UAF explores range management opportunities with Cal Poly

Associate Professor Greg Finstad is seeking students who understand Alaska's tundra ecosystem and want to become range managers.

Finstad, manager of the Reindeer Research Program, is exploring options for a partnership with California Polytechnic Institute. He discussed the idea at a Range Science Education Council meeting last winter. "We can work across institutions to build strong range science programs," Finstad said.

Greg Finstad

He envisions a two plus two program, where students would study their first two years at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and finish the last two at Cal Poly. Ideally, Alaska students would be able to pay in-state tuition in California. "Cal Poly has its own slaughter plant for beef, swine and cattle," Finstad said. "Their motto is to learn by doing."

A precedent for the UAF/Cal Poly ties has already been set with the Reindeer Research Program having hosted six Cal Poly interns over the past few years. These Bureau of Land Management-funded positions have met with success on behalf of both institutions.

"There is a lot of rangeland in Alaska that needs good range scientists and range management," Finstad said.

He hopes to work with Cal Poly's Mark Horney,  assistant professor of rangeland resource management, to work out the details of the degree. "We could make a really nice package," Finstad said. "The students would come out really well qualified."

The need for land managers is nearing urgency, as much of the agency work force in the field is nearing retirement age.

"I just need a couple of students to teach the traditional range management principles," Finstad said. "We want to develop a program to train future range scientists for Alaska."

New Peace Corp Fellow learned value of community while serving in Panama

Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, Julie Cislo always had a burning desire to help underprivileged people.

After earning a B.S. in environmental conservation at Northern Michigan University in 2007, she worked for General Motors but found time to volunteer at an adult literacy center. Cislo couldn’t shake the notion of doing more for people in poverty so she joined the Peace Corps.

Julie Cislo celebrates the local holiday of San Isidro with students in Panama.

“They made it financially feasible and I felt I could make an impact,” she said. “There are so many volunteer programs but the Peace Corps is the best. They support the volunteers a lot.”

Panama was her assignment. “It was a nice choice,” Cislo said. “I wanted rural and Spanish-speaking.”

She served in a site in the province of Coclé four hours away from Panama City, teaching English to elementary school children from January 2012 to February 2014. Outside the classroom, Cislo started a recycling program, helped manage a seed bank and trained Peace Corps volunteers in the principles of organic gardening.

Cislo was the dedicated “Seeder” for her province, preserving and distributing seeds to volunteers and people in the community.

Julie Cislo, right, works with a Peace Corps volunteer to prepare plants to be sold at a community nursery.

The Peace Corps taught her to work with limited resources. She also learned the value of working with others. “If I didn’t have a pot or food I could ask my neighbors,” she said.

Some of her most vivid memories will be the “wildlife” she saw on visits to the outhouse. “There were snakes, tarantulas and loose cows. It was like camping for two years. It was great.”

Cislo was unique in that she avoided social media in preparation for her service. “I didn’t know anybody who had served; I wanted to avoid going in with any preconceived notions of what my Peace Corps experience would be like," she said. "I’m glad I did it my way.” She explained that most volunteers had gotten to know each other on Facebook and had read Peace Corps blogs prior to their assignments. “They had more of a culture shock when they would get to their site and see that even a volunteer in the same province could have a very different experience.”

Cislo, the UAF School of Natural Resources’ third Paul Coverdell Fellow, said Alaska was the natural choice for her graduate work. “It all seemed to fall into place,” she said. “I always wanted to come to Alaska.”

Her research will focus on forest soils and she plans to do environmental education volunteer work while at UAF. “I like Fairbanks. Everybody is so personable. Everybody wants to talk to you; there is friendliness and people have a happy demeanor.”

Cislo’s career goal is to work for the Natural Resources Conservation Service and to some day volunteer for the Peace Corps a second time.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading, crossword and jigsaw puzzles, camping, hiking and hanging out with her cat.

Associate Professor Susan Todd, SNRE Peace Corps Master's International and Coverdell advisor, said, “Julie has a great background in natural resources management. She’s also very adventurous; she’s a natural for our program.”

Julie Cislo celebrates a student's birthday under their "rancho."

