July 2022 Mat Su Great Lander

In This Issue BONSAI TREES TELL OF WINTERS LONG PAST PRESERVE FOOD TO ENJOY! RECYCLING REPEATS ITSELF - EPISODE 6

F ind the B enjamin WIN THE BENJAMIN

Rules on page 18

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• Local Estimates • Full Size Service Bays • No Job Too Big or Too Small • Renovations • Winterize/De-Winterize • Appliance Repair & Replacement • Water Damage July 2022

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July 2022

July 2022 Index $100 Bill Contest & Monthly Winner................ 18 ABC RV Center.................... 20

Volume 18 Issue 7 GreatLander publications

Alaska Motorsports & Equipment.......................... 4 Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram................ 19

(a division of Anchorage Printing Inc.)

CAC Plastics......................... 7

Phone: (907) 274-0611

Camper Valley................... 2, 3

Fax: (907) 272-2105

Coloring Page...................... 17

Toll Free: 1-888-746-7452

G reat L ander . com info@greatlander.com

View online at: matsugreatlander.com

Let’s Go Fishing!

Stop by Dewey’s and shop our large selection of Marine Accessories.

Then check out these Great Boat Packages!

Coloring Winners................. 16 Dewey’s Cook Inlet................ 5 Galena Interior Learning Academy................ 6 Great Alaska Pizza Company..................... 4

All New

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Outboards

Legacy Funeral Homes......... 2

Stay Warm & Dry

Manny’s Driver Education..... 7 Mat Valley Meats................. 10 Nothing But Driveways.......... 4 Ron’s Honda Center.............. 9 To advertise in this publication please call

(907) 274-0611 General Manager:

Rural Energy.......................... 7 Susitna Energy Systems........ 8 TLC Home Care..................... 7 Yamaha ATVs, Side x Sides.................. 12, 13

Gerrett Rhodes

gerrett@anchorageprinting.com

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Leslie Talent Love leslie@greatlander.com

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M at-Su Rea l Estate Gu id e

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July 2022

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GreatLander Mat-Su

July 2022

PERSONALIZED CARE AT HOME • Senior care with low-cost live-in services • Personal Care • Holiday meal prep and clean-up • Grocery Shopping/Errands • Housekeeping We are committed to helping

• Yard work/Small indoor-outdoor projects • Helping you organize • Bill pay • Pet care services • Travel companion and more you have a stress-free life

You’re in very good hands. Call us today for a free home care assessment and let us help make every day life a little bit easier.

TLC Home Care

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July is

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• Classes Begin: July 12, Aug. 9, Sept. 12 • Approved Homeschool Vendor • Call or text to register: 907-841-3639

• Boat Repair • Watercraft Repair • Canoe Repair • Plastic Repair • Fiberglass Products • Epoxy products • Gel-Coat • Bottom Painting • Hardtops • Decking • Window Plastics

• Windscreens • Cutting Boards • Fish Totes • Bushing/ Bearing Plastic • Trailer Plastics • Plastic Welding • UHMW, ABS, HDPE • Plexiglass, Lexan • Much More...

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THE ON-DEMAND OIL-FIRED HEATING SYSTEM THAT WILL KEEP YOU WARM ALL NIGHT THE OM 128HH HYDRONIC HEATER: • Acts Like a Boiler • Energy Efficient and Saves You Money • Easy Installation • Compact and Lightweight • Choice of direct vent or chimney vent • Use with Toyotomi HC-190 or existing baseboard

CALL OR VISIT US ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Toll free 800-770-7330 • www.ruralenergy.com July 2022

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YOUR ONE STOP SHOP FOR OFF-GRID LIVING

We live off the grid and use the products we sell!

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GreatLander Mat-Su

July 2022

Ron’s Honda Center

Was i l la Lo c atio n – 907-745-4868

THINKING OF A NEW MOTORCYCLE FOR SUMMER? 2021 & 2022 models are in stock!

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Pa r t s – S a l e s – S e r v i c e Servi ng Al l of Alaska!

Wasilla – PO Box 2028, Palmer, AK 99645

ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET, EYE PROTECTION AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING. NEVER RIDE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, AND NEVER USE THE STREET AS A RACETRACK. OBEY THE LAW AND READ THE OWNER’S MANUAL THOROUGHLY. CRF/Fs ARE INTENDED FOR OFF-ROAD OPERATION ONLY. PARENTS NEED TO CONSIDER A RIDER’S AGE, SIZE, ABILITY AND MATURITY BEFORE ALLOWING THEM TO RIDE. Always stay on established trails in approved riding areas.

