Progress 09/15/06 to 09/14/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Alaska Ethnobotany Research III Project spans three years of work, building upon the foundations created in the first two Ethnobotany Research Projects. Through this final project, dissemination of information was foremost. Three major aspects of this project are 1) the "Alaska Non-Timber Forest Products Harvest Manual" along with the State of Alaska changes to legal rules, regulations, and permitting process; 2) Ethnobotany education; and 3) Ethnobotany Teaching Garden. With the changes to Alaska's rules governing the amount of plant parts allowed for small amounts of commercial harvest on State-owned lands, information is being disseminated through many offices of the State - Public Information Center, Plant Materials Center (http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/ag_pmc.htm), Division of Mining, Land, and Water (http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/ntfp/index.cfm), Division of Forestry (http://forestry.alaska.gov/pdfs/AK_nursery_report_Sep09_final.pdf), plus at Universities, Federal Agencies, Cultural Centers, and Harvester Organizations. Seminars, Ethnobotany classes, general public classes, invited presentations, and phone/e-mail conversations have introduced and clarified this information. Ethnobotany education is presented via website, television (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.aspS=11080771), radio, individual presentations, teaching seminars (drumbeats.uaf.edu/brochures/ebotbrochureupdated2706.pdf), demonstration sites, surveys, and collaborations with/to State, National, and International audiences (http://econbot.org/_organization_/07_annual_meetings/meeting_abstrac ts/2007.php). Research results about how harvest techniques ecologically and culturally affect plants and people are reported on through the above techniques and through public papers accessible via the web. The Ethnobotany Teaching Garden showcases plants from Alaska that were and are being used medicinally, for food, or for utilitarian purposes. It shows the ecological niches and regions these plants grow in naturally, as well as their agronomic and ethical harvesting practices. Through interpretive signage, group and individual tours, workshops (http://forestry.alaska.gov/pdfs/grown%20in%20alaska%20agenda%209-3-0 9.pdf), newsletters (http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/AnnualReport2008.pdf), and curriculum collaborations with elementary and high school teachers, this garden is a valuable tool for reaching a wide and diverse audience. As an official destination in Alaska, the Ethnobotany Garden is located on many widely distributed maps (http://www.gardensnapsmap.com/index.html). Other organizations request plants and assistance for similar gardens. These include Alaska cultural centers, schools, gardeners, and landscape architects. Through the plant increase beds associated with the Ethnobotany Garden, these plants are available for non-profits. Assistance is granted to anyone. PARTICIPANTS: The Ethnobotany Research III Project was led by the State of Alaska (SOA) Plant Materials Center (PMC). The primary coordinator, investigator, educator, web designer, interpretive label developer, project manager, agronomist, native plant expert, ethnobotanist, and public contact person was Peggy Hunt. Two other agronomists (Donald Ross and Jessica Larsen) were involved in Harvest Manual/regulation/permit development, public presentations, seed protocol development, research, and as authors. Although all the laborers at the PMC worked on the garden at various times, Teresa Nix was responsible for weeding and planting and John LeMay constructed the various land features - especially the water works for the Yukon and associated ponds. SOA Division of Mining, Land, and Water Natural Resource Managers, experts from SOA Division of Forestry, attorneys and paralegals from the SOA Department of Law, Alaska Native people, researchers with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, harvesters, SOA State Council on the Arts, Traditional Native Arts Program, Cultural Centers and Museums Consortium, Made in Alaska Program, SOA Fish and Game, SOA Division of Habitat Management and Permitting, landscape architects, teachers from the Matanuska-Susitna and Anchorage Borough school systems, and the public collaborated with the PMC to create the Harvest Manual/regulations/permits, plant research and monographs, seed protocol, curricula, exhibit interpretation, and design for the Garden and the Project. Bill Evans with the SOA Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation designed the interpretive concept for the Ethnobotanical ADA Garden and managed the construction details. Other interpreters from the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation assisted with interpretive design and sign details. Professors Andres Soria, Valerie Barber, Patricia Holloway, Kimberley Maher, Steve Sparrow, Carol Lewis, Rose Meier, and Craig Gerlach all participated or requested help in this Project. The University of Fairbanks (UAF) was the Land Grant University who coordinated the Project funds and administration between the USDA and the PMC. