Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities Newsletter

Issue 24, May 2019

Five Things You Need to Know from this Issue

Residents from Napakiak, Alaska shared their experience moving the community in response to erosion at the National Adaptation Forum in Madison, Wisconsin.
Akiak, Alaska lost a 75 to 100 feet of riverbank to erosion in one night.
Fort Yukon, Alaska is planning to mitigate flooding by elevating roads, upgrading culverts, building an evacuation center, and creating a full-time staff position to implement these efforts.
Philomena Keyes is planning for a more resilient future in Kotlik, Alaska by developing a locally-driven Climate Adaptation Assessment.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has funding available and mandatory letters of intent to apply are due May 31.

Napakiak Shares Their Story on a National Stage

In April, 900 people gathered at the National Adaptation Forum in Madison to share ideas and knowledge to build a more resilient America. Two people from Napakiak traveled for two days in order to present on their community’s past and present efforts to combat the aggressive erosion that threatens their community. David Andrew, Tribal Administrator for the Native Village of Napakiak, and Walter Nelson, who coordinates the City of Napakiak’s response to erosion, shared how they have been moving buildings on their own for decades, how collaboration across community entities enables success, and the status of current efforts to develop a new, safe site for the community.

“The environment is changing so rapidly here, every year we are getting less snow, lots of permafrost damage, we don’t have winters like we used to have. We have seen such a dramatic change in the weather in the past three years… It’s getting harder every year to subsist on the animals and land where we live.”
– Walter Nelson

The presentation spread awareness of the severity of the issue that Napakiak faces. According to David and Walter, they connected with many people around the country who were impressed and surprised by the action their community has taken. They found that participants from the Lower 48 were largely unaware of the challenges facing a remote, rural community – including how not having easy access to retail stores or not being on the road system makes it more difficult to get supplies in and out of the community. Further, participants from outside Alaska were surprised at the rate and extent of environmental changes that Napakiak and other Alaskan communities are experiencing.

Napakiak's presentation at the National Adaptation Forum had a packed audience listening to their story. Credit: ANTHC

David Andrew, Tribal Administrator for the Native Village of Napakiak during the National Adaptation Forum. Credit: ANTHC

David and Walter left the Forum feeling behind many other Tribal communities in the Lower 48 in the adaptation planning process. Since the impacts to Napakiak are imminent, they have prioritized taking immediate actions instead of a comprehensive long-term planning process to address the many ways that a rapidly changing environment will affect the community. David and Walter were also struck by how Napakiak, as a remote and rural indigenous community, doesn’t have the same access to resources as other communities, and how this impacts their ability to engage in adaptation planning. David and Walter plan to stay connected to the people they met at the Forum and continue to share Napakiak’s story with different audiences.

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Recent Events

Massive Erosion Rips 75 to 100 Feet from Akiak Riverbank

Akiak, Alaska experienced severe erosion on May 20th, 2019. Source: City of Akiak

A massive erosion event ripped around 75 to 100 feet from the riverbank in Akiak, Alaska in the early hours of Monday, May 20. Erosion occurred along the entire bank from the upper end of the community to the lower end—approximately a mile—causing smokehouses to fall into the river. Now, approximately three homes are in imminent danger, and others may be in jeopardy in the near future. The community’s immediate plan is to stabilize their riverbank by using metal poles to secure a tarp over the riverbank to try to hold it together. The City of Akiak is also in communication with the State of Alaska, Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management to get funding and technical assistance to manage the erosion threat. Akiak has experienced rapid erosion events before, in 2012 and 2015 for example, but nothing compares to what they experienced this month. Learn more by reading the KYUK story here.

Spring Erosion Eats 20 Feet from Napakiak Shoreline

Erosion eliminated Napakiak's temporary boat landing. Credit: KYUK

Storms over the second week of May ripped nearly ten feet from Napakiak’s shoreline, eliminating their temporary boat landing and damaging private property including boats and four-wheelers. This erosion event has advanced the shoreline even closer to the Napakiak school and fuel tanks, which are less than 200 feet and 140 feet away from the river respectively. Learn more by reading the KYUK story here.

Recent Publications About Alaska's Environmentally Threatened Communities

Aerial view of Kotlik, Alaska. Source: DGGS

Victor Tonuchuk, IGAP Coordinator for the Village of Kotlik, along the eroding riverbank in his community. Source: ANTHC

Kotlik Community Profile and Story Map

The State of Alaska, Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA), has published a Kotlik Community Profile and Story Map with extensive information about the history, demographics, community infrastructure, environmental hazards, and current and ongoing efforts to address erosion and flooding. This is part of DCRA’s and the FEMA RISK MAP program’s upcoming effort to support the community with planning assistance and data collection.