July 2022

GreatLander Mat-Su

9

Specialty Meats & Meat Package Deals!

Available for shipout to the bush!

WE ALSO DELIVER TO THE WASILLA AND ANCHORAGE AREAS

6175 East Palmer-Wasilla Hwy.

(907) 357-9215

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VISI

(907) 414-0558

ORDER ONLINE!

mvmdeliveries.com

www.mvmeat.com • mvmeat@mtaonline.net Jumbo Freezer Filler 40 lb.

24 lb.

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Lean Ground Beef Chuck Roast London Broil Top Sirloin Steak New York Steak Santa Anita Tri-tip Maui Wowie Ribs Pork Chops Pork Spareribs Whole Fryers Split Chicken Breasts Ham Bacon Pork Breakfast Sausage Italian Sausage

Deluxe Assortment Pack 20 lb.

10 lb.

10 lb.

10 lb.

5 lb.

5 lb.

5 lb.

10 lb.

10 lb.

20 lb.

10 lb.

5 lb.

10 lb.

Lean Ground Beef Rib Steak Chuck Roast Round Steak Stew Meat Pork Sausage Bacon Pork Chops Pork Steak Whole Fryers Chicken Thighs Chicken Breasts Ham

Variety Pack

Steak Pack 4 lbs T Bone Steak 4 lbs New York Steak 4 lbs Ribeye Steak 4 lbs Top Sirloin Steak 4 lbs London Broil

Approx. 20 lb. $379

16 lb.

4 lb.

4 lb.

12 lb.

4 lb.

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6 lb.

5 lb.

10 lb.

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93% Ground Beef Rib Eye Steak T-Bone Steak Round Roast Short Ribs Boneless Pork Chops Pork Roast Ham Streak Whole Chicken Chicken Drumsticks Assorted Cold Cuts

Approx. 80 lb.

Approx. 130 lb. $899

Approx. 173 lb. $1159

For additional pricing on cases, local beef and hogs, or other packages visit www.mvmeat.com

Family Pack 2 lb.

2 lb.

10 lb.

5 lb.

6 lb.

3 lb.

2 lb.

2 lb.

5 lb.

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Bacon Breakfast Sausage Lean Ground Beef Whole Chicken Chuck Roast Sirloin Roast Sirloin Steak Round Steak Pork Chops Pork Spareribs Pork Roast Italian Sausage

Approx. 45 lb.

$319

Come in or visit us online to check out our wide variety of specialty meats, cuts and full service butcher counter. We also offer select cuts, try it packs, and sides processed to your specifications of our Alaska Grown Beef and Pork.

Beef Pack 15 lb.

5 lb.

4 lb.

4 lb.

6 lb.

3 lb.

4 lb.

5 lb.

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Lean Ground Beef London Broil T-Bone Steak Rib Steak Chuck Roast Sirloin Tip Roast Short Ribs Round Roast Stew meat

Approx. 51 lb.

10 lb.

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5 lb.

5 lb.

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$549

Pork Pack

Whole Fryer Game Hens Bnls Skinless Chicken Breast Chicken Thighs Chicken Drums Chicken Wings Whole Turkey

Approx. 53 lb.

$249

5 lb.

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Bacon Breakfast Sausage Pork Chops Pork Roast Pork Steak Pork Spareribs Country Style Ribs Ham Smoked Ham Hocks

Approx. 50 lb.

$299

Gourmet Pack 3 lb.

2 lb.

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Shoulder Bacon Breakfast Sausage 93% Ground Beef Shrimp Beef Ribeye Steak Beef New York Steak Filet Mignon Pork Chops Boneless Chicken Breast Italian Sausage

Approx. 40 lb.

GreatLander Mat-Su

July 2022

$439

Budget Pack 5 lb.

5 lb.

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Chuck Roast Ground Beef Round Steak Pork Chops Pork Country Style Ribs Pork Sausage Bacon Chicken Breast Chicken Thighs Chicken Drumsticks

Approx. 45 lb.

All Steaks and Roasts Vacuumed Packed. Prices are Subject to Change Without Notice. Case Pricing and Case Weights Are Approximate.

