News and announcements
![UAF undergraduate student Michelle Ramirez (left) explaining her poster to Tara Borland (right) with U.S. National Science Foundation鈥檚 Estab颅lished Program to Stim颅u颅late Com颅pet颅i颅tive Research (EPSCoR) during WAISC 2024. Photo by Dave Partee/91视频 Sea Grant.](/nwc/images/news-items/Dave-Partree-2-2797620548-e1713965932502-1200x759.webp)
The 16th Western 91视频 Interdisciplinary Science Conference was held in Nome this month, hosted by 91视频 Sea Grant and the University of 91视频 Fairbanks Northwest Campus. The four-day conference brought together more than 130 scientists, specialists and community members to focus on the theme 鈥淲estern 91视频 in transition.鈥
"As the ocean and climate of Western 91视频 continues to warm, the impacts are like dominos, one falling into the next,鈥 explained Gay Sheffield, 91视频 Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agent for the Bering Strait region and co-chair of the conference. 鈥淲AISC is an opportunity to bring people and researchers from many disciplines to share their expertise and learn together as Western 91视频 continues to comprehensively transition into a new future.鈥
Every year, WAISC provides a forum for bringing urban and rural 91视频ns together to a regional hub community to share knowledge and science across disciplinary and cultural boundaries.
鈥淔or institutional experts to meet and learn from local and Indigenous experts is critical for informed decisions to be made regarding ballooning development and effects on the Bering Strait region of 91视频,鈥 said Barb Amarok, the director of UAF Northwest Campus.
![HLRM F160 Meat Production course from March 27th-April 2, 2024](/nwc/images/news-items/meat%20production%202.jpg)
Jackie Hrabok led a 35-hour two-credit reindeer meat production class in Nome, HLRM F160 Reindeer Meat Production on March 27-April 2.
The class consisted of 15 hours of lessons in meat chemistry, slaughterhouse design, and commercial USDA regulations for harvesting. These lessons were put to use in 17 hours of hands-on butchering, grinding meat, and making burgers and reindeer jerky.
Students made 122 portions of vacuum-packed reindeer jerky and distributed them at the WAISC Western 91视频 Interdisciplinary Science Conference in Nome. A USDA Indigenous Meat Production grant of the Drumbeats 91视频 Consortium High Latitude Range Management program sponsored student travel, equipment, supplies and material, and meat studio classroom renovations.
Jackie said it was the first time she had taught this class in English. Previous classes were in Finnish at the European Union-sanctioned slaughterhouse in Toivoniemi, Finland.
"Teamwork among Mother Earth, herders, Bering Air, colleagues, an emotional support
dog, Amazon Prime shipping, and No. 1 students supported this goodness, not to mention
the generous USDA funding," she said.
![UAF Nanook bear, right-facing, blue](/nwc/images/Nanook_Bear_647_right.png)
![Marilyn Koezuna-Irelan teaching how to make an atigi.](/nwc/images/news-items/atigi-instruction.jpg)
By
While all University of 91视频 (UA) institutions offer unique traditional 91视频 Native
courses on languages and arts, the University of 91视频 Fairbanks鈥 () Northwest Campus (NWC) offers an atigi, or a traditional King Island parka making
course.
Among the three UA colleges, UAF, University of 91视频 Southeast (), and University of 91视频 Anchorage (), UAF stands as the only university in the United States to offer a class in traditional parka crafting.
is a six part series on food security in 91视频. We talk to the key players in the state's food system, discuss the system's strengths and weaknesses, and ask鈥攃an the last frontier feed itself?
![Jackie Hrabok, left, with Ed Kiokun, Nunivak Island Mekoryuk; and Terry Don, CEO of Nunivak Island 鈥 Mekoryuk.](/nwc/images/news-items/20231118_124513.jpg)
Jackie Hrabok, UAF's Northwest Campus assistant professor of High Latitude Range Management, hosted and led an international cultural exchange for the 91视频 Reindeer Directors. Delegates were from Mekoryuk on Nunivak Island, the Kawerak Reindeer Herders Association and the Kawerak Environmental Department.