Kotlik Background Report

The Alaska Institute for Justice (AIJ) has worked with Kotlik, Alaska to fund the installation of erosion monitoring and facilitate conversations regarding long-term relocation. AIJ’s Kotlik Background Report summarizes previous studies, the impacts of erosion, and the current next steps for the community. If you are interested in learning more about Kotlik, both the AIJ report and the DCRA profile are a good place to start.

Community-Based Methods for Monitoring Coastal Erosion

The majority of rural Alaskan communities are located near oceans, rivers, and lakes, and many are vulnerable to shoreline change. However, little of the shoreline change in communities is being documented with Western scientific methods. The State of Alaska, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) has released a handbook with comprehensive instructions for local residents to implement three community-based shoreline monitoring systems. Tips for selecting monitoring sites, instructions for site installation and data collection, and all necessary materials are explained in a step-by-step format. By building an understanding of long-term shoreline change, Alaskans will be better prepared to respond and adapt to impacts on their public health, safety, infrastructure, and well-being.

One Story: A Report of the First Peoples’ Convening on Climate-Forced Displacement

Last fall, more than 60 community leaders and advocates from seven Pacific Island countries, the United States, and Bangladesh gathered in Girdwood, Alaska for The First Peoples’ Convening on Climate-Forced Displacement. The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, one of the co-organizers of the event, has released a report from the Convening that shares community perspectives on climate impacts from across Alaska and the United States, the Pacific Islands, and Bangladesh. The report also focuses on next steps to finding solutions for communities who are being displaced or may be in the future.

Contact CETC to feature a recent event in your community!

Community Profile: Fort Yukon

Aerial view of Fort Yukon. Source: State of Alaska DCRA

Problem

Fort Yukon, Alaska, located in Interior Alaska at the confluence of the Yukon and Porcupine rivers with a population of 563, is one of the Alaskan communities most threatened by flooding. The community’s location in the Interior results in extreme swings in temperature between seasons. Winters are long and harsh. Summers are short and warm. Fort Yukon has a history of major flooding. In 1949, floodwaters were seven feet deep on Main Street. Recent floods include the Presidentially-declared 2009 Yukon Flats Flood and a large flood in 2015. During the Yukon Flats Flood, water levels rose rapidly, flooding about half of the community including multiple streets and low-lying homes, which were inundated with several feet of water. The entire community, including all homes and critical infrastructure, are vulnerable to flooding damage. Erosion is also a concern, but many areas of the community are protected by a gabion basket sea wall and dikes (The dikes are located directly to the left of the confluence of the Yukon River and the Yllota Slough in the photo above).

Solution

The erosion issue has largely been addressed by the sea wall. However, the homes not protected by the sea wall will likely need to be moved to a safe location in the future. Addressing the impacts of flooding is the community’s highest priority. Currently, a project to repair the levee and the sea wall will ensure that a majority of the community continues to be protected. Fort Yukon is also planning for the future by exploring the possibility of elevating roads as a means to protect homes and other critical infrastructure from inundation; installing preventative upgrades to culverts; constructing a community evacuation center, and creating a full-time staff position with the Tribe to seek funding and manage hazard mitigation projects.

Solutions Spotlight: Philomena Keyes

Philomena Keyes (pictured with her grandson) is the Project Coordinator for the Climate Adaptation Assessment in Kotlik, Alaska.

Philomena Keyes is documenting environmental change and resulting impacts on her community of Kotlik, Alaska. Since Fall 2018, she has served as the Project Coordinator for their community’s Climate Adaptation Assessment: gathering scientific information, local observations, and traditional knowledge; organizing community meetings; and writing a report. The goal of the assessment is to gather information about the threats Kotlik faces and bring community members together to plan to mitigate damage caused by erosion, flooding, and extreme weather.

The biggest challenge Philomena has encountered thus far in her work is building community awareness about the severity of long-term erosion, flooding, and permafrost issues. Everyone in the community sees the current impacts, but it can be difficult for people to understand the magnitude of consequences if current trends continue or accelerate. Philomena says that community meetings with all entities and presenting to kids at the school has been helpful in building awareness and making connections with community members.

Philomena was drawn to this work because she has lived in Kotlik her entire life and has seen how environmental changes are impacting the community’s access to subsistence foods. Decreased sea ice extent has forced seal hunters to go out earlier and use new, sometimes unsafe trails; permafrost melt has made some areas previously used for gathering bird eggs dangerous and inaccessible; and floods bring salt water into what was previously berry habitat. Every year brings new, unpredictable conditions. Due to a lack of sea ice this winter, seal pups came inland in search of lingering ice in the rivers, which is something Philomena has never seen before. Philomena says, “the more you look, the more you can see how environmental changes impact every facet of life in our community.”