10

$679

$289

July 2022

GreatLander Mat-Su

11

2023 MODELS COMING THIS FALL!!

2023 PW50

2023 TTR50

2023 TTR110

2023 TTR125

2023 TTR230

2023 TW200 RAVEN

2023 XT250

For Pricing Options Contact Your Participating Dealer. ©2022 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved. Product and specifications subject to change without notice. Professional rider on closed course under controlled conditions. Always wear an approved helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. Ride responsibly and always ride within your capabilities, allowing time and distance for maneuvering, and respect others around you. Know the conditions. Observe all state and local laws. Don’t drink and ride.

Yamaha Motorcycles, ATVs & Snowmachines Available At These Participating Yamaha Dealers: Lower Peninsula Power Sports Homer, Alaska 99603 Phone 907-235-6341 www.lppowersports.com

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Alaska Fun Center

Fairbanks, Alaska 99709 Phone 800-478-3455 www.alaskafuncenter.com

July 2022

Alaska House of Yamaha Big Lake, Alaska 99652 Phone: 907-892-1000 www.houseofyamaha.com

Anchorage Yamaha

Anchorage, Alaska 99517 Phone: 907-243-8343 www.AnchorageYamaha.com

LIMITED EDITION, MAXIMUM ADVENTURES.

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WOLVERINE® RMAX™4 1000 LIMITED EDITION

Packed with power. Rich with features. The ultimate combination of class-leading comfort, imposing next-generation style and rugged performance. Meet your new partners in adventure: the 2022 Wolverine RMAX2 1000 and RMAX4 1000 Limited Editions.

Best-in-class power delivery and advanced in-cab adjustable FOX® suspension mean you’re always in command. And with fullyintegrated stereo systems and more cabin comfort touch-points than any others in their class, these Limited Edition side-by-sides are your passport to unforgettable adventures.

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Professional drivers and riders depicted on closed areas. Side-by-Side (SxS) models are recommended for use only by operators 16 years and older with a valid driver’s license. Always wear your seat belt, helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. Yamaha recommends that all Side-by-Side riders take an approved training course. For Side-by-Side safety and training information, see your dealer or call the ROHVA at 1-866-267-2751. Read the Owner’s Manual and the product warning labels before operation. Avoid excessive speeds and never engage in stunt riding. Always avoid paved surfaces and never ride on public roads. And be particularly careful on difficult terrain. Never ride under the influence of alcohol or other drugs; it is illegal and dangerous. Models shown with optional accessories. ©2022 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved. • YamahaMotorsports.com

For Best Pricing Options Contact Your Participating Dealer.

Yamaha Motorcycles, ATVs & Snowmachines Available At These Participating Yamaha Dealers: Kodiak Powersports & Marine Kodiak, Alaska 99615 Phone: 907-486-0333 www.kodiakpowersports.biz

Northern Power Sports

Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 Phone: 907-452-2762 www.NorthernPowersports.com

Wasilla Performance Yamaha

River & Sea Marine

Soldotna, Alaska 99669 Phone: 800-770-7700 www.riverandseamarine.com

Wasilla, AK 99657 Phone: 907-373-7668 www.AnchorageYamaha.com

Sales Mgr: bob.walker@acsalaska.net

July 2022

GreatLander Mat-Su

13

Home & Garden

Preserve food to enjoy!

Julie Cascio, MatSu Cooperative Extension Service, UAF Vegetables are growing in our gardens with this lovely Alaska summer. Harvesting lettuce, chives, arugula, bok choi, herbs, radishes, and spinach has given us vegetables and flavors to summer meals. A friend shared her abundance of chard. There was so much it filled several pint jars to can for use this winter.

Watching the blossoms of apple trees, currant and raspberry bushes (and more plants) turning into buds, anticipating catching salmon and halibut, harvesting other vegetables, and hunting for moose makes me plan to preserve food to have this fall and winter.

Using the USDA advice is helpful for methods to preserve and store food. Options to preserve include to freeze, dehydrate, ferment, or can food. Having research-based recipes to preserve food in jars is important for making sure the food is safe to eat.

Whether canning is a new process for you to try or one you are familiar with because you do it regularly, it is always check the method to be used and the steps needed for the type of food.

Check your equipment to make sure it is in good condition. If using a pressure canner with a dial gauge, bring the dial gauge to the UAF Cooperative Extension Office (1509 S Georgeson Drive, Palmer) to be checked for accuracy. Call 90-745-3360 to find dates for this.

