Workshops to explain genesis of environmental policy
October 20, 2010
907-474-7449
10/20/10
Two things most Alaskans love about the state they call home are the vast expanse of largely unspoiled land and water, and the freedom to express their opinions.
Many Alaskans combine these two loves with their outspoken views on how to either protect or develop the state. But to be really effective at getting your opinions heard—no matter which side of an environmental debate you stand on—you have to know how the National Environmental Policy Act works.
Explaining NEPA is the goal of a series of educational training workshops being organized by Izetta Chambers, the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agent based in Dillingham, Alaska. Chambers said the training workshops aim to help Alaskans better understand how NEPA works, particularly when it comes to how it affects the policymaking process of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
The next NEPA training workshop is scheduled in the Southwest Alaska village of Togiak, Nov. 12 – 14, at the Blue Building. The workshop will be taught over three days; Friday from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Participants are eligible to received one credit for the workshop through the University of Alaska Fairbanks Bristol Bay Campus.
Workshops are being planned for Nome and Kotzebue as well, although the time and place for these have not yet been determined.
NEPA was enacted in 1970 to guide the formation of national environmental policy that requires consideration of environmental factors and impacts during the policymaking process. An important aspect of the act was to establish procedures that all federal agencies must follow to prepare environmental assessments and environmental impact statements.
Chambers said Alaska Sea Grant received a $25,000 federal grant to conduct a series of training and outreach workshops to engage and inform coastal Alaskans on how the National Environmental Policy Act works. The grant was awarded by the National Sea Grant Law Center as part of its mission to conduct legal research, education and extension projects to foster environmental stewardship, long-term economic development and responsible use of America’s coastal, ocean and Great Lakes resources.
Training workshops are being planned in Southwest Alaska communities, as well as villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Aleutian Islands and the Bering Strait region. The workshops will focus on collaboration with existing programs, including the Rural Outreach Committee, recently implemented by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, as well as current course offerings planned through the UAF Bristol Bay Campus to teach students how to navigate the NEPA process.
Alaskans interested in participating in these training sessions are encouraged to contact Chambers at 907-842-8323, izetta.chambers@alaska.edu.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Izetta Chambers at 907-842-8323 or izetta.chambers@alaska.edu.
ON THE WEB: Learn more about the National Environmental Policy Act http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/
DS/10-20-10/076-11