Stewardship Journal 2019

StewardshipJournal 2019

A photographic Journal of the Stewarship of our Lands and Waters Habitat Access Partnerships Happiness

Habitat

Ensuring the future biodiversity of Southcentral Alaska.

Looking Ahead A new year of field work is upon us and gone is the reminder that our Xtratufs are tiny little saunas for our feet, that our rain jackets keep us just as wet on the inside as on the outside, and the gentle hum of mosquitos are like a forgotten hymn. We begin another field season this month and we can rest assured knowing the land that revitalizes our souls with its wildness is intact because of our constant stewardship and our committed landowners and partners.

Our job as stewards is to inspire. We have this amazing opportunity and responsibility to carry on the legacy of Alaskans and our most valuable resource; wildness. When I drop my son at day care, he asks me if I am going to work. I tell him “Yes, I’m going to take care of the moose, bears, and salmon.” You can see his toddler brain working in overdrive to digest the full meaning. Having asked me dozens of times, he now knows that means taking care of their home, the rivers, forests, wetlands, our home, our legacy, simple as that.

He is also very lucky to spend his weekends looking for belugas at Campbell Creek Estuary, watching the ducks at Fish Creek Estuary, getting caked in bootlegger cove clay on the mudflats, and searching for Dall sheep in the Chugach. One of his first words was moose, since moose pass by our house weekly and he has grown to love watching these hulking animals saunter through the woods. He talks non-stop about bears when we hike in the Chugach, moving his eyes across the landscape letting his imagination take over with the excitement only a child can have. He knows salmon intimately, helping catch the iconic fish the past few years, either from a backpack while his mom casts her fly rod, or from the shores of the Kenai and Kasilof, covered in mud and sand and joy.

To take care of these creatures and the habitat that sustains them, you must love them, know them, experience them in their homes. Our hope is that we can provide the space to inspire future generations to understand the opportunity and responsibility to take care of the birds, sheep, moose, bears, and salmon.

So maybe I lied about one thing, the sounds of mosquitos buzzing are far from hymnals or even music to our ears, the trauma of last year’s blood loss keeps us up at night. But we have the best job in Alaska, excitedly looking forward to taking another year to walk, photograph, and document these places to ensure the land and water that is so vital for Alaskans well-being is protected forever.

Matt McMillan

Access Ensuring the future access necessary for our way of life.

Why We Love Wetlands When most people think of wetlands, they think of smelly swamps swarming with mosquitoes. They are so much more than that. Wetlands have been found to be one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, on par with rain forests and coral reefs!

1. Flood Prevention -- Wetlands prevent flooding by temporarily storing and slowly releasing stormwater into the ground, acting as a natural sponge. Surfaces like parking lots, roads, and rooftops can’t absorb rain water. Wetlands that are nearby these man-made features can act as catches for this excess runoff, and also filter out pollutants before they make their way into streams and lakes.

2. Habitat -- Many species of mammals, birds, and fish live and thrive in wetland environments. About one third of all endangered species in the United States live exclusively in wetlands. In Southcentral, wetlands are prime habitat for moose, snowshoe hares, mink, otters, muskrats, seals, belugas, salmon, and many, many species of birds.

3. Filtering Water -- Wetlands filter water primarily by slowing the flow and allowing sediment and pollutants to be absorbed by the underlying soil.

Microorganisims living in wetland plants and can also process some forms of pollution. Additionally, many of these plants store carbon – at rates 2 – 4 times greater than forests on a per acre basis – keeping it out of our atmosphere and helping to regulate climate.

4. Recreation -- In Southcentral Alaska, wetlands are used for a variety of recreational purposes. Fishing, boating, and hunting are all done in wetlands throughout the region. In recent years, Nordic skating, or backcountry ice skating, has become a popular activity, with snow hitting the ground weeks after freezing temperatures have arrived. Fat tire bikers and cross-country skiers also enjoy exploring frozen wetlands.

5. Forest Fire Prevention -- Healthy wetlands can hold large amounts of water and support a living carpet of a special fire-resistant moss called sphagnum.

These wetlands can act as a natural fire break and limit the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere from the burning.

Libby Kugel

Partnerships Collaborative stewardship is essential to build deeper connections to the land among diverse groups.

Happiness The thread that binds it all together -- our quality of life is linked to our healthy natural resources and equal access to the outdoors.

Stewardship Field Notes The end of July marks the half-way point for the Great Land Trust field season. For the last two months the Stewardship staff have been monitoring conserved properties across South-central Alaska. After our thousands of mosquito bites heal, and we spend several days drying our Xtratufs, we will be looking back fondly at the summer months.

Each property that Great Land Trust has conserved is different. Some are river banks and green woodlands, some are steep temperate rainforest, and some are wetlands. Some are public lands, and some are private. Yet one thing is common to every project; the lands are important, and we care for them. The summer months are spent visiting properties looking for changes to the natural state of the land. This might be a new social trail, or it could be erosion caused by a river, or a new beaver dam across a creek.

Living in Alaska, we are blessed with great mountains, deep valleys, unending forests, and majestic glaciers. Every summer, the Stewardship staff at Great Land Trust are lucky to escape the office and spend their days in the field. Although we are sometimes driven close to insanity by bugs, or we overtop our boots in a wetland or creek, we love our jobs. Public lands and open space will become ever more important as cities in Alaska expand. We love our jobs because we help provide future generations with one of the greatest resources of Alaska: natural space.

Puck Van Dommelen

Photographers Matt McMillan David Mitchell Puck Van Dommelen Will Koeppen

Conserving and stewarding lands and waters essential to the quality of life and economic health of Alaskans.

LEAVE IT BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT