Do you enjoy Fairbanks for its recreational values and opportunities like fishing, hunting, walking, biking, canoeing, river-boating, wildlife viewing, and photography? Do these activities attract you and your family and friends to the Chena or Tanana rivers most of the summer (or even the winter)? Are you concerned about the future of tourism opportunities in Fairbanks or North Pole? Do you have concerns about streambank erosion problems and loss of property along community waterbodies? Would you like to learn more about the benefits of healthy streamside riparian vegetation? If so, then please join your neighbors in the Tanana Valley Watershed Association, a community interest driven organization seeking to ensure that the recreational and economic benefits of the Tanana River and tributary streams continue long into the future.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough attracted 5,107 new residents from 2000 to 2005 -- with an increase of 2,459 from 2004 to 2005 alone! With this population growth also comes an increase in development. A fair amount of this new development has been along the Chena River, Chena Slough, and the Tanana River.
The mission of the TVWA is to promote and improve the health of the Tanana Valley watershed through education, restoration, collaborative research, and diverse community involvement. One specific way we hope to achieve our mission is by working closely with the Fairbanks North Star Borough to provide scientific-based information and assistance with the implementation of the land use and environment portions of the Comprehensive Plan. The implementation of the Borough’s Comprehensive Plan will require a community effort.
Additionally, the TVWA works closely with the Cities of Fairbanks and North Pole, the State Department of Transportation, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Fairbanks North Star Borough to meet the new stormwater permit requirements by providing technical expertise and information, helping to acquire funding for projects, and encouraging community involvement and action. As a part of this effort, TVWA has begun an Adopt A Stream Program, with a variety of ways to participate. We are also working to enhance Noyes and Chena Sloughs.
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