WASHINGTON, March 19 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management announced that it expects to award up to four cooperative agreements for noxious and invasive plant management in Alaska. The estimated total program funding available was cited as $70,000 with a ceiling of $20,000. The category of funding activity is natural resources. The funding is open to: Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Native Am  more

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Maryland, March 19 -- The U.S. Army Environmental Command issued the following news: Historical military facilities can sometimes require a cleanup of environmental contamination that was released during legacy operations. The Defense Environmental Restoration Program - Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) program is responsible for this cleanup. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the FUDS program and must address more than 532 FUDS properties within its  more

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska, March 21 -- The U.S. Pacific Air Forces issued the following news: An active-duty Airman tested positive for COVID-19 on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The member recently returned from overseas travel and is following public health protocols while self-quarantined at their off-base residence. JBER officials have ordered Health Protection Condition (HPCON) Bravo and are continually monitoring the situation while working closely with local, state and   more

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska, March 19 -- The U.S. Air Force (354th Fighter Wing) issued the following news: Eielson Air Force Base has been placed in Health Protection Condition Bravo effective March 17 at 7:45 p.m. Health Protection Condition Bravo restricts movement of personnel on the installation as necessary, and implements quarantine or isolation procedures for affected individuals. "Our team is taking necessary steps and precautions to ensure the health and safety of our Eielson com  more

SILVER SPRING, Maryland, March 18 -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the following story: * * * - NOAA announces 2020 charter and commercial halibut management measures * * * From Southeast Alaska to the Bering Sea, Alaska fishermen are heading out to catch halibut with the March 14 opening of the 2020 halibut season. This season's regulations were adopted at the annual meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission last month and are included in a Final   more

SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, March 18 -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a rule, published in the Federal Register on March 17, entitled: "Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Sablefish Managed Under the Individual Fishing Quota Program". The rule was issued by Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. DATES: Effective 1200 hours, A.l.t., March 14, 2020, until 1200 hours, A.l.t., Novemb  more

SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, March 17 -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a rule, published in the Federal Register on March 16, entitled: "Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the Gulf of Alaska". The rule was issued by Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 11, 2020, through 1200 hrs, A.l  more

SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, March 19 -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a rule, published in the Federal Register on March 18, entitled: "Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska". The rule was issued by Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 14, 2020, through 1200 hrs, A.l  more

SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, March 19 -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a rule, published in the Federal Register on March 18, entitled: "Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska". The rule was issued by Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 13, 2020, through 2400 h  more

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii, March 19 -- The U.S. Pacific Air Forces issued the following news: After careful consideration and coordination with participating nations, Pacific Air Forces has cancelled Red Flag-Alaska 20-1 scheduled for April 30 to May 15 at Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The decision to cancel follows Department of Defense travel restrictions on domestic travel implemented on 16 March in response to the ongoing outbreak of COVI  more

WASHINGTON, March 17 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation issued the following news release on March 16: * * * - Watershed groups in Alaska and Hawaii receive their first funding, joining other groups in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming * * * The Bureau of Reclamation has selected 29 projects to receive $2.8 million to complete watershed group development, watershed restoration planning and watershed managem  more

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska, March 17 -- The U.S. Pacific Air Forces issued the following news: It was a routine traffic stop at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, because a driver's vehicle registration was expired. However, the security forces specialist was having trouble communicating with the driver because the driver didn't speak much English, but she did speak Spanish. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Ramses Alfonso, 673d Security Forces Squadron lead patrolman and native of C  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service announced that it intends to award a $63,000 cooperative agreement to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for zooplankton monitoring along coastal regions of the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The agency description of the cooperative agreement states: "Project goals are to conduct nutrient and zooplankton sampling along coastal regions of Glacier Bay and  more

WASHINGTON, March 17 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency - Alaska Field Office issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is standing up a new team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff that will lead a department-wide effort focused on serving beginning farmers and ranchers. "More than a quarter of producers are beginning farmers," said USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky. "We need to support the next generation of agricultu  more