Professor David Valentine and Associate Professor Susan Todd welcome Julie Cislo to the School of Natural Resources at UAF.

Japanese undergrad experiences Alaska

Ayana Nagamori learned how to determine the age of trees while serving an internship at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in August, but it is the mosquitoes she will remember the most.

While doing field work for Professor Glenn Juday, Nagamori quickly learned how to suit up with rain gear, head net and bug spray to combat the pesky presence of the "Alaska state bird."

Ayana Nagamori works in the forest near Fairbanks, Alaska. (Miho Morimoto photo)

Nagamori, a sophomore in applied bioscience at Hokkaido University in Japan, kept busy counting tree rings, measuring trees and doing data entry throughout her three weeks in Fairbanks. She went camping in Denali National Park and soaked in the healing waters at Chena Hot Springs Resort. She especially loved seeing the birds at Denali.

Working with School of Natural Resources technician Ryan Jess, Nagamori was amazed that he could point out where there had been fire, competition or drought simply by observing the rings of a tree's core.

She said one difference between Alaska and her home, Toyama, Japan, is that Alaska has only a few varieties of trees and Japan has multitudes. "We have many varieties of just pine trees," she said.

In Alaska, the people are tolerant, Nagamori said. "I want to come back again to see the nature and landscape. I appreciate the people's kindness."

Nagamori's career goal is to become a researcher. "I haven't decided what field yet but forestry is very attractive," she said. For fun Nagamori enjoys riding bicycles and singing karaoke.

Jess said the exchange student fit into the forest sciences field team well. "We wanted to show her what a job like this would entail," he explained. "She had the opportunity to do everything from measuring trees to coring and going through the analysis process."

Donna Anger, director of the UAF Office of International Programs and Initiatives, said the university has partnered with Hokkaido University since 1986. The new aspect is that she was asked to create short programs, including internship opportunities, for students of Hokkaido's Nitobe College, which helps students improve English skills while deepening their understanding of other cultures.

"We're really excited about it," Anger said. "Having Ayana here and working with Natural Resources Management  has been a good learning experience for everybody."

Bret Luick named editor of scientific journal

Bret Luick, associate professor of foods and nutrition at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, has been named associate editor of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, the official journal of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior.

Bret Luick

Luick's research interests include social and environmental determinants of food security and diet quality, with particular emphasis on local economic pressures. His currently funded research programs include developing the use of locally harvested fish in schools and the use of social marketing for the prevention of childhood obesity. He has served on JNEB’s board of editors.

Luick conducts the Alaska Food Cost Survey for the UAF Cooperative Extension Service. He can be reached at 907-474-5170.

Noted ski mountaineer to visit UAF Sept. 3

The first ski mountaineer to ski off the highest point of all seven continents will be at UAF Wednesday, Sept. 3 for a 5-K fun run and a lecture.

Kit DesLauriers

Kit DesLauriers will be in Alaska to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Wilderness Act. To commemorate the landmark conservation law that ensured protection of pristine wildlands for future generations, DesLauriers will lead a 5-K fun run and present a lecture.

The run starts at 2 p.m. Sept. 3 at the climbing tower near the Student Recreation Center. The lecture, "Finding Adventure in Wild Places," is at 7 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. All activities are free.

At the lecture, there will be door prizes and the first 200 attendees get a commemorative poster. The events are sponsored by UAF, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and the Alaska Alpine Club.


DesLauriers has several first descents to her name, including the first ski descent of the Polish Glacier on Aconcagua in Argentina, first female ski descent of Vinson Massif in Antarctica and the first woman to ski from the summit of Mt. Everest, Nepal. In addition to being an accomplished skier and ski mountaineer, she is an experienced rock climber and road and mountain bike racer.

During a 2010 ski expedition to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, DesLauriers skied the highest mountain in the Brooks Range/Arctic Refuge and then traveled 60 miles north to the Beaufort Sea. "It is the one place in the world that I have been that I know I will go back to," she said. "The Arctic Refuge has the wildest silence of any place I’ve visited and I believe strongly in protecting the entire ecosystem with a wilderness designation.”

