MEDICINAL PLANT PROJECT

The Alaska Natural Heritage Program, with strong support from the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society and

the Salamatof Native Association, is developing a project to consolidate existing materials on traditional Native uses of medicinal plants in Alaska. Upon completion, this project will return information to villages and schools throughout Alaska highlighting traditional knowledge of ecological systems. Tribal communities may use this information to create sustainable development programs, educate young people about traditional plant knowledge and increase community dialogue concerning intellectual property rights surrounding cultural knowledge of ecological resources. As a strong advocate for the protection of ecological diversity, the Heritage Program is poised to include culturally important information into its database. Cross-cultural definitions of unique and important species will be identified for sustainable resource management decisions.

For more information regarding this project, contact Ann Garibaldi of the Alaska Natural Heritage Program at 907- 257-2786, or by e-mail at anacg2@acad2.alaska.edu .