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this Project is vast - essentially covering all the people who live, work, or visit Alaska, as well as ethnobotanists, Native Peoples, and non-timber forest product harvesters/buyers/users/researchers throughout the world. Every person in Alaska depends upon native plants for the basics: food, water, shelter, or space. Spiritually, culturally, economically, or socially, these plants provide tangible and intangible vital roles in Alaskan lives. Sustainable harvest or non-harvest is addressed by this Project. An audience in this Project is also a participant. Knowledge and actions are changed both ways. Audiences who are known to have been touched by this Project include: Sustainable Local Alaskan Plant members; Society of Alaska Landscape Architects; Alaskan Future Farmers of America; local Elks, Lions, Moose organizations; garden clubs, Mat-Su farmers, professional botanists, homeschoolers and regular students from Mat-Su, the Sitka Tribe's Kayaani Commission, Chickaloon Tribe, Global Food Alaska Organization, Homer Demonstration Forest, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Alaska Berry Growers, Pacific Northwest Forest Practitioners, Non-Timber Forest Products Working Group, National Network of Forest Practitioners, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Supernatural Teas, University of Alaska Fairbanks, UAF Extension Service, Birch Syrupmakers Association, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Yupik Way, Alaska Coastal Management Program, "Made and Grown in Alaska" producers, "Silver Hand" artists, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Cancer Program participants, school and cultural garden participants, Channel 2 Television viewers, local radio listeners, local newspaper readers, teachers from throughout Alaska, Ethnobotany students, researchers, chemists, and teachers from UAF; over 43 farms, 689 public web searchers, forestry experts, interns from other states, harvesters, subsistence families and individuals, law enforcers, interpreters, and many walk-in, call-in, and e-mail questioners. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The following e-mails constitute the changes in this Project: "Dear G.Maggie Griscavage, I would like to request a change to the Ethnobotany III grant (CSREES 2006-34525-16984, FP700690). The change is to continue working on Phase II and Phase III of the Ethnobotany ADA Garden. Phase I occurred in the previous grant. Attached is the concept plan for the garden. Gardens, educational material, increase of traditional use plants - all were part of the original grant plan. The change is that instead of using the services funds for the Department of Law and the Division of Mining, Land, and Water, these funds would be used for an RSA with the State Division of Parks for the landscape architecture grading and for a contractor to do the dirt work for the garden. Interpretive panels will be originally designed by us, but the finished project will be tweaked by Parks. The grant will still involve researching the effects of harvest on traditional use plants, creating protocols for some of the harder to germinate seeds, increasing traditional use plants for this garden as well as other cultural centers who have and are requesting them, and finalizing the regulation changes. The Department of Law and the Division of Mining may still have a smaller RSA for these regulation changes. Education and outreach will continue to be a primary goal of this grant- many school teachers are excited about the garden and want to bring their classes on a field trip. The Native Heritage Center is excited about replicating our efforts. Several elders have expressed interest in bringing their extended families out to the garden to continue the tradition of teaching by telling and showing. So, please consider this change to the Alaska Ethnobotany Project Year 3. Thank you so much, Peggy Hunt" "Dear Peggy, Based upon the nature of the request, and as there is no change the scope of work, the University is able to approve the proposed change. On behalf of G. Maggie Griscavage, Director of the Office of Grants & Contracts Administration and AOR for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, I am pleased to notify you that your request dated July 2, 2008 for Ethnobotany III has been approved. Please file this email with the official records for this award. Thank you, Monica" This e-mail is filed with the official records for this award.
Impacts
The Ethnobotany Research Project enabled the State of Alaska to better manage commercial non-timber forest product gathering while allowing the forest to remain essentially intact - preserving many tangible and intangible ecologically important factors. The Project also allows the State to better manage economic sustainability with cultural perpetuity. Before this Project very little was known about what was being gathered and how this would affect either the forest or people dependent on products being harvested. Through education and research, people throughout the State of Alaska are now learning that the State permits commercial ventures and that there are some very special forest products that need to be monitored. Through the Project, many people are learning about plants that are and were used traditionally in Alaska. These people are broadening their knowledge base about Alaska plant ecology, cultures, agronomy, and potential economic possibilities. One of the main goals for this Project was for the State to be pro-active about regulating harvests of sensitive plants. This has occurred and the framework is in place for regulations to continue. The Project has created a much greater awareness of ethnobotanical plants together with an appreciation of cultural knowledge and traditions. Plants, which were ignored in the past as being insignificant or not even present, are now given respect and are in demand for landscape and cultural gardens. This provides an economic, sustainable developmental starting point for supply and demand in the marketplace and places value on those who choose to start their own businesses using non-timber forest plants and products. Through the research conducted in this Project, publications, seminars, and workshops were generated which, hopefully, will change non-responsible actions into positive, informed behaviors and decisions.
