Rare and Culturally Significant Plant Inventory

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska

AERC collaborated with UAA’s Alaska Center for Conservation Science to search for rare and culturally significant plant species at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER). The first stage of the project involved whittling down the list of 823 plant taxa found on JBER into a manageable list of target species. The final list included six taxa deemed rare in the state of Alaska, and six taxa deemed culturally significant for Alaska Native food, medicine, or practices. To determine cultural significance, AERC collaborated with Chickaloon Native Village, Native Village of Eklutna, Knik Tribal Council, Native Village of Tyonek, and the Kenaitze Indian Tribe via surveys. Next, AERC researchers mapped the sites of suitable habitats and, over the course of a summer, walked across miles of JBER training areas searching for their target plants. The plant inventory will help JBER manage rare and culturally important plants, protect the biodiversity of natural and cultural resources on military lands, and identify mitigation measures to improve the resiliency of target plant populations.