27Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
Haines Youth Beach Cleanup

Haines Youth Beach Cleanup

Community Watershed Stewardship
Takshanuk Watershed Council organized a Youth Beach Cleanup effort this past August to improve water quality and bring awareness to the effects of improper waste disposal.     Many of the beaches in this area, especially those with a southern exposure, collect a lot of debris during winter storm events. Bringing youth to these beaches to see the amount of trash that accumulates even where no one lives shows them the effects of improper trash disposal.   On August 16, 2012 five youths and three adults spent 6 hours picking up debris along the outer beach of Taiyasanka Harbor.  A total of 660 pounds was collected and hauled to the ACME transfer station.  The cost of the disposal of this trash was $195.  A majority of the debris consisted of…
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27Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
Recreational Shellfish Beach Monitoring Pilot Program (Haines)

Recreational Shellfish Beach Monitoring Pilot Program (Haines)

Community Watershed Stewardship
The Chilkoot Indian Association and Takshanuk Watershed Council are working together on a Pilot Recreational Shellfish Beach Monitoring Program in the Haines area.   [caption id="attachment_972" align="aligncenter" width="811"] Sites of PSP monitoring[/caption]   The goal of this monitoring program is to build knowledge of local trends in paralytic shellfish toxins and to establish knowledge of the risks of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in specific harvests. This pilot program is not yet sufficient to certify beaches as "safe" or completely ensure harvester safety from paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).   Staff from CIA and TWC sample harvesting sites at Viking Cove and Portage Cove each month, year round, for the two year pilot program. Mussels are collected from rocks on the beaches, the mussels are shucked, and the meat is sent to a…
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27Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
Beach Sampling in Haines

Beach Sampling in Haines

Community Watershed Stewardship
The Takshanuk Watershed Council in Haines has instated a beach sampling program to test the town's beaches for the presence of fecal coliform and enterococci bacteria.   Impacts such as shoreline development, wastewater collection and treatment facilities, septic tanks, urban runoff, disposal of human waste from boats, commercial and domestic animals, and natural animal sources such as wildlife can affect and contaminate waters close to shore. People who swim and recreate in contaminated waters with such bacterial pollution are at an increased risk of becoming ill.   During the summer months, when people use beaches and shoreline areas most for recreation, Meredith Pochardt, of Takshanuk Watershed Council takes water samples at Lutak and Portage Cove beach areas. She sends the samples to a lab in Juneau for testing. [caption id="attachment_970"…
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26Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
Haines Comstock Culvert Replacement

Haines Comstock Culvert Replacement

Community Watershed Stewardship
  In the fall of 2012, the Takshanuk Watershed Council (TWC) brought together funding from USFWS, Representative Bill Thomas, and mitigation money from the Haines Borough to replace the 0.1 mile Comstock Culvert and rebuild the incised stream to provide unimpeded fish passage.   [caption id="attachment_962" align="aligncenter" width="478"] Damaged culvert in poort condition[/caption] The Sawmill Creek tributary that crosses Comstock Road 0.1 miles from Allen Road supports spawning Coho salmon, cutthroat, and Dolly Varden Char.  In 2008 a survey of the 0.1 culvert revealed that it was in extremely poor condition, with day-lighting in the road, a perch of 42”, and an incised channel, not allowing for fish passage.  In the fall of 2012 A new culvert was installed to provide unimpeded fish passage. [caption id="attachment_963" align="aligncenter" width="541"] Finished culvert…
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25Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
Yakutat Coastal Learning Center

Yakutat Coastal Learning Center

Community Watershed Stewardship
The City and Borough of Yakutat Office of Planning and Natural Resources has partnered with Yakutat Public Schools, the US Forest Service, and Americorps to develop the Yakutat Coastal Learning Center. The goal of this project is to establish the office of Planning and Natural Resources as the center of education, research and public outreach in the Yakutat community. The project, staffed by Bill Lucey and Sarah Liben of the Planning and Natural Resources office, and Americorps member Phillip Carson, will accomplish this goal through an array of different objectives and projects including: -the development and integration of a place-based environmental curriculum focusing on themes related to fisheries and wildlife for grades K-12 -the development of a science center for use by researchers, community members, students -the involvement of students…
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22Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
Beyond Monitoring: Adaptive Management Practitioner’s Workshop

