FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The University of Alaska Fairbanks and United States Army Garrison Alaska Fort Wainwright have entered into a beneficial partnership for environmental services that links the Army with higher education in the local community.
Leaders from UAF and USAG Alaska met today at the university campus to formalize the partnership established by an Intergovernmental Support Agreement in January 2023. UAF Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Nettie La Belle-Hamer and USAG Alaska Commander Col. Nate Surrey, signatories of the agreement, discussed the many benefits of the IGSA arrangement between the Army and the University. “I am very pleased that the Army recognizes UAF’s scientific and environmental expertise, especially in the circumpolar North,” La Belle-Hamer said. “This agreement provides additional opportunity for UAF employees, many of whom are UAF alumni, and students to apply that expertise across a myriad of environmental programs and disciplines.”
Surrey said, “This 10-year agreement with UAF affords the Garrison’s Environmental Division with much greater flexibility and capacity for managing its work for Fort Wainwright and the 1.6 million acres of Army-managed training lands in Interior Alaska. We couldn’t ask for a better partner in meeting our stewardship responsibilities.”
Environmental services under the agreement may range from surveys of threatened and endangered species, wetlands, and archaeological sites, to natural resource management and water and air quality compliance.
Environmental Division Planning Branch Chief Matthew Sprau said, “UAF has the nation’s preeminent academic and practical field experts in the sub-arctic and arctic environment. It is the perfect fit for Garrison Alaska, and the IGSA allows us to work directly with UAF to gain the expertise where and when we need it.
“Well over half of our Environmental staff are graduates of UAF,” Sprau continued, “We’re excited to expand our existing relationship into a formal partnership that includes opportunities for access to professional capacity and for student development.”
Legislative statute 10, U.S. Code 2679 authorizes military services to enter into IGSAs on a sole source basis for installation services when the agreement enhances mission effectiveness by creating efficiencies or economies of scale, reducing cost. Using an IGSA is a prime cost-effective means to acquire services for military installations while providing additional revenues to local governments and their work forces.
“This agreement strengthens our partnership with the Army,” La Belle-Hamer said. “We look forward to working together for many years.”
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