Funding Opportunities

FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program – Letters of Intent to Apply are due May 31st

Does your community need to fund a project to protect public or private property? The State of Alaska, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM) has announced funding under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). This grant program can be used for engineering assessments, designs, moving and elevating homes, and other common needs in environmentally threatened communities. If your community is interested in applying, letters of intent to apply are due May 31. For more information, click here.

Resources

DUNS Number Being Replaced with a SAMMI Number

Currently when applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements, all applicant organizations must have a DUNS number. The General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced that DUNS will be replaced by a new Government-owned unique identifier in all systems, including Grants.gov. The new government identifier will be incorporated into the SAM registration process, eliminating the need for applications to seek external identifiers in order to register. The transition is currently in process and will impact organizations and communities in the coming months.

Alaska Water Level Watch Build-Out

The Alaska Water Level Watch, a collaborative group working to improve the quality, coverage, and accessibility of water level observations on Alaska’s coasts, hosts a website where visitors can learn more about the coastal water level observation network in Alaska. There is information about tidal datums, real-time sensors, and other water level observations. Explore the site to build your knowledge of water level monitoring and learn more about current efforts in Alaska.

News Roundup

Alaska’s Indigenous People Feel the Heat of Climate Change: This piece highlights the efforts of the community of Napakiak to combat aggressive erosion as an example of the erosion and flooding challenges many of Alaska’s coastal communities are experiencing.

“Translating” Weather and Climate Information in the North American Arctic: Rick Thoman, Alaska Climate Specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, shared information on efforts to make weather, water, ice, and climate information more accessible and useful for Alaska’s coastal communities.

In Utqiaġvik , Temperatures are Warmer and the Ice is Changing: Hunting bowhead whales is a thousand-year-old Iñupiat tradition. However, rising temperatures have forced hunters to adapt to new ice conditions.

In Alaska, Climate Change is Showing Increasing Signs of Disrupting Everyday Life: Alaska’s abnormally warm spring, early break-up, and the dramatic retreat of sea ice in the Bering Sea in February, have had tangible impacts on communities and provide evidence of a changing environment.

Upcoming Events

Entry-Level Benefit-Cost Analysis Training

Are you interested in applying for a grant that requires a benefit-cost analysis? DHS&EM and FEMA are hosting an introductory on FEMA’s benefit-cost analysis process and software.

Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date: June 24-25, 2019.
Cost: Tuition is free for those accepted. No travel or salary stipends are available.
Apply here.

Cost Principles Training

Would you like to learn more about how to manage grants? The Alaska Native Epidemiology Center (ANEC) is hosting a Cost Principles Training that will build participants’ grant management skills. Anyone involved in grant-related financial actions will benefit from the training. It will cover cost principles throughout the grant’s lifecycle, including budget development and review, spending decisions, site visits, and audits.

Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date: July 24-25, 2019.
Cost: $75.
Register here.

Trainings from the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities (AAHA)

Basic Financial Management for Small Tribes: This training will focus on best practices to ensure that the management and accounting of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act funds are being observed, internal controls are in place, and written policies and procedures are in place to ensure that financial records are accurate and auditable.

Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date: August 6-7, 2019.

Audit Preparation: This training will provide attendees with the resources and tools to become “audit ready.” Participants will learn the requirements for a Single Audit, how to conduct audit preparation for grants, year-end closing processes, and an overview of auditor requirements.

Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date: August 8-9, 2019.

To see AAHA’s complete training calendar, click here.

2019 Tribes & First Nations Climate Change Summit

The 2019 Tribes & First Nations Climate Change Summit will convene leaders from Tribes and First Nations throughout the Pacific Northwest to advance tribal climate change policy and action. The Summit will focus on topics such as tribal climate change resiliency, protecting and applying Traditional Knowledge in climate change initiatives, and implementing a unified tribal climate change policy agenda.

Location: Airway Heights, Washington.
Date: July 30-31, 2019.
Cost: Registration is $100 for Tribal members, and $200 for non-Tribal participants.
For more information and to register, click here.
Scholarship applications for attendance and travel assistance are due June 1.

About the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities

The Center was established with a Denali Commission grant to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and supports rural Alaska communities experiencing infrastructure impacts associated with environmental threats such as flooding, erosion, and melting permafrost.

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

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