Kenai Peninsula District Office
It's Fishing Season
- Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use Fisheries
- How to Cook Alaska Fish
- Home Freezing of Fish
- Mailing Alaska Fish
- Smoking Fish at Home
- Home Canning Smoked Fish and Home Smoking Fish for Canning
- Canning the Fish Catch
- Canning Fish in Quart Jars
- Canning Fish in Cans
- Using and Caring for Your Pressure Canner
- Salmon Roe Caviar
Pressure Canner Gauge Testing
Dial gauges on pressure canners need to be tested for accuracy every year. This free service is offered at the Kenai Peninsula Extension office. You don't have to bring your whole canner in, but the gauge can still be attached to your lid. Please call ahead to ensure someone is in to test your gauge, 262-5824 or you're welcome to drop it off and pick it up at a later date/time.
Soil Testing
Understanding what nutrients are available in your soil for your plants is needed in order to supply your garden with the building blocks to promote healthy and vigorous growth. Taking a soil sample and analyzing a soil test is the only way to know what nutrients are in your soil and how much fertilizer to apply to your garden. Review the documents below for more information on taking a soil sample, testing, and interpreting your results.
- Garden Soil Test Calculator
- Peony Soil Test Calculator
- Soil Test Interpretation
- Factors to Consider in Selecting a Soil Testing Laboratory
- Soil Sampling
Wildfire and Earthquake Information
- Swan Lake Fire - Incident Information System
- What to Do Before, During and After a Natural Disaster in Alaska
- Emergency Preparedness for Alaskans
Spruce Needle Rust
Are you finding masses of orange spores appearing on the needles of your spruce tree? If you are, your tree may have spruce needle rust. Please follow the link below to learn more about this fungus.
Spruce Needle Rust - Forest Service - USDA
Spruce Bark Beetles: What you need to know
Spruce Bark Beetles are making an impact on spruce trees across the Kenai Peninsula. Click here in order to:
- learn what bark beetles are and how they damage trees.
- learn bark beetle groups in Alaska.
- learn signs and symptoms of bark beetle activity.
- learn potential bark beetle threats to Alaska.
- become familiar with the vocabulary of bark beetles.
For even more information, view Spruce Bark Beetles: Tree Management Options for Home and Woodlot Owners for Southcentral and Interior Alaska
Spruce Needle Aphids on the Peninsula
Across the southern Kenai Peninsula many trees both young and old are becoming infested with a pest new to our area, the Spruce Needle Aphid, Elatobium abietinum.
Found in coastal communities, you can see the damage to trees of all ages by the browning and dropping of the needles from the trunk outward. Early inspection is ideal since these pest feed on the needles as early as February or March. Click here for more info