DesLauriers is raising her two young daughters to appreciate the natural world and is teaching them the skills to move around comfortably in the outdoors. Both Grace and Tia love to hike, ski, camp, climb and grow vegetables with their parents.

Traveling cranes and geese wreak havoc on UAF grain fields

South-bound sandhill cranes and Canada geese are decimating experiment plots and barley fields at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm, located on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

Over 400 cranes and 100 geese visited the Fairbanks Experiment Farm the morning of Aug. 18.

The combination of massive flocks of wildfowl and a late ripening of grains is causing quite a conundrum.

"It's a mess," said experiment farm worker Charles Ashlock. "Last year we had drought and this year rain. But you can't control the weather."

In National Weather Service observations at the farm this summer, June had 3.97 inches of rain, July 5.43 and August (up to Aug. 18) 1.54, totaling 10.94 inches to date. The normal average for June in Fairbanks is 1.67 inches, July 2.52 and August 2.13. June had 18 days of rain, July 11 and August 14 so far.

The cool, wet conditions  have kept the grain from ripening as it should. Usually, the farm crew would have harvested the grain prior to the birds' arrival in the Interior.

Charles Ashlock makes loud noises with a starter gun, hoping the visiting wildfowl will go elsewhere. The birds are not harmed.

Ashlock visits the fields three times a day to shoot a starter gun, hoping the loud noises from firing off "bird bangers" will send the interlopers scurrying to Creamer's Field  Migratory Wildlife Refuge, where a bounty is spread deliberately for them. Meanwhile, some determined and wayward fowl obviously prefer the vittles at the UAF farm and Fairbanks International Airport. The two entities are in frequent contact with each other this time of year about the status of the unwelcome visitors.

Birds have trampled grain plots at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm.

For the past two weeks, thousands of cranes and geese have stopped by the farm, chowing down on the barley intended for the research reindeer herd and grain plots where varieties of wheat, barley, oilseeds and oats are tested. The cranes' trampling effect has also been detrimental. The farm produces 90 percent of the components crucial for the reindeer herd's nutritional needs and any decrease in crop production will have a financial impact, said Reindeer Research Program Manager Greg Finstad. "Whatever the cranes eat we won't have to meet our annual feeding needs and we will have to buy."

"We usually start counting birds Aug. 15 and we've been counting here since Aug. 5," said Fairbanks Experiment Farm Manager Alan Tonne. "We've had a phenomenal number of birds early on. It's usually Aug. 25 before we have large numbers of birds but it fluctuates."

"They are hammering the grain," Ashlock said. "They are wiping out entire corners of the fields. That's our battle right now."

Alaska growers school registration opens

Heidi Rader teaches a session of the Alaska Growers School by distance delivery.

Registration is open for the next session of the Alaska Growers School, which begins Sept. 24.

The 12-week farm training by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will be offered across Alaska by webinar or teleconference Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. through Dec. 17.

Alaska Growers School project director Heidi Rader said the school is ideal for Alaskans who wish to start a farm or expand an existing one for profit or subsistence.

“It’s for anyone in Alaska regardless of production goals,” she said.

Training will emphasize farm planning and risk management but will include the basics of growing vegetables, berries and fruit, raising poultry and livestock, and using season extension techniques. Resources for financial and technical expertise and loan programs also will be covered.

Instructors will include Extension agents and staff, agriculture professionals and farmers from across the state. The fee is $95, and tuition waivers are available. The waiver deadline is Sept. 8. Register and see details about the waivers and the course here.

The school is supported by the Washington State University Western Extension Risk Management Education Center and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information, contact Glenna Gannon, the Alaska Growers School coordinator, at 907-452-8251, ext. 3281, or growers.school@alaska.edu.

Youth get up close and personal with reindeer at UAF

The University of Alaska Fairbanks hosted a reindeer youth development camp in August for the first time, immersing Alaskans in reindeer husbandry so they could take the knowledge back home.

Children learn how to assess reindeer health during a UAF camp.

"There's been a de-coupling of young people from reindeer herding," said Greg Finstad, UAF Reindeer Research Program manager. "The young people have been losing interest. For the industry to survive we need the excitement and enthusiasm of the young people. I told them we need them to be reindeer producers to feed Alaskans."