Publications
- Ross, Donald R. 2009. Alaska Plant Profiles: Fiddlehead Ferns. Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Agriculture, Plant Materials Center, Palmer, AK. 4 pp.
- Ross, Donald R. 2009. Alaska Plant Profiles: Conks / Shelf Fungi. Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Agriculture, Plant Materials Center, Palmer, AK. 4 pp.
- Division of Forestry, Alaska Department of Natural Resources. 2010. Landscape Plants for Alaska. http://forestry.alaska.gov/. (In publication).
- Hunt, Peggy. 2009. Alaska Plant Materials Center Ethnobotany Research Project. In: Plant Materials Center 2008 Annual Report. http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/AnnualReport2008.pdf. p. 15-16.
- Hunt, Peggy. 2009. Ethnobotany Research Project. In: Commissioners Report on the Alaska Division of Agriculture. http://www.dnr.alaska.gov/ag/Index/DivAg2009Brochure.pdf. p. 8.
- Hunt, Peggy. 2009. Plant Materials Center Ethnobotany Garden. In: State Division of Agriculture Activities Newsletter. Provides up-to-date news and information to the agriculture community in Alaska. http://www.dnr.alaska.gov/ag/Newsletters/Volume1Number2Feb.pdf. Jan. 30, 2009 Vol. 1 (2), p. 7-8.
- Hunt, Peggy. 2009. Plant Materials Center Ethnobotany Garden. In: State Division of Agriculture Activities Newsletter. Provides up-to-date news and information to the agriculture community in Alaska. http://www.dnr.alaska.gov/ag/Newsletters/Volume1Number9Sept.pdf. Aug. 31, 2009 Vol. 1 (9), p. 5.
- Larsen, Jessica H. 2007. Alaska Ethnobotany Project: Non-timber Forest Products in the 49th State In Proceedings for Society for Economic Botany, June 4 - 7, 2007. Chicago, IL. Abstract and Poster.
- Larsen, Jessica H. 2007. Balancing Commerce, Subsistence, and Sustainability - Ethnobotany and Non-Timber Forest Products in Alaska. Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Agriculture, Plant Materials Center, Palmer, AK. 16 pp. http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/PMCwebsite/PMCPublications/86NTFPpresentatio n.pdf.
- Larsen, Jessica H., Peggy Hunt, Donald Ross, Division of Mining, Land, and Water. 2008. Alaska Non-Timber Forest Products Harvest Manual For Commercial Harvest on State-Owned Lands, State Law Revisions, Permits and Reporting Requirements. Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Agriculture, Plant Materials Center, Palmer, AK. 41+ pp. http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/ntfp/index.cfm.
- Ross, Donald R. 2008. Alaska Plant Profiles: Bog Blueberry / Alpine Blueberry . Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Agriculture, Plant Materials Center, Palmer, AK. 4 pp.