Or take a class. Sign up for online classes at www.uaf.edu/ces/matsu July 21, 2022 Noon to 1 pm Food Preservation Canning Fish in Jars – This class will go through the steps in heat processing fish, which are low acid food, in jars, botulism prevention, use and care of a pressure canner, and types of pressure canners.

July 28, 2022 Noon to 1 pm Making Jelly and More – This class will go through making jellied products: Jellies, Jams, Preserves, Marmalades, and Conserves, ingredients needed for jell to occur, extracting juice for jelly, options for making low or no sugar products, canning fruit, preserving using boiling water bath canner.

August 4, 2022 Noon to 1 pm Food Preservation Canning Vegetables, Legumes, Meat and Poultry – Heat processing low acid produce in jars, botulism prevention, use and care of a pressure canner, methods of preparing the vegetables and legumes, meat, commercial and wild game, large and small, and poultry, stock and soup.

Then, when you have preserved your food by canning in jars, consider putting entering in the Canning Department at the Alaska State Fair, Palmer.

Exhibit entry is Friday, August 5 and Sat-

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GreatLander Mat-Su

urday, August 6 between 11 am and 7 pm in the Hoskins Building. Follow current USDA guidelines, label the product(s) correctly, in the required type of jars and lids for that product. www.alaskastatefair.org A boiling water bath is simply a large pot (you can use a stockpot) with a rack on the bottom. Canning jars filled with food and with special canning lids secured are completely immersed in boiling water for time specified in the canning recipe. After processing, as the jars cool, a vacuum seal is formed Gaskets in unused lids work well for at least 5 years from date of manufacture.

The gasket compound in older unused lids may fail to seal on jars. Buy only the quantity of lids you will use in a year. www.nchfp. uga.edu Products that will be canned for less than ten minutes need to be sterilized. That is jelly and fruit juices. To sterilize jars for these products, submerge the empty jars in (covered by) boiling water for 10 minutes.

When the process time for canning a food is 10 minutes or more (at 0-1,000 feet elevation), the jars will be sterilized DURING processing in the canner. Then the hot product is poured into the hot, sterilized jars.

To check the seal, tap the lid with the bottom of a teaspoon. If it makes a dull sound, the lid is not sealed. If food is in contact with the underside of the lid, it will also cause a dull sound. If the jar is sealed correctly, it will make a ringing, high-pitched sound.

A false seal is a weak seal that can happen for a number of reasons. False seals occur when the products are not canned correctly, when jar rims are not wiped clean before processing, or if jars are not filled correctly.

After your jars are completely cooled, you should remove the rings then wipe down the jars to remove any stick residue. Remaining residue on the jars will begin to mold and that mold grows and can push on the edge of

July 2022

lid and break the seal.

Store canned food in a clean, cool, dark, dry place. Don’t store jars above 85 F. Ideal temperatures are 50°F-70°F. Don’t store near hot pipes, a range, a furnace, in an uninsulated attic, or in direct sunlight.

Under these conditions, food will lose quality in a few weeks or months and may spoil.

Stored in a damp area could cause tin cans to rust.

It would be a good idea to not stack jars too high directly on top of each other; one manufacturer recommends no more than two layers high. It would be best to provide support between the layers as a preventive measure against disturbing the seals on the lower jars.

According to the USDA, canned goods will last indefinitely if they are kept in good condition. Though, that’s no guarantee that the food’s texture and taste will be the same as when you first bought it years past the expiration date.M Botulism in a jar is indicated when the container is leaking, bulging, or swollen; the container looks damaged, cracked, or abnormal; the container spurts liquid or foam when opened; or. the food is discolored, moldy, or smells bad. www.cdc.gov Notes: From the Tattler website states it utilizes an FDA and USDA approved, food grade product known as Polyoxymethylene Copolymer (POM) or Acetal Copolymer. The rubber rings (gaskets) are made from a food grade nitrile rubber and contain no latex. https://extension.psu.edu/canners-and-canning-methods-that-are-not-recommended Solar canning, oven canning, open kettle canning, microwave processing, and dishwashing processing are not safe canning methods.

Steam Canners Steam canning guidelines have been updated (June 2015). The University of Wisconsin has published research which indicates that an Atmospheric Steam Canner may be safely used for canning naturally acid foods such as peaches, pears, and apples, or acidified-foods such as salsa or pickles, as long as specific criteria are met.

