Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities

We support communities to address environmental threats and achieve their vision for a safe, healthy, and sustainable future.

Newsletter Issue 28, October 2019

Three Things You Should Know

1. Richard Tuluk, Mayor of the City of Chevak, Alaska, shares the environmental changes that he has witnessed and their potential future impact on his community.
2. Fort Yukon, Alaska is completing repairs to their levee, which protects the community from spring flooding and mitigates erosion. 
3. After more than 20 years of planning, the first residents of Mertarvik, Alaska are moving into their new homes.

Perspective on Environmental Change from Chevak, Alaska

“Our communities are literally sinking, and impacts of storms, flooding, and storm surges are threatening lives and infrastructure through damage or total loss.”

-  Mayor Richard Tuluk, City of Chevak

Chevak, Alaska is located in a vast coastal wetland in the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta in western Alaska.

Richard Tuluk is the Mayor of the City of Chevak, Alaska, which lies on the northern banks of the Ninglikfak River. Chevak (Cevaq) has moved three times to avoid flooding impacts. The community is among the many across rural Alaska that are experiencing impacts to their lives, livelihoods and cultures due to accelerating erosion, flooding, and permafrost degradation. Below, Richard shares a summary of what is happening in his community.

For thousands of years, our people have observed the changes of the seasons to meet our subsistence needs for the year and were constantly vigilant to survive the harsh winters that Mother Nature brings. We have observed and learned from Mother Nature in order to adapt to the changes we’ve seen. Today, we face new challenges. Rising sea levels, ocean acidification, lack of sea ice that supports marine mammals, flooding, erosion, usteq, permafrost degradation, warming temperatures in our waters, and weather patterns are worsening each year. Storm surges are becoming more frequent and impact the lives and property of our community members. It will be harder to protect our communities if we are not preparing and protecting our infrastructure. We need to protect the lives and property for those that have no choice but to move to another location for the community to survive with their cultures and traditions.

The communities that are identified as environmentally threatened in Alaska are experiencing the impacts of these changes to our environments right now. We are at the frontline of these environmental changes, which cause damage to our communities and livelihoods. Our communities are literally sinking, and impacts of storms, flooding, and storm surges are threatening lives and infrastructure through damage or total loss.

Our community is concerned about erosion, permafrost degradation, and flooding. We have identified that we need protection from the impacts of advancing erosion that will impact our community infrastructure. Addressing erosion is one of our community’s highest priorities. We have taken a number of steps to address our environmental threats including establishing community-based erosion monitoring, establishing permafrost monitoring through the Active Layer Network, updating the City of Chevak Hazard Mitigation Plan, working with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) to apply for a grant through Denali Commission to move a home threatened by erosion, and sharing our experience with other communities in monthly teleconferences organized by the Alaska Institute for Justice. Our next step will likely be to seek additional support for a community-wide erosion assessment.

Mayor Richard Tuluk stands in front of a building in the process of being decommissioned before it is destroyed by riverine erosion in Chevak, Alaska. Credit: City of Chevak.

Recent Events 

The First Residents of Mertarvik, Alaska Relocate From Newtok, Alaska

New homes overlook the Ninglick River in Mertarvik, Alaska on October 12, 2019. Credit: Anchorage Daily News.

Newtok, Alaska is the first community in Alaska’s recent history to make significant progress implementing a community-led relocation due to environmental hazards. After more than two decades of planning, the first community members moved to Mertarvik, Alaska earlier this month. Throughout the remainder of this fall, 130 people plan to move to Mertarvik to pioneer the new site.

For more news coverage, check out these stories: KYUK, Anchorage Daily News, and National Geographic. 

Fort Yukon, Alaska Repairs Levee

A construction crew repairs the levee in Fort Yukon, Alaska. Taken October 8, 2019. Credit: ANTHC.

A construction crew in Fort Yukon is putting the finishing touches on a project to repair the community’s levee. Since early August, four people have removed old, damaged gabion baskets and rebuilt the levee, as you can see in the photo above. This structure will help to hold back high flood waters that occur during the spring, and also to mitigate erosion. 

Funding Opportunities

2019 FEMA PDM Grant Program

FEMA has announced the 2019 PDM grant program. This is an opportunity to fund projects identified in your community’s Hazard Mitigation Plan.

• Eligibility: Any local or Tribal government with a valid Hazard Mitigation Plan
• Due Date: January 31, 2020
• FY 2019 Pre-Disaster Mitigation Notice of Funding Availability
• FY 2019 Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fact Sheet

2019 Community Development Block Grant

The State of Alaska Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) provides funding for public facilities and planning activities that address issues detrimental to the health and safety of local residents. You may apply for a grant up to $850,000.

• Eligibility: Any municipal government
• Due Date: December 6, 2019

Upcoming Events

Alaska Tribal Conference on Environmental Management (ATCEM)

ATCEM is an annual gathering that brings together Tribes, Non-profits, and State and Federal organizations for a week of environmental conversations. The conference is focused on finding and implementing solutions to address the unique environmental concerns facing Alaskan communities.

• Location: Anchorage, Alaska
• Date: November 19-22, 2019
• Register here.

Tribal Grant Writing Training

Would you like to improve your grant writing skills? ANTHC is hosting a Tribal Grant Writing training workshop aimed at improving participant’s grant writing skills.

• Location: Nome, Alaska
• Date: December 10-12, 2019
• Register here.
• Scholarships: A limited number of travel scholarships for rural Alaska Native/American Indian professionals are available. Register first for more information about scholarships.

News Roundup

Norton Sound Communities are Facing an Extended Coastal Flood Season: Several coastal communities in the Norton Sound Region experienced coastal flooding in early October. If sea ice coverage continues to diminish compared to past years, the coastal flood season can extend into February, increasing communities’ vulnerability to storm damage.

About the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities 

The goal of the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities (CETC) is to support rural Alaskan communities experiencing infrastructure impacts associated with flooding, erosion, and permafrost degradation. The team does this primarily through grant writing, technical assistance, and project coordination.

ETC@anthc.org | (907) 729-4521 | 4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 561, Anchorage, AK 99508

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