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Progress 09/15/07 to 09/14/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Alaska Ethnobotany Research III Project is coordinated by the Alaska Plant Materials Center (PMC). The PMC is collaborating with the State Divisions of Parks and Outdoor Recreation (DPOR), Forestry (DOF), and Mining, Land and Water (DMLW); and many Alaska Native people, subsistence users, and commercial entrepreneurs on this project. In the first two Ethnobotany Projects the PMC researched and wrote the State of Alaska Non-Timber Forest Products Harvest Manual For Commercial Harvest on State-Owned Lands. Since this Manual is now part of State law, plants are protected from over-harvesting, people are taught how to harvest in an environmentally safe way, and those plants with religious significance or rare status are protected. The Harvest Manual is on-line several places on the State of Alaska's website (http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/pmc_NTFP.htm, 11 AAC 96.035, http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/hottopics/). The Manual is being used as a tool for DMLW as they provide permits for commercial harvesting. If questions arise, they contact the PMC for further edification about why certain plants can only be harvested in the manner described in the Manual. The PMC continues to monitor the permitting process and the amount of plants being harvested. This gives the state a better understanding of what is happening in the field and starts a data base for future use. The PMC is continuing to research and write monographs on Alaska plants. These monographs include part harvested, harvest techniques, regeneration and recovery after harvest, traditional uses, and areas of concern. Native Alaskan People are involved in the process and given credit for their knowledge. These publications are on the PMC's website. The PMC is researching plant propagation protocol to enable people to grow many of the traditional use plants from seed, especially for rare and culturally sensitive plants. Through a change of grant request, the PMC started an ADA approved Ethnobotany garden for education and plant increase for other cultural centers. This garden was designed by an interpretive landscape architect from DPOR who utilized the cultural and ecological regions of Alaska for the construction. The PMC and DOF are collaborating to produce an on-line version of landscape plants for Alaska which, when used with the PMC's Ethnobotany garden as an example, will enable people to understand how to grow and utilize native plants in their own projects. Phase I of the garden encompasses Southeast, Southcentral, and Interior (Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian and Athabascans). During this Project 50 different species of plants have been transplanted into the Phase 1 garden. A muskeg bog is developing, over 45 different species of plants were chosen for seed propagation protocols and planting, boxes for the increase garden were constructed and partially filled. Phase II of the garden has been excavated and constructed (Inupiak, Yupik, Cupik, Aleut, and Alutiik Peoples). Interpretive signage, exhibits, and self-guiding brochures are being created. Many educational presentations are being provided by the PMC to the public and schools. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals who work on this research project are Agronomists Peggy Hunt, Donald Ross, and Stoney Wright from the PMC; DMLW Natural Resource Managers and Specialists Wyn Menefee, Joe Joyner, Clark Cox, Stephen Bethune, Frank Maxwell, Roselynn Smith, and Melissa Head; and Landscape Architect Bill Evans with DPOR. Several Alaska Native groups, subsistence users, plant propagation experts, agency personnel, harvesters, and researchers provide input. Matt Amsden, Territory North Contracting, is the construction contractor for the Garden. Peggy Hunt is the lead for this project. She manages the grant; gives presentations; develops and maintains liaisons with many researchers, harvesters, and Alaska Native peoples; researches sustainable techniques for harvesting native plants; is the on-site Project Manager for the construction of the Garden; and develops seed protocol. Donald Ross researches, writes publications, assists with input on the Harvest Manual and reporting requirements, manages the laborers for the off-site harvest affects on various plants, harvests cultural plants after obtaining the correct permissions, plants and develops seed protocol, and helps with the transplanting in the Garden. Stoney Wright is the liaison between the multiple State entities responsible for money management and gives advice as needed. Others include the DMLW Natural Resource Managers, experts from DOF, Alaska Native people, researchers with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, harvesters, SOA State Council on the Arts, Traditional Native Arts Program, Cultural Centers and Museums Consortium, Made in Alaska Program, SOA Fish and Game, SOA Division of Habitat Management and Permitting, and the public collaborate with the PMC to create plant monographs, seed protocol, exhibit interpretation and design for the Garden and the Project. Bill Evans designed the interpretive concept for the Ethnobotanical ADA Garden and manages the layout of the stakes and construction details. Professional development and training is provided via seminars, workshops, and presentations both at the PMC and at various conferences. TARGET AUDIENCES: This project is having an impact on many different audiences. The project involves the public, Alaska Native Peoples, agency personnel, school teachers and children, entrepreneurs, and farmers. The primary affect from this project are changes in knowledge. This includes education for harvesters, public, and school audiences about plant usage, the worth of various plants in our environment, and respect for plants and the people who traditionally used and are still using them. The Ethnobotany ADA Garden at the PMC is and will be a showcase for how-to's for landscaping, education about traditional and current uses of Alaska native plants, and be a source of plants for other cultural sites and schools. With it being built to ADA standards, anyone can use it. It can be a place for elders to teach their families about plants, a self-guided interpretive location for the general public to view and learn about Alaska native plants, or a field trip site for schools to come to learn about Alaska cultures, plants, ecosystems, and plant cultivation. Research into harvest protocols for fungus, moss, blueberry, devil's club, ferns, spruce, rose root, etc. is enabling this project to produce publications and presentations for audiences on the web and through workshops. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The funds for this Project were redirected towards creating the ADA Ethnobotany Garden, Phase I at the Plant Materials Center. This was because the projected costs for the Department of Law and the Division of Mining, Land, and Water were much greater than the actual cost. The University of Alaska Fairbanks, Office of Grant & Contract Administration, Grants Management Officer, Maren Boyack and Director, G. Maggie Griscavage, stated "Based upon the nature of the request, and as there is no change in the scope of work, the University is able to approve the proposed change." This letter is filed with the official records for this award.