The campers took the charge seriously, Finstad said. "It will be a grassroots way to try to revive the reindeer industry," he said.

From Aug. 9-12, students from Stebbins, Savoonga, Nome and Anchorage learned about the care and feeding of reindeer, reindeer ecology, halter breaking animals, record keeping, meat cutting, herding, forage ecology, grains, fertilizers and facilities. They also worked with UAF Veterinarian Lisa Lunn to give the animals physical exams.

Even though the students hail from diverse locations around the state, they formed a 4-H club to help them carry out the work they learned in Fairbanks. The Future Reindeer Herders of Alaska's vision statement is: "Educating people and developing proficiencies in reindeer herding through interaction, training, learning and reaching out through universities, camps and communities worldwide."

Each student was assigned a 4-month-old calf to work with. If he or she has the funds to ship the animal home, a pen for it once it gets there and enough food for a year, the reindeer will go with the student to rural Alaska. It has to be raised as a 4-H project, not as a pet, so it can be used for meat production, pulling a sled, packing gear or for educational outreach.

"They had lots of questions; once they were comfortable with each other they became very interested in the topics," said Jennifer Robinette, RRP outreach coordinator and the camp organizer.

Parent Bonnie Davis of Anchorage, a member of a Nome reindeer herding family, said the camp was beneficial for children. Two of her daughters attended. "I wish I had had this when I was young. This is an unparallelled experience for these guys."

Davis will likely be a leader of the 4-H club. "We're gong to make it work," she aid. "We will make this succeed."

She would love to see the camp held again. "You can't bring this type of experience to the classroom," she said. " This is amazing." 

Greg Finstad demonstrates meat cutting.

SNRE offers 1-credit plant propagation courses

The University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Natural Resources and Extension is offering two, one-credit plant propagation courses for fall semester.

Pat Holloway in the peony plots at the Georgeson Botanical Garden.

"Seeds and Seed Germination" will be held Sept. 10 through Oct. 8 on Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. Professor Pat Holloway will teach the principles and practices of plant propagation useful in horticulture, botany, forestry, agronomy, revegetation and land reclamation projects and plant research.

Students will gain a foundation in seed and fern spore bioloty, seed dormancy mechanisms, germination techniques and the seed industry of Alaska, with a focus on native and economically useful plants.

The second course, "Vegetative Propagation," Oct. 22 through Nov. 19, will explain the principles and practices of plant propagation useful in horticulture, botany, forestry, agronomy, revegetation and land reclamation projects and plant research. Methods such as cuttings, layering, grafting, bulb, corm and tuber propagation and micro-propagation through tissue culture will be explained. Alaska native and economically useful plants will be emphasized. For more information, contact Holloway at psholloway@alska.edu.

A third course will be taught for spring semester.

FFA, 4-H leader adds reindeer to her repertoire

Incoming University of Alaska Fairbanks freshman Taylor Armstrong caused quite a stir at the Tanana Valley State Fair. Every time she took her reindeer, Merlin, for a walk crowds gathered to admire him and ask Armstrong questions.

In the livestock auction Aug. 8, Merlin sold for $9 per pound on the hoof. In the past, Armstrong has raised turkeys, hens, guinea pigs, cows, a potbelly pig, an alpaca, ducks and geese. “Everything except horses,” she said.

Taylor Armstrong with Merlin at the Tanana Valley State Fair.

Choosing a reindeer for her last year in 4-H seemed like a “neat opportunity.” She bought a six-month-old calf last October from Williams Reindeer Farm in Palmer and got advice from UAF Reindeer Research Program researcher George Aguiar as she took care of Merlin.

Raising a reindeer has brought new emotional challenges she didn’t face with other animals, Armstrong said. “You have to create a trust and a bond,” she explained. “When he was castrated I had to stand back.” She would recommend reindeer projects for older 4-Hers and FFA students but doesn’t think younger children would understand the emotional complexities. “It’s a unique project and it was a lot of fun,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong has been active in North Pole Ptarmigans 4-H Club for 11 years and FFA for seven. The recent North Pole High School graduate is the Alaska FFA state president and will represent the state at the national FFA convention in Louisville, Kentucky, this fall.

