Project Summary

1. Project Identification

Name	Barneby’s Milkvetch Rare Plant Protection Project
Region	Alaska
State	Alaska
Location	Kotzebue Long Range Radar Site (LRRS), Kotzebue, AK
Date of this update	March 5, 1998

2. Problem(s) addressed (check one or more)

Habitat Restoration/Protection
Wetlands
River systems
Beaches/Dunes
Offshore areas
Mangroves
Assisting Species at Risk		Barneby’s Milkvetch (Oxytropis arctica var. Barnebyana)
Pollution Mitigation
Non-Point Source Pollution
Other (describe)		The rare plant, Barneby’s Milkvetch, colonizes disturbed soils of the LRRS and located on a 120 foot bluff adjacent to the a beach of Kotzebue Sound. Health and safety considerations required demolition of abandoned buildings and remediation of soils impacted by petroleum product uses. The plant, a former Category 2 species, also occurs on other area properties under threat from dredging activities and development. The project was a study, and will ultimately provided information for upcoming management decisions for protection, mitigation and restoration.

3. Project Description (100 words or less. Please include qualitative information, e.g. acres of habitat restored, miles of steam reopened to migration, and legislative authorization, e.g. WRDA, ISTEA, CWA/NEP, CZMA, etc.)

The project is a cooperative effort between the US Air Force (USAF), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Alaska Plant Materials Center (APMC). To prevent extirpation of the rare plant the USAF and USFWS signed the first Conservation Agreement and Plan in Alaska.

4. Goals/Benefits (quantify where possible using measures of success list)

Education/Notification ensured all USAF staff, contractors, and agents were aware of the location of the plants. Boundary maps were created to delineated plant population boundaries. Monitoring surveyed plant populations, mapped, recorded and monitored plants that were unaffected, transplanted or extirpated. Mitigation was accomplished by collecting and developing seeds and seedlings as well as transplanting plants. The last component, experimentation established experimental populations to monitor survivorship of transplanted plants, seed viability, and germination.

Was a cost-benefit study conducted for this project? yes/no If yes, provide a summary of findings.

No, successes (cost benefits) are not quantified.

5. Partners (include each participant's responsibilities - funding, permitting, etc.)

• Federal

  Lead - U.S. Air Force, 611th Civil Engineer Squadron, Natural Resource Management - Project Management & Funding
  Others - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (Principal Investigator)

• Non-Federal

  State government - Alaska Plant Material Center (Laboratory & Research Assistance)
  Local government
  Private industry
  Public interest groups
  Educational Facility
  Other partnerships

6. Funding/Contributions (organization and amount)

• Cash

  Federal		$88,500
  Non Federal	State government
  	Local government
  	Private industry
  	Public interest groups
  Total		$88,500

• In-Kind Services (hours, equipment, or other forms of assistance and estimated dollar value)
  1. USFWS valued at approximately $20,000 for paid staff, office space, materials, supplies, and tools
  2. APMC valued at approximately $4,000 for paid staff, laboratory and office space, materials, supplies and tools
  3. BLM valued at approximately $5,000 for surveys in adjoining areas showing promise for other Barneby’s milkvetch populations
• Volunteers (number of people and hours, and estimated dollar value)

  National Park Service volunteer one person 40 hours, estimated $800
  Lavonne’s Fish Camp volunteer seven persons 3 hours each, estimated $420

7. Legislative authorities used by each participant

Endangered Species Act of 1973: USAF, USFWS, BLM
Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956: USFWS
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act: USAF, USFWS, BLM
Sykes Act: USAF

8. Value added by Coastal America Partnership including Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goals achieved through this collaboration (500 words or less)

Incomplete, an applicable example was not available

9. Project Status

Implementation of the Conservation Agreement was completed with a December 1997 report. Project mitigation planting, seeding, and transplanting will continue following 1998 demolition and remediation. APMC will evaluate the mitigation with annual reports, expected in May 1998 and 1999. Additional population genetics will be accomplished in the future by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The genetics studies will confirm if Barneby’s Milkvetch populations discovered on BLM properties are the same species.

Initiation date	April 19, 1996
Completion date
Current stage	Underway

10. Contacts

• Project Manager

  Mr. Michael Rhoads, USAF, 611 CES/CEVR

• Participating Agency/Organization Contacts: (e.g. volunteer groups, conservation groups, state agencies, and other federal agency contacts)

  Natural Resource Manager:
  Mr. Gene V. Augustine, USAF, 611 CES/CEVPN

  Principle Investigator:
  Mr. Stoney J. Wright, ADNR, APMC

  Refuge Manager:
  Ms. Leslie Kerr, USFWS, Selawik National Wildlife Refuge

11. Any additional information/comments

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This page was last updated on Saturday, 24-Jun-2000 11:48:46 EDT
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