Impacts
The Alaska Ethnobotany Research I and II Projects are the foundation for regulated harvest of traditional use plants commercially harvested on state lands. Because of the data, research, and compilation that went into creating the "State of Alaska Non-Timber Forest Products Harvest Manual For Commercial Harvest on State-Owned Lands" the State of Alaska (SOA) has a product that can enable DMLW to feel comfortable about allowing small harvests through an over-the-counter permitting system. Before the Manual was created, it was unknown how much of any one plant could be harvested commercially without impacts on subsistence and personal use, or on the plant community itself. The Alaska Ethnobotany Research III Project continues the research into which plants can be harvested, how to harvest sustainably, and how much to harvest. By maintaining accurate records about who is applying for permits and the quantity of plants being harvested, a first ever data base is being created for the State. With this information the state and people of Alaska are being informed about balancing commerce, subsistence, and sound ecological harvest of ethnobotanical plants and non-timber forest products. Education and outreach, in many forms, is taking place and will continue to involve people throughout the state. The Public Information Centers, run by the DMLW, are visited daily by an average of a hundred people. At these locations the Manual is available for viewing. Presentations, web presence, calls, and e-mails from and for people throughout the state are drawing attention to the Manual. Monographs, seed propagation protocol, and harvest techniques for over 100 plants are being researched and written. For many plants this information is not available elsewhere, especially since these are plants native to Alaska. These publications will be on the PMC's website. With the interest from many cultural and educational institutions to create traditional use gardens on their lands, the PMC started on Phase I and Phase II of an ADA approved Ethnobotanical Garden to showcase traditional use plants from each culture and region thoughout Alaska. With the creative efforts of a certified, interpretive landscape architect from the DPOR, the Garden's concept, construction plan, and construction for Phase I and II were accomplished during this Project. Approximately 50 different species of traditional use plants were transplanted into the Phase I garden - in the representative ecological regions and niches where they can be found in the wild. Many people stop by to ask questions and several teachers are planning to bring their students to the PMC for field trips. This garden displays native plant identification and usage for the public and for potential growers. This helps keep traditions alive while offering protection. Several institutions have requested transplants for their gardens. As part of the Ethnobotany Research Project, many species have been grown to share with these groups. Interpretive signage and exhibits are in the design phase for the Garden.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/15/06 to 09/14/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Alaska Ethnobotany Research Project is a three part project. The beginning stage of the Ethnobotany Project identified Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in Alaska which have potential for commercial harvest. Three different parts of the State of Alaska's government worked together to create a Harvest Manual for use in managing commercial harvest of NTFP's on state land. The Division of Mining, Land, and Water (DMLW) is the permitting agency for commercial harvesting on state-managed land. DMLW Natural Resource Managers and Specialists provided input for the amended regulations. The Division of Agriculture's Plant Materials Center (PMC) provides a knowledge base for the plants. Agronomists research and evaluate native plant ecology, growth and health, working with NTFP's on a regular basis. The Department of Law provided guidance by researching other state's regulations of commercial harvests and the legality of the regulation changes proposed for the state. The Harvest
Manual defines the line between small-scale, low-impact commercial harvests and large-scale, potentially damaging commercial harvests. Ethnobotany III continues to educate the public and harvesters about sustainable harvest methods. Public hearings, comments, and controversies about which plants to include in an over-the-counter permit continue to be a focus for this project. Research on response to harvest for many of the plants is ongoing, as is developing protocols for growing plants that are excluded from the manual because of their vulnerability to over-harvest. A monograph for each of the over 100 plants and fungi designated in the Harvest Manual is part of the educational aspect of this project. The monographs detail each plant's Latin name, common names, family, synonyms, distribution, habitat, ecology, altitude, life form, range, similar species and common misidentification errors, parts harvested, harvest area, harvest time, harvest method, regeneration, response to harvest,
and points of concern. As appropriate, the uses for the plant will be listed - this is with the traditional ecological knowledge being accredited. Alaska Native peoples continue to contribute to the project as experts and educators. Presentations, public gardens, and plant walks provide extension for this project.
