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This
year the National Park Service is proud to announce the funding
of several new and ongoing projects under its Shared Beringian Heritage
Program. The Shared Beringian Heritage Program recognizes and celebrates
the contemporary and historic exchange of biological resources and
cultural heritage shared by Russia and the United States on both
sides of the Bering Strait. The program seeks local resident and
international participation in the preservation and understanding
of natural resources and protected lands as well as working to sustain
the cultural vitality of Native peoples in the Central Beringia
region. The National Park Service has accepted the recommendations
of the Beringia Panel for funding of new projects in 2004. The panel
is composed of two National Park Service managers and representatives
from Bering Straits, NANA and Arctic Slope Regional Corporations.
Fifteen new and continuing projects have been awarded over $450,000
this year. Projects of interest include: " Native Village of Wales
will host the Kingikmiut Dance Festival to continue to preserve
the time honored traditions of Native Dance in that region. A Russian
group will be invited to the Festival this spring, and the project
will fund the Point Hope Dancers attendance. " The National Audobon
Society will compile a complete taxonomic list of the fish, birds,
amphibians and mammals of the Beringia Region. The Society will
publish, in Russian, a listing of the important bird areas of the
Bering Sea. " Barrow Arctic Science Consortium will provide an overview
of the past ten years of Beringian research. " The Pribilof School
District will provide community based monitoring of the Bering Sea.
The Pribilof Islands project will involve schools in Unalakeet,
Elim and Kotzebue. " Clemson University will study the biting flies
of the Beringian Region - pesky critters in both Russian and Alaska.
" The National Park Service will sponsor an "Archeological Mentorship"
program. " The Nanuuq Commission is continuing polar bear research
on both sides of the Straits. " The King Island community is being
supported in documenting their dance repertoire. "The Shared Beringia
Heritage Program allows the National Park Service to work with communities
in the region to fund projects of critical importance in preserving
the ongoing heritage of the area," said Acting Alaska Regional Director
Marcia Blaszak. "It is an honor to work with local communities,
private organizations, Native corporations and school districts
to share these resource studies with our Russian neighbors. This
region remains a vital cultural and natural bridge between Russia
and Alaska to this day." The National Park Service's Shared Beringian
Heritage Program was established in 1991 after the presidents of
the United States and the Soviet Union endorsed a proposal to establish
an international park agreement between the two countries. The international
park, if established, will help link protected lands and the peoples
of both sides of the Bering Straits in cultural exchanges, and in
exchanges of scientific capabilities and findings, conservation
ethics and philosophies, and natural and cultural resource management
technologies. The term Beringia comes from the name of Vitus Bering,
a Danish explorer for the Russian czar in the 18th Century. Bering-Chirikov
expedition explored the waters of the North Pacific between Asia
and North America. The Bering Strait, which lies between Alaska
and Northeast Russia, and Bering Island, in the Commander Islands,
are named after him. More information about the Beringian Program
can be found at their website at: http://www.nps.gov/akso/beringia
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Author:Jane
Tranel
Last modified on: January 23, 2004
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