Involvement in 4-H and FFA has kept Armstrong working with animals and steered her career choice. “They have helped me develop leadership skills exponentially,” she said. “And helped me branch out and become better organized.” Recalling her childhood, Armstrong said she was a shy kid until 4-H and FFA helped her become more confident.

This fall, Armstrong will attend UAF to study natural resources management. She wanted to stay in Alaska to fulfill her FFA commitment and she was intrigued when UAF began planning a veterinary school partnership with Colorado State University.

Armstrong wants to grow FFA in Alaska and make excellent grades in college. “I want to be a large animal veterinarian, stay in Alaska and give back to my community,” she said.

She won the top scholarship of $15,000 from Golden Valley Electric Association and the UAF Cornerstone, Ford FFA, Emblem Club, Tanana Valley District 4-H and the Derek Stenroos scholarships. She also received the Alaska Performance scholarship and the UA Scholars award. “I worked really hard,” Armstrong said.

She credits her 4-H leader, Nancy Graff, her mother, Jill Armstrong, and North Pole High FFA leaders, Cheryl Sanders and Calib Krepps, for helping her tremendously. “My family has been a huge influence,” she added.

In her free time, Armstrong enjoys hunting, shooting and four-wheeling, “all the outdoor stuff.”

Taylor Armstrong in the show ring with Merlin at the Tanana Valley State Fair.

Grad student earns $25,000 SARE grant

University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate student Laura Starr is pairing ecology and economics in her research. Starr, who is studying natural resources management, was recently awarded a $25,000 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant to continue her work. She is the second UAF student to receive a SARE award in the past 26 years.

Laura Starr uses a Grass Master to measure forage.

The one side focuses on grazing impacts of intensely managed soil and the other the economic sustainability of raising muskox in Alaska.

“I love soil,” Starr said. “It’s so humble. Few people appreciate how important it is. I feel like it’s almost magic with the microbes being between mineral and biological life.” Very little research has been done on northern grazing. “It’s exciting to start something new,” she said.

As for the muskox investigation, Starr said, “I like the possibilities. This is about place-based animals. Just like camels belong in the desert, muskox belong in the north.”

Starr grew up in Point Roberts, Washington, on a peninsula, and went to school in Vancouver, British Columbia. After high school, she was a translator for a British sound equipment company in France and Spain, then sailed the seas with a cruise line. She joined the U.S. Army, training to be a pilot until a car accident derailed that career path.

Starr earned a bachelor of science in ecology and a bachelor of arts in economics at Evergreen State College in Washington.  She met her husband Dean, an Army helicopter pilot, at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The couple and their two daughters lived in Louisiana and Washington before being transferred to Fairbanks two years ago.

UAF was the reason the Starrs requested Alaska, so that Laura could go back to school. “We wanted a post with a good university nearby,” she said. “I told Dean let’s go to Alaska.”

After discussing potential projects with her faculty advisor, School of Natural Resources Research Assistant Professor Jan Rowell, Starr decided to focus on grazing and muskox.

“I don’t have an ag background,” Starr said. “But I know landscape ecology, which looks at the big picture. I look at farms as an agricultural patch.” She has been studying the methods of Allan Savory of the Savory Institute, known for reversing land degradation through holistic management.

“I’m seeing if trampling the soil works the way Savory thought it would,” Starr said. “I already see some differences.” She is testing the soil’s parameters, change in microbes, the physical properties of soil and plant species composition.

She uses a mechanical tool that simulates animals crossing the pastures. “We are looking to optimize the decomposition,” Starr said. “I shovel a lot of poop.”

The challenges are determining the methodology that should be used in her experiments. “I’m still figuring out the judgment of it, all the details,” she said. I learn a lot from my committee members on research design.

“Juggling life with research is the greatest challenge,” she added. To relax in spare time, Starr enjoys piecing together jigsaw puzzles and spending time with her family.

Starr’s goal is to eventually earn a doctorate. She was thrilled to receive the SARE award. “I’m going to use it for soil tests, new equipment and a part-time assistant,” she said.