Beyond Monitoring: Adaptive Management Practitioner’s Workshop

Events, Trainings & Opportunities, Resources
Your participation in the following workshop will help communities, natural resource management agencies, and partners further our mutual priorities of adaptive management and ecological monitoring:   Beyond Monitoring: Adaptive Management Practitioner’s Workshop Sitka, AK April 28-30, 2013     Background The Sitka Conservation Society and more recently the Sitka Sound Science Center have been working with the USFS Sitka Ranger District on augmenting monitoring needs by conducting ecological monitoring projects. The goal of these efforts is to contribute to the science and techniques of watershed restoration and ecosystem (terrestrial, freshwater, and marine) management by incorporating multi-party monitoring information and community volunteers in a meaningful way. This workshop will help guide these efforts to maximize their pertinence and contribution to existing resource management needs, and serve as a case study for…
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22Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
Local Wood, Local Building: Bike Shelter Coming to Sitka Sound Science Center

Local Wood, Local Building: Bike Shelter Coming to Sitka Sound Science Center

Community Watershed Stewardship
(post written by Ray Friedlander, shared from Sitka Conservation Society)    Notorious for having bikes chained along its railway, the Sitka Sound Science center is upgrading its parking for those traveling on wheels. The Construction Tech class at Sitka High, under the instruction of Randy Hughey, is building a bike shelter for the Science center made of young growth Sitka spruce and old growth red cedar from Prince of Wales Island. The 6,000 board feet of this Alaskan wood was milled by Mel Cooke of Last Chance Enterprises out of Thorne Bay. From Cooke’s perspective, the logs are very easy to work with – very symmetrical, very little taper, and mostly comes out straight. “I enjoy cutting it, it cuts real easy, and the wood looks really good– beautiful boards” says…
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19Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
Review of Forest Restoration in the Tongass [Sitka Conservation Society]

Review of Forest Restoration in the Tongass [Sitka Conservation Society]

Community Watershed Stewardship, Resources
(post originally written by Scott Harris and shared from Sitka Conservation Society)     Bob Christensen, original member of SCS’s Groundtruthing Project team, recently completed a comprehensive review of forest restoration methods for The Wilderness Society. This very readable work provides a thorough background of the why, how, and where of restoring forest habitats in the Tongass National Forest. It also describes a concise method for prioritizing restoration locations based on ecological, social, and economic criteria. Sitka Conservation Society used this work to inform the prioritization conducted for the Sitka Community Use Area. Efforts like this are critical to our understanding and ever-constant learning about how to restore fish and wildlife habitat in Southeast Alaska.     You can view Bob’s report below or download an 8 Mb version by clicking on…
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13Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
Haines School Science & Gardening Project

Haines School Science & Gardening Project

Community Watershed Stewardship
Takshanuk Watershed Council is currently working with Haines School District to present an introductory and advanced permaculture course teaching sustainable gardening practices. Students and community members will be able to complete the course and, upon completion, apply their knowledge to maintaining the school's garden, which supplies fresh produce for school meals.   The program will be offered to 20 individuals, 5 students and 15 community members. The courses will be taught by Melissa Aronson in partnership with 7 Echoes Homestead and the Haines Borough. Through this program, Takshanuk Watershed Council and its partners will encourage and promote sustainable gardening practices as well as more production of local foods in the Haines community. In the future the school garden will be used as a teaching site to bring more permaculture education…
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07Feb 2013 by Angie Eldred
New staff at SAWC

New staff at SAWC

Uncategorized
Angie Eldred, Communications Coordinator   Hi, I'm Angie. I grew up in Grand Rapids, MI and earned my Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies and Communication Studies from Western Michigan University. I first came to Southeast Alaska in 2008 for a seasonal gig building trails with the US Forest Service in Petersburg. The following year I worked for a fisheries stream monitoring program sampling streams throughout various states in the Northwest and a conservation corps in southern Utah. I returned to Southeast Alaska in 2010 for another Forest Service gig out of Wrangell, working at Anan Bear Observatory, and have stayed in Wrangell since.   I have come to call this place home and have formed a deep connection with the people and landscape that make Southeast so amazing. I love…
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