PARTICIPANTS: Individuals who worked on this project were Agronomists Peggy Hunt, Donald Ross, William Cambell, and Stoney Wright from the Plant Materials Center (PMC); Natural Resource Managers and Specialists Wyn Menefee, Joe Joyner, Clark Cox, Stephen Bethune, Frank Maxwell, Roselynn Smith, and Melissa Head with the Division of Mining, Land, and Water; and Attorneys Molly Benson and Christina Otto from the Department of Law. Peggy Hunt, Agronomist II, was the lead for this project. She managed the grant, gave direction for the Project, started and maintained discussions between all the above people, gave presentations, coordinated the revisions of the Harvest Manual and accompanying permits and regulations, developed liaisons with many researchers, harvesters, and Alaska Native Peoples, and researched Ethnobotany papers and sustainable techniques for harvesting native plants. Donald Ross and William Cambell, Agronomists I, wrote monographs and met with NTFP harvesters, agencies,
Alaska Native Peoples, researchers, and personal use and subsistence use peoples. Stoney Wright, Agronomist III, provided plant knowledge and guidance for the Project. The Natural Resource Managers and Specialists met to review public comments with the Agronomists and Attorneys, to give guidance in the regulatory process, to provide knowledge of adjudication and past permitting efforts from the State, and to follow through from their perspective on the Harvest Manual. The Attorneys provided guidance on legal matters. Partner organizations include the Sitka Tribe's Kayaani Commission, Chickaloon Tribe, Global Food Alaska Organization, Homer Demonstration Forest, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Alaska Berry Growers, Pacific Northwest Forest Practitioners, Non-Timber Forest Products Working Group, National Network of Forest Practitioners, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Supernatural Teas, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Birch Syrupmakers Association,
Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Yupik Way, Alaska Coastal Management Program, SoA Division of Forestry, U.S. and Department of Subsistence, Division of Habitat Management and Permitting, and Department of Fish and Game. Many researchers, agency professionals, harvesters, and indigenous peoples provided input for the project. Professional development and training will be provided by the Project through University of Alaska Fairbanks seminars and through workshops at the PMC.
TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for this project include those who either harvest or want to commercially harvest Alaska native plants on State lands. This education emphasizes on how to harvest plants sustainably, where it is legal, and how much can be harvested without the ecology being injured. Some of these people come from rural Alaska, living in places that can only be reached by plane. Many other people that this project affects are economically disadvantaged or indigenous people. Fostering respect for plants and their cultural usages is achieved through conferences, small informational meetings, hands-on, inquiry based presentations at schools and outdoor venues. By assisting Alaska Native Centers to grow historical plants in their gardens, this project is having an impact upon all ages. Researching the protocols for growing vulnerable plants encourages people to grow them - not harvest them from the wild. This research is productive to researchers, gardeners, agency
professionals, and indigenous people.
Impacts
The Alaska Ethnobotany Research Project III is ecologically responsible. By developing the harvest manual and plant monographs more harvesting knowledge is obtained. This includes how harvest affects species and ecosystems, the distribution and abundance of target species, how much harvest is actually occurring, how the products are processed and utilized, and the market, pricing and economic value of the plant. This project is economically viable. Its results allow diversification in the state's work force, strengthens local and rural economies, and creates partnerships and community-based efforts. The Project is socially and culturally acceptable. It recognizes and considers the historical and cultural ties with the land and plants held by Native peoples. It respects the cultural significance placed on the plants. It listens to, learns from, and recognizes the traditional knowledge of those who have sustainably collected plants for many years. The business of NTFP's
is not going to "go away" - the demand will keep growing. With this project, creative, incentive-based solutions are being created to enable commercial harvesters to realize the cultural, spiritual, personal, and social value of a product. Because of this project people from all over the state are collaborating to educate harvesters about sustainable harvesting methods.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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