Oven canning is not a recommend process. The glass jars are not designed to withstand the intense dry heat and may shatter in the oven. There is also the danger of breakage and burns while removing them from the oven. www/extension.psu.edu Oven Canning Oven Canning is extremely hazardous.

The oven canning method involves placing jars in an oven and heating. In oven canning, product temperatures never exceed the boiling point because the jars are not covered.

It is, therefore, not safe to use for low-acid products (e.g. meats, most vegetables) which

require temperatures higher than 212°F. Oven canning is not a recommend process. The glass jars are not designed to withstand the intense dry heat and may shatter in the oven. There is also the danger of breakage and burns while removing them from the oven.

Also, and most importantly, the transfer of heat into the jars is much slower through air in an oven than in a water bath or a pressurized steam canner. The recipes that we recommend have been scientifically tested using a water bath or pressure canner and should be followed exactly as written. Otherwise there is a heightened risk of spoilage, or worse, survival of Clostridium botulinum spores, the source of deadly botulism poisoning.

Open Kettle Canning The open-kettle method involves placing hot food in jars and sealing with no further heat treatment. This method is not recommended for home canning because the amount of heat applied may not be sufficient to destroy bacteria and the product may spoil quickly or cause illness when consumed.

Microwave Processing Microwave oven cannot be used for home canning. Microwaved food reaches 212°F but heating is not uniform. There is also a danger of explosion of the jars within the microwave oven or as food is being removed from the oven.

Micro-Dome Food Preserver Micro-Dome Food Preserver Recalled Washington, DC--The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in cooperation with Micro-Dome of San Ramon, CA, has warned consumers of certain safety hazards associated with the use of the “Micro-Dome Food Preserver” manufactured

by Micro-Dome and sold and distributed to consumers after August 1987. The CPSC has also urged consumers to destroy all food that has been preserved using a Micro-Dome Food Preserver.

Dishwasher Processing Processing canned foods during a dishwasher cycle can be dangerous. The temperature of the water during the cleaning and rinsing cycle is far below that required to kill harmful microorganisms. Thus the product will be under-processed and unsafe to eat.

The botulism risk is greater for homecanned foods that have not been processed using safe canning guidelines. Boil all homecanned foods before serving. First, bring the food to a rapid boil. This brings out any telltale botulism odors. Some botulism bacteria produce gas you can smell; some don’t. If the product smells right, lower the heat and continue boiling the food. At altitudes below 1,000 feet, boil foods for 10 minutes. Add an additional minute of boiling time for each additional 1,000 feet of elevation.

Science

Bonsai trees tell of winters long past Ned Rozell A GREEN PLATEAU NORTH OF LITUYA BAY — “These are museum-class bonsais,” Ben Gaglioti says as we walk through an elfin forest.

Gaglioti, a University of Alaska Fairbanks ecologist, has led me into another landscape I have never seen in Alaska. This terrace of spongy ground above the rainforest is home to trees that Dr. Seuss might have dreamed up.

Winter storms spinning off the Gulf of Alaska have sculpted these hemlocks on the outer coast of Glacier Bay National Park into mountain men waving at you, the letter Z, and umbrellas.

Gaglioti sees the damaged trees as messengers from the past, carrying memories of hard winters within their gnarled stems.

Here, about 10 miles north of Lituya Bay, it is breezy enough to be chilly here even on this summer day. The exposure makes it easy to imagine winter storms blasting through.

“Nothing is stopping the winds between here and Hawaii,” Gaglioti says, pointing to the blue-green expanse of ocean that ends at a line that looks like you might fall off if you sailed past.

During winter storms, high winds scour these trees’ bark with ice crystals. Rime ice also forms on branches and breaks them. The trees endure, shooting out new growth, sometimes sideways.

How are these trees useful to a scientist?

Gaglioti noticed these hemlocks grow a dark,

Photo by Ned Rozell.

Ben Gaglioti, an ecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, stands next to a mountain hemlock tree damaged in winter on the outer coast of Glacier Bay National Park in Southeast Alaska.

resin-rich ring during the summer after a winter storm has dinged them up. Most tree-ring records are blind to what happens in winter, when the trees are dormant.

Standing on a few 1,800-foot terraces here in the rugged wilderness are crooked indicators of what has gone on in the North Pacific off Alaska during the winter for the last four centuries.

Gaglioti has found this by taking tree cores.

Today, he screws an increment borer into the

trees with an action that resembles changing a tire. The plateau rings with “Tock, tock, tock,” as he backs the corer out of the tree.

