INTEGRATED ACTIVITIES a t the University of Alaska Fairbanks

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. INTEGRATED ACTIVITIES • Peonies Lewis and Schlutt • Reindeer Lewis and Schlutt • Obesity Schlutt • Climate Change Lewis • Plan of Work Schlutt and Lewis

5. PEONIES IN ALASKA: A discovery • 2002 – discovery • Funding – “New Crops, New Markets” • Variety trials • Best Management Practices • Alaska Peony Growers Association • Economic Opportunities Task Force • Specialty Crop Research Initiative • Cooperative Extension Service

6. REINDEER: Alaska’s Livestock of Choice • Late 1800s – Reindeer on Seward Peninsula • Late 1960s – Research on brucolosis & vaccine • Mid 1980as – Alaska Native Land Claims & • Partnership with KawerakReindeer Herders Association • 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

7. 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 University of Hawaii Northern Marianas College College of Micronesia American Samoa Community College

8. CLIMATE CHANGE – An Innovative Partnership • 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

9. 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.

10. PACIFIC PARTNERS IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTAION

11. THE WORK OF THE LAND-GRANT’S CAN: • 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

12. PLAN OF WORK – Our ultimate integrated activity • 1998 – AREERA • 2004 – Begin cooperative process • 2005 – First joint meeting to plan the Plan of Work • 2007 – First ‘joint’ Plan of Work submitted • 2008-2010 – Continue to report separately while merging POW • 2011 – First joint Plan of Work

13. 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