USSWCD holds open house

About 20 people gathered Tuesday night at the Su Valley High School makeshift auditorium to gain information on current and future grants available for businesses in the upper valley.  The focus was on farming, fishing, agriculture and Alaska Grown products. 

The event was hosted by the Upper Susitna Soil and Water Conservation District.

Four different speakers gave information on the Alaska Grown label, restoring fish habitat, the farm bill and grants available and invasive plant programs in Alaska.  40 thousand dollars in cooperative marketing grants are available to farmers interested in new technology and increasing their productivity.  Amy Pettit with the Alaska Division of Agriculture announced that there is now an Alaska Farmers Market Association AND that farmers markets became a priority in the recently passed Farm Bill.

People in attendance were able to ask questions about repairing damaged fish habitat and how to deal with government agencies.  The fish issue and the thousands of grant dollars available in the Alaska Grown program appeared to be of the most interest to attendees.   Habitat Biologist Dean Hughes said he was willing to help those residents worried about the fish habitat and eroding stream banks along Sunshine and Montana Creeks.

The links to Alaska Grown, the Cooperative Marketing Program, stream restoration, the NRCS, as well as the Invasive species program can all be found on our website at ktna.org   For additional information, call Amy Pettit for Alaska Grown at 761-3864; James Hazlett at NRCS at 373-6492; Dean Hughes for stream restoration at 267-2207;   and for more on the Invasive Plant Program call Brianne Athearn at 745-8108.