He twists out a cylinder of wood thinner than a pencil. It smells like a lumberyard.

“This is a really old tree,” he says. “Really tight rings. Maybe 400 years.”

Gaglioti has seen years when a quarter or more of the trees showed the dark ring indicative of a tough winter.

With more than 300 of these cores, he was able to reconstruct the severity of winters going all the way back to about 1786, when Commander La Perouse declared nearby Lituya Bay the Port of France (before he lost 21 men at the bay’s dangerous entrance and sailed away).

The trees have told him that giant weather systems like the Aleutian Low seem to have persisted despite human-caused warming.

During winters when the Aleutian Low is strong, warmer temperatures and southerly winds create icy, stormy conditions that increase the likelihood of trees being damaged.

On a larger scale, the Aleutian Low twirling over this giant body of water causes droughts, floods and wildfires in western North America.

Scientists have also tied cycles in the Aleutian Low — which switches from strong to weak every few decades — to Arctic sea-ice extent and the strength or weakness of salmon runs along the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska.

After gathering 20 cores and storing them inside paper straws, Gaglioti seals them inside a Ziploc. They will add to the load he will carry in his backpack out of here. Someday, probably in the darkness of winter, he will look at them under magnification and see what these trees have to say about hard times they have endured.

This column is provided as a public service by the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer at the institute.

R e c yc l i n g

Recycling repeats itself cling programs. VCRS supplies 12 different

By Randi Perlman As summer approaches, it’s fun to spend re-use materials for sale, at prices that simply time in the park. Have you ever visited can’t be beat! These include: Alaska’s ONLY state-of-the-art Resource • Shredded office paper Recovery & Training Park? Officially called • Bubble wrap (bags of assorted wrap) Valley Community for Recycling Solutions • Packing peanuts (cornstarch & Styro(VCRS), your local recycling center is a busfoam) tling operation where you can drop off clean • Books (all genres, for all age groups, in & sorted recyclables, pick up re-use items the Rescued Books Store) you may need at a very reasonable price, • Kitty Litter buckets, and sometimes shop in our Rescued Books Store, and bring 5-gallon buckets your children into the classroom to look • Plastic milk jugs (used by gardeners to through our ‘window on the [recycling] create miniature greenhouses) world’ down to the processing floor below • Plastic soda bottles, 2 litre or other sizes where they can watch heavy equipment op(used by teachers for school projects erators bale all those sorted materials, which like building rockets, terrariums, or are then sold as individual commodities, other creations) shipped all across the U.S.A., and re-man• Egg cartons (12 & 18 pack paper ones ufactured into products with a new life – a only) true example of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

• Cardboard boxes (for moving or storResidents from around the Valley and beage) yond have become regular customers, and • Bundles of newspaper (for packing, linenjoy purchasing one or more of the many ing, burning) types of re-use items supplied by the cen• Compost (once it’s ready; not necessarter They find items they’re looking for, and ily every summer) their purchase helps support various recy-

- Episode 6

It’s always good to call ahead and make sure the re-use items you’re looking for are ‘in stock’. Cardboard boxes and egg cartons are almost always available, and the shelves of the Rescued Books Store are usually well stocked with great reading choices for all ages. For some of the other listed items, supplies come and go, so they are not always on hand. Sometimes they need to be gathered (milk jugs, two litre or other size soda bottles), and sometimes they cannot be gathered; it all depends on what has been dropped off by community members, which is constantly changing.

Some items, like bubble wrap and both kinds of packing peanuts, have been in high demand at VCRS since the early days, and are regularly requested. Bubble wrap is accepted for recycling in the Plastic Bags &

Film category, as long as it’s free of excess tape. BUT, bubble wrap in GOOD condition (not torn or mangled when it’s wrapped around some odd-shaped item for mailing or moving) should be kept separate so it can be made available for re-use. Both packing peanuts and bubble wrap are provided in 30 gallon bags for purchase at $2 a bag – now, that’s a steal of a deal! NO block or sheetstyle Styrofoam is accepted for recycling or re-use.

Visit our website at www.valleyrecycling. org, or call your friendly Resource Recovery & Training Park at 907-745-5544 with any questions or to check on availability of re-use materials. Remember, try to REDUCE the amount you use, REUSE things when you can, and then RECYCLE… Keep it from becoming trash – Don’t Feed the Landfills – Make it a Habit!

Together We Are Turning it Around!

July 2022

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