ADF&G on project Wild and Wildfire in Alaska Programs with regard to teacher training: assisted AK