She gives much credit to Rowell, who is not only her advisor, but mentor. “She is always looking out for me,” Starr said. “I can’t overstate how supportive and helpful she has been. I am very lucky.”
The staff at the UAF Large Animal Research Station, where Starr conducts her research, have also been helpful and accommodating, Star said, as has been SNRE Research Technician Bob VanVeldhuizen.

Rowell likes that Starr’s background has two of the three disciplines central to sustainable agriculture: economics, ecology and community/culture.

Starr’s economic skills have been applied to an analysis of qiviut production and muskox farming, an agricultural enterprise developed and fostered in Alaska, Rowell said. “The ecological portion of her study is investigating the components of grazing in subarctic agro-ecosystems. While this is a new direction for those of us working at LARS, it is critically important to the health, welfare and efficiency (economics) of grazing livestock and to the ecological compatibility of agricultural systems with natural habitats in this state."

Rowell said Starr’s work is the first step in the process and will provide valuable baseline information that can be incorporated into multi-disciplinary grants on grazing systems throughout the state. 
“Laura is an exceptional student,” Rowell said. “Without losing focus on the importance of family, she juggles classes and research with motivation, determination and intelligence.

“Western SARE is a very competitive program and it’s a testament to her abilities that she was chosen as a recipient for their graduate student award.”

Grad student welcomed home after Peace Corps service

Graduate student Samantha Straus is home after 27 months of Peace Corps service in The Gambia, West Africa.

"I have reverse culture shock," Straus told professors and friends at a welcome-back luncheon Aug. 7.

Samantha Straus is presented with gifts upon her return to UAF. Tony Gasbarro, Peace Corps coordinator for UAF, is at left.

Straus left The Gambia in June, then visited her mother in Arizona before embarking on a two-week road trip to Alaska with another returned Peace Corps Volunteer. She arrived in Fairbanks two weeks ago. While in The Gambia, Straus missed everything about UAF and Fairbanks, she said.

Upon returning she discovered that friends had moved on with their lives in the two years she was gone. "You have to re-find your place," Straus said. "You have to remind yourself it's all relative."

Even though she struggled with hunger and food scarcity during her assignment, she kept her commitment and is glad she did. At the lowest point, she lost 17 pounds.

She said, "I will remember the relationships I had in The Gambia. I called my host family yesterday and my sister was crying so hard she couldn't talk. I will always remember them and be grateful for them. The people treated me with respect."

During fall semester, Straus will write her thesis about forestry management in the community where she served. "It will be about how to utilize the forest," she said. "There is too much pressure on the forest and unless people manage it and plant trees they are going to lose it." She hopes to share her paper with the Peace Corps and the minister of forestry in The Gambia.

Straus is a student in the SNRE Master's International Program, where students combine Peace Corps service with earning a master's degree in natural resources management.

She will give a public presentation on her Peace Corps experiences this fall.

"The Peace Corps is the hardest job you will ever love," Straus said. "I had to learn to navigate things alone."

Further reading:
SNRE student's beekeeping project stimulates interest in forestry in The Gambia, SNRE Science and News, March 10, 2014

Reindeer program offers youth camp

Young people from Stebbins, Savoonga, Nome and Anchorage will attend a Reindeer Youth Development Camp Aug. 9-12 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Jennifer Robinette has planned a motivating four-day camp for Alaska youth.

Jennifer Robinette, outreach coordinator for the Reindeer Research Program, developed the workshop to teach rural youth not only the basics of reindeer husbandry but leadership skills at the same time.

She and guest speakers will lead sessions on halter training, record keeping, grains and fertilizers, meat cutting, forage ecology and goal setting. A UAF veterinarian will work with the campers to demonstrate reindeer physical exams.

Attendees were selected because of their interest in raising reindeer; some come from herd owning families. "We'll teach the pros and cons about each job that reindeer can do and what works best in their communities," Robinette said.

Once the students return home they will implement 4-H projects based on what they learned in Fairbanks.

This is the first time UAF has offered the camp. "In the future we want to have a longer camp," Robinette said. "We want to work with youths who have access to large reindeer herds off the road system."

The camp was funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.