26Feb 2014 by Angie Eldred
Haines Wetland Program Underway With Local Advisory Committee Meeting

Haines Wetland Program Underway With Local Advisory Committee Meeting

Community Watershed Stewardship, Restoration & Mitigation
On February 28th, the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition’s Aquatic Resource Mitigation Coordinator will facilitate a meeting in Haines to discuss community wetlands identification and planning with a local advisory committee. The meeting is hosted by the Chilkoot Indian Association and is part of a tribal initiative to develop a public education tool that will inform the public and developers on the presence and value of wetlands in Haines.   The CIA and SAWC have invited Teri Camery, a senior planner and wetland review board lead for the City and Borough of Juneau, to present at the meeting and share with participants the experience of the CBJ in mapping and assessing wetlands in their community. SAWC works to support local governments and tribes to play an active role informing natural resource management…
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11Apr 2013 by Angie Eldred
Yakutat Students Learn About Wetlands Science

Yakutat Students Learn About Wetlands Science

Community Watershed Stewardship
  Yakutat's 6th grade students joined with the US Forest Service and the City and Borough of Yakutat to promote conservation of wetlands and gain experience in wetlands science and research occurring within their community. Yakutat Wetlands from Sarah Spencer on Vimeo.   The students put together this video showcasing their wetlands studies as an entry for both a national video contest and a local Alaska contest, the Chugach Children's Forest Wetlands Youth Media Contest. The contests are for schools and youth organizations participating in wetland and watershed stewardship, and winners receive $1,000 to support their wetlands stewardship projects.   The contest is offered through WetlandsLIVE, a distance learning program that provides a year-long emphasis on wetlands through a series of live webcasts. These webcasts feature wetlands around the world,…
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19Jul 2012 by admin
Alaska Wetland Information

Alaska Wetland Information

Resources
The State of Alaska includes approximately 63% of the nation's wetland ecosystems (Hall et al. 1994). Estimates place the total acreage at approximately 130 million acres or about one-third of the State. Wetlands help maintain water quality by slowly filtering excess nutrients, sediments, and pollutants before water seeps into rivers, streams, and underground aquifers. They also offer a breeding ground and/or habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants. Wetlands are areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include tundra, permafrost areas, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.[gallery link="file" columns="4"]
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21May 2012 by admin
Introduction to the WESPAK-SE in Haines AK

Introduction to the WESPAK-SE in Haines AK

Resources
Wetland Ecosystm Service Protocal for Southeast Alaska On Friday May 18th, 2012 SAWC partnered with Dr.Paul Adamus to provide a intorductiory level class to the Haines Community of the WESPAK-SE. Thank you to the class participants and the Haines Public Library!! [styledbox type="information" ]WESPAK-SE Full Training Presentation[/styledbox] The WESPAK-SE is a science-based field method for rapidly assessing tidal and non-tidal wetlands in Southeast Alaksa. This tool can be used by natural resource managers, developers, industry, landowners, municipalities, tribes, and environmental consultants to understand better which wetlands are most valuable to our communities and most important to watershed processes. Natural resource managers and professional who understand WESPAK-SE and how to use it in the field are better equipped to assess wetland functions and values and therefore better able to support  the…
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20Nov 2011 by admin
State and Local Wetland Management- A call to Action

State and Local Wetland Management- A call to Action

Community Watershed Stewardship, Resources
A State that is 88% wetlands needs effective and appropriate local and state wetland management strategies Read SAWC's proposed [button url="http://alaskawatershedcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Discussion_Summary_11.09.2011.pdf" target="_blank" color="orange" ]Plan of Action[/button] [two_columns ] Wetland and Aquatic Resource Mitigation has become a concern of many communities in Southeast Alaska, including the locally based watershed management efforts that direct SAWC. In response to this concern SAWC is taking a pro-active stance and is committed to working with State and Federal agencies and decision makers, local governments, tribes, developers, landowners and the Alaska State Legislature to develop local and state wetland management  strategies that: [list style="check" color="blue"] respond to the unique characteristics of our landscape improve the health of our communities bolster our local economies, and are fair and equitable for developers   [/list] The last couple weeks…
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