Transcript CLIMATE CHANGE - University of Alaska Fairbanks

INTEGRATED ACTIVITIES
at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Carol E. Lewis, Dean and Director
School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences
Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station
E. Fred Schlutt, Jr.
Director, Cooperative Extension Service
Vice Provost for Outreach
The word ‘integrated has many meanings. We are making
it a part of our lives and the secret to our success.
• Integration is the key to the strength of the land grant system
• NIFA mandates integrated activities for receipt of Hatch and
and Smith-Lever funding
• ‘Mandate’ should never have to be a part of our vocabulary
No other system like the land grant institution exists
in the world. It is our pride at the University of Alaska
Fairbanks to carry forward this powerful dream of
our forefathers.
• Public higher education is critical to continue our heritage
• Research must continuously enrich education
• Extension, outreach, and engagement deliver new knowledge
INTEGRATED ACTIVITIES
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Peonies
Lewis and Schlutt
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Reindeer
Lewis and Schlutt
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Obesity
Schlutt
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Climate Change
Lewis
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Plan of Work
Schlutt and Lewis
PEONIES IN ALASKA: A discovery
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2002 – discovery
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Funding – “New Crops, New Markets”
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Variety trials
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Best Management Practices
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Alaska Peony Growers Association
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Economic Opportunities Task Force
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Specialty Crop Research Initiative
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Cooperative Extension Service
REINDEER: Alaska’s Livestock of Choice
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Late 1800s – Reindeer on Seward Peninsula
Late 1960s – Research on brucolosis & vaccine
Mid 1980as – Alaska Native Land Claims &
Partnership with Kawerak Reindeer Herders Association
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1999 – 16 animals provided to the Experiment Station
2000 – sell pigs, move cattle, grow reindeer research
2002 - Funding through “New Crops-New Markets”
Research – Alaska diets, herd, pasture, range management
Partnership in High Latitude Range Management
Reindeer declared livestock
Partner with 4H
State capital project proposal – food security
CLIMATE CHANGE IN ALASKA AND THE PACIFIC: Key Role
of Land Grants in the Region
Pacific Land Grant Alliance institutions serve a region and communities with
diverse, widely dispersed, and mixed commercial/subsistence user groups.
The land grant universities play a major role in identifying, fostering, and
sustaining resource use and management systems in the region.
University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Guam
Northern Marianas College
College of Micronesia
University of Hawaii
American Samoa Community College
CLIMATE CHANGE – An Innovative Partnership
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Shared climate driver
Analogous management opportunities
Subsistence user communities
Opportunities for self-reliance
Need to adapt
New crop opportunities
Key role of the land grant institutions
SHARED CLIMATE DRIVER
All PLGA institutions are affected by the Pacific climate system.
 Pacific Ocean is the largest single geographic feature on Earth.
 Pacific El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the biggest single
short-term influence on weather on a global scale.
 Nearly all resource systems around the Pacific register an ENSO
and global warming signal
• agricultural weather
• forest growth and health
• fisheries
• water supplies
• biodiversity
Ebbesmeyer, C.C.; Cayan, D.R.; McLain, D.R.; Nichols, F.H.; Peterson, D.H.; Redmond, K.T. 1990. 1976 step in the Pacific
climate: Forty environmental changes between 1968-1975 and 1977-1984. In Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Pacific
Climate (PACLIM) Workshop. Eds. Betancourt, J.L. and Tharp, V.L. California Department of Water Resources.
Sacramento, California.
PACIFIC
PARTNERS
IN CLIMATE
CHANGE AND
ADAPTAION
THE WORK OF THE LAND-GRANT’S CAN:
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Build capacity for the future
Retain key expertise in climate change
Meet expanded demand from user community
Assist and accelerate mitigation and adaptation
Keep pace with climate change information needs
Build long-term data and information bases
Build community partnerships for success
Enhance research on emerging issues
Incorporate climate change in education programs
PLAN OF WORK – Our ultimate integrated activity
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1998 – AREERA
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2004 – Begin cooperative process
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2005 – First joint meeting to plan the Plan of Work
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2007 – First ‘joint’ Plan of Work submitted
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2008-2010 – Continue to report separately while merging POW
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2011 – First joint Plan of Work
No other system like the land grant institution exists
in the world. It is our pride at the University of Alaska
Fairbanks to carry forward this powerful dream of
our forefathers.
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
America’s Arctic University