USDA Open For Business in Rural Alaska

UAnchorage, Alaska, Nov 03, 2011 --

USDA-RD Alaska State Director Jim Nordlund today announced Ms. Tiffany Zulkosky has been hired as the new USDA-RD Alaska West Area Manager starting on November 7^th. The West Area covers the Bristol Bay, Calista, Bering Straits and NANA Regions with the main office in Bethel and satellite offices in Dillingham and Nome.

 “The needs of the West Area are considerable and Tiffany is uniquely suited to address them. She is Yup’ik, grew up in Bethel, is well educated and has strong experience in the public arena including serving as Bethel’s mayor,” stated Nordlund.

“Tiffany is highly knowledgeable about the area and the issues it faces. She will assist Rural Development in tailoring projects to improve the economic well-being and quality of life of area residents. Such projects may include funding through our Housing, Utilities, Business or Community Facilities programs,” said Nordlund.

READ MORE:  http://199.134.2.19/STELPRD4013321.html

Denali Commission Surveys for Rural Managers

Rural Managers, whether they be city/tribal administrators, utility
managers, public works directors, or other rural facility managers,
are collectively responsible for overseeing and managing more than
a billion dollars worth of infrastructure in rural Alaska. Do these
managers have the skills and training necessary to manage this
infrastructure? What are the barriers rural managers face in trying to
meet their training goals? Do current rural business education and
training programs offer the training rural managers need? What
additional training and/or programs are needed, if any, and what
training delivery options are best suited for rural managers? These
are the primary questions the Denali Commission Rural Managers
Training Needs Assessment hopes to answer!


Link to the Surveys HERE

 
Who should complete the survey?

There are two survey instruments, one for Rural Managers who
are responsible for managing village infrastructure, the other for
Regional Training Centers and Training Providers. If you are a
Rural Manager responsible for managing some facet (or all) of your
village’s facilities and infrastructure, please complete the Rural
Manager Training Needs Assessment survey. If you operate Alaska-based
post-secondary business education and training programs targeting
the training needs of rural managers, please complete our Rural
Manager Regional Training Program Inventory survey to document the
training you are currently providing. Access both via Three Star
Enterprises LLC homepage here:


Link to the Surveys HERE


Project Goals:

We know your time is valuable. The information gathered from this
needs assessment will help ensure that the unique training needs of
Alaska’s rural managers are addressed by current and future training
programs, as well as guide future training investments.

Project Management:

This training needs assessment has been funded by the Denali
Commission and is being managed by the Denali Commission Training
Program. Three Star Enterprises LLC has been contracted to conduct the
interviews and surveys, and complete the needs assessment report. For
more information, contact:

Anthony Caole, Three Star Enterprises LLC, (888) 375-7774 ext. 1

Karen Johnson , Denali Commission, (907) 271-1414

Link to the Surveys HERE

Energy Innovation Benefits the Alaskan Bush

DILLINGHAM, Alaska—Tom Marsik and Kristin Donaldson are building a house a few minutes’ drive from the center of this small city, a two-story model with peat-brown vinyl siding that blends easily with the yellows and golds of the tundra in early autumn. The location is stunning, but it’s only from the inside that you see the building’s defining characteristic: White-painted walls that are more than two feet thick.

The house being built outside of Dillingham by Tom Marsik and Kristin Donaldson largely follows Passive House standards.

[Photo © Tom Marsik]

Built largely on the rigorous codes of Passive House standard, the living space is like a box that has been hermetically sealed, then wrapped in a thick blanket of insulation and placed snugly within a bigger box. Though the house is filled with bright natural light and fresh air, it is virtually air-tight. One night last winter, when the temperature was near zero outside, it was still over 50 degrees inside—without the use of a heater.



Read More: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Dental Health Aides in Rural Alaska - PBS Reports

Dental Health Aides in Alaska - PBS Airs Controversial Program 

A program to train dental therapists to perform basic care in rural Alaska has been met with both praise and skepticism. Health correspondent Betty Ann Bowser continues her series of reports on dental costs, coverage and access for Americans.

Read all the comments on the PBS Blog here!


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Housing Development Innovations

Atmautluak to launch construction company

by Angela Denning-Barnes on September 1, 2011

Atmautluak Traditional Council has been awarded $798,888 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to launch the Pikat Housing Development Company (PHD Company) to help get sustainable, permanent jobs in the village.


The award is part of HUD’s new Rural Innovation Fund to address distressed housing conditions and concentrated poverty. The program is set up to promote an entrepreneurial approach to economic development in rural and tribal communities.

Atmautluak will use the award to create jobs as well as bring new housing to the community. As a for-profit business, the PHD company plans to develop energy-efficient, climate-sensitive housing for low income residents. They plan to work with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks to construct two prototype homes that can then be duplicated in the village. The project will use the local construction workforce.

According to the grant application, the local workers have a lot of experience building homes for the tribe. Since 2001, they’ve built three homes funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, built a four-bedroom home using NAHASDA funds, and rehabilitated 17 homes with combined funds. This new venture will train workers on green, energy-efficient new construction.

HUD’s Northwest Regional Administrator, Mary McBride says the project is a great example of an effective public-private partnership. She says the flexible funds will produce climate-appropriate housing that will withstand Alaska’s unique climate demands in a sustainable way.
Atmautluak is among 46 rural and tribal communities in 19 states to be awarded grants under HUD’s new program. The total give-away was more than $28 million.
HUD received a total of more than 300 applications from 48 states.

UAF Sustainable Village

UAF Sustainable Village Competition

UAF Office of Sustainability


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Pondering Drilling...Wainwright Weighs-In

From the Wall Street Journal
By Steven Mufson, Published: August 16

Wainwright, Alaska

Two decades ago, a handful of wells were drilled in the Chukchi Sea, but oil companies didn’t think it was worth developing. Now, prices have soared, and Shell thinks there is more recoverable oil there than previously thought.

“There is a prize over there,” says Pete Slaiby, vice president of Shell Alaska.
But oil development could threaten the sea mammals the Inupiat people hunt for food. Several lawsuits have been filed to get government agencies to block Chukchi drilling. Alaska Natives worry that the mere noise of drilling would disrupt the feeding and migration patterns of bowhead whales, beluga, walruses and seals. The draft of a study done for Shell suggests that seismic surveys have already silenced walruses, or frightened them off to other feeding grounds.

read more