The Paddlers’ annual cleanup of the Chena River through town is scheduled for Wednesday, May 29 this year. We will meet at Graehl Landing (just upstream from the Wendell Street bridge) at 5:30 p.m., set shuttle to the Pioneer Park landing at Peger Road, and plan on launching from Graehl promptly at 6:00. Once on the water people travel more or less at their own pace, stopping to pick up trash on the riverbanks. Usually, everybody is out of the water by 9:00 or 10:00.
Cleaning up the Chena River is one of the contributions our club makes to the community of Fairbanks, and is also a commitment we have made to the Adopt-a-Stream program of the Tanana Valley Watershed Association. For this activity we are recognized by two nice signs placed by the TVWA near the river at Graehl and Pioneer Park. Our cleanup is also registered with the American Rivers National River Cleanup campaign.
Trash bags will be provided. Participants should bring mud boots, raincoat, gloves, warm clothes, extra clothes, mosquito repellent, drinking water and something to snack on as well as some sort of craft to paddle. Don’t forget your life-jacket!
We will attempt to separate out clean aluminum in separate bags for recycling. We need to take the trash directly to the dump (as opposed to sticking it in dumpsters) so that the Borough can keep track of the volunteer cleanup effort and so that we can report our haul to American Rivers. My truck will be available for stuffing full of trash at the take-out.
For more information contact Alan Batten at alanbatten@acsalaska.net, or at 488-3205.
The Paddlers’ annual cleanup of the Chena River through town originally scheduled for May 10 has been rescheduled for Wednesday, May 24. High water levels on the Chena make it challenging to safely collect trash along the banks.
We will meet at Graehl Landing (just upstream from the Wendell Street bridge) at 6:00 p.m., set shuttle to the Pioneer Park landing at Peger Road, and plan on launching from Graehl promptly at 6:30. Once on the water people travel more or less at their own pace, stopping to pick up trash on the riverbanks. Usually, everybody is out of the water by 9:00 or 10:00.
Cleaning up the Chena River is one of the contributions our club makes to the community of Fairbanks, and is also a commitment we have made to the Adopt-a-Stream program of the Tanana Valley Watershed Association. For this activity we are recognized by two nice signs placed by the TVWA near the river at Graehl and Pioneer Park. Our cleanup is also registered with the American Rivers National River Cleanup campaign.
Trash bags will be provided. Participants should bring mud boots, raincoat, gloves, warm clothes, extra clothes, mosquito repellent, drinking water and something to snack on as well as some sort of craft to paddle. Don’t forget your life-jacket!
We will attempt to separate out clean aluminum in separate bags for recycling. We need to take the trash directly to the dump (as opposed to sticking it in dumpsters) so that the Borough can keep track of the volunteer cleanup effort and so that we can report our haul to American Rivers. My truck will be available for stuffing full of trash at the take-out.
For more information contact Alan Batten at alanbatten@acsalaska.net, or at 488-3205.
The Paddlers’ annual cleanup of the Chena River through town is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11 this year. This will also be the first of the Wednesday evening float trips for the summer. ( We are still looking for someone to coordinate Wednesday evening floats on the Chena). We will meet at Graehl Landing (just upstream from the Wendell Street bridge) at 6:00 p.m., set shuttle to the Pioneer Park landing at Peger Road, and plan on launching from Graehl promptly at 6:30. Once on the water people travel more or less at their own pace, stopping to pick up trash on the riverbanks. Usually, everybody is out of the water by 9:00 or 10:00.
Cleaning up the Chena River is one of the contributions our club makes to the community of Fairbanks, and is also a commitment we have made to the Adopt-a-Stream program of the Tanana Valley Watershed Association. For this activity we are recognized by two nice signs placed by the TVWA near the river at Graehl and Pioneer Park. Our cleanup is also registered with the American Rivers National River Cleanup campaign.
Trash bags will be provided. Participants should bring mud boots, raincoat, gloves, warm clothes, extra clothes, mosquito repellent, drinking water and something to snack on as well as some sort of craft to paddle. Don’t forget your life-jacket!
We will attempt to separate out clean aluminum in separate bags for recycling. We need to take the trash directly to the dump (as opposed to sticking it in dumpsters) so that the Borough can keep track of the volunteer cleanup effort and so that we can report our haul to American Rivers. My truck will be available for stuffing full of trash at the take-out.
For more information contact Alan Batten at alanbatten@acsalaska.net, or at 488-3205.
In February 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) aprroved 44 of the 58 study plans proposed by the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) for the massive Susitna-Watana Hydro Project. Approval of an additional 14 study plans was delayed because they lacked sufficient detail. FERC recently approved these 14 study plans, allowing the studies to be conducted this summer.
The proposed dam would be located at Mile 184 of the Susitna River in Watana Canyon, upstream of Devil’s Canyon and the community of Talkeetna. The 735-foot high dam would create a reservoir about 42 miles long and up to 2 miles wide ( averaging about 1 mile wide ).
The studies are planned to take place over the next two years, with a licensing application planned for 2015. Once the AEA has applied for licensing. an Environmental Impact Statement will need to be prepared. There will be many opportunities for public input in the study and permitting process.
The board of Fairbanks Paddlers has discussed the project at several meetings. At this time, our we encourage members to stay informed about the proposed dam project and to become involved in the public input process.
The Alaska Energy Authority has a website detailing the project at http://www.susitna-watanahydro.org . Included on the site is a schedule of the Technical Working Group meetings.
Interactive GIS maps of the project area can be viewed at http://www.dmlwmaps.dnr.alaska.gov/Watana/
A March 2013 New York Times Article, “Dam Proposal Presents Twin Conundrums in Alaska“, highlights some of the issues related to the Susitna-Watana Dam Project. ( The article was re-published in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.)
Several groups have publicly opposed the project, including the following:
Paddlers on the Susitna River, August 2012
Paddling on Beaver Creek
Comments on BLM’s Eastern Interior plan due April 11th, 2013
This is BLM’s long-range plan for the Eastern Interior, including the recently published supplement which considers management alternatives allowing mining leases in the White Mountains National Recreation Area. Note that the White Mountains NRA is immediately upstream from and adjacent to the Beaver Creek National Wild and Scenic River. Public hearings on the Plan and Supplement are over, but comments can still be made up until April 11th. For more information see the BLM website.
There are three ways to make comments:
1) Through the interactive documents on the BLM website. The top two documents on this page (those with an “html” option in the “available formats” column) are the ones that can be used interactively to make comments. These are the original Eastern Interior Plan and the recent White Mountains Supplement. Instructions for making comments are in two pdf files with links about one screen down from the top.
2) By emailing comments to EasternInterior@blm.gov.
3) By mailing comments to BLM Eastern Interior Field Office, Attention: Eastern Interior Draft RMP/EIS, Bureau of Land Management, 1150 University Avenue, Fairbanks, AK 99709.
For more background info, see below.
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The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is asking for input from the public on the Yukon-Tanana Area Plan (YTAP) Public Review Draft. Once adopted, the YTAP will serve as the basis for the management of state lands and waters within the planning area for the next 15 to 20 years. Public meetings will be held in August, but dates and locations have not yet been announced. Comments can be made at the meetings, or can be submitted by mail, email, fax, or through the YTAP website provided below. Comments will be accepted until 31 August 2012.
For more information, or to download the draft plan or parts of it (including maps) or to submit comments see:
http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/planning/areaplans/ytap/
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