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 45

Four Things You Should Know

1. Community Profile: In Kasigluk, Alaska the perilous combination of permafrost thaw, flooding, and erosion is leaving Old Kasigluk on unstable ground. 
2. A new online database makes it easy to track and access all existing data and reports on flooding, erosion, and permafrost risk for Alaska's 144 environmentally threatened communities!
3. Three Indigenous groups and hundreds of researchers call for Indigenous input in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) program.
4. Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Climate Resilience Program applications are due April 23, 2021. 

Unstable Ground: Kasigluk, Alaska

Each year, spring flooding inundates boardwalks and prevents access to community infrastructure in Old Kasigluk, Alaska. Credit: Wilson Twitchell.

In the spring of 2020, flooding in Old Kasigluk, Alaska brought water just inches from the kitchen floor of Wilson Twitchell’s home. The flooding persisted for weeks, accelerating permafrost thaw, land subsidence, and erosion. This caused Mr. Twitchell’s foundation to collapse. In an attempt to stabilize the land beneath his home, he stacked 200 sandbags under the foundation. The sandbags have helped prevent further erosion, but Mr. Twitchell says that the flooding accelerated permafrost thaw and the land is now sinking. 

Kasigluk, Alaska is a community of 627 residents located in the Kuskokwim River Delta. The Johnson River divides the community into two areas: New Kasigluk and Old Kasigluk. Old Kasigluk is located about a mile downstream from New Kasigluk. 

Old Kasigluk residents are asking, “Can we continue to live here?”

In Old Kasigluk, the perilous combination of permafrost degradation, flooding, and erosion is causing the community to consider if they will be able to remain safely in their current location. The community and partners estimate that all community infrastructure in Old Kasigluk will be threatened in the future. Worse, there is little solid ground nearby that is suitable for development. Can the community move to a new subdivision or will a move to New Kasigluk be necessary?

New Kasigluk is also subject to environmental hazards. The local store, post office, gas station, and six homes will be impacted by the riverine erosion in five to ten years. Community members built a wood structure on the river bank near the store to prevent erosion. However, a more permanent solution is needed to prevent shoreline erosion and protect essential community infrastructure.

The next step: data collection and risk assessments

Kasigluk is working to access including data collection, risk assessments, and engineering analysis. These western science projects will be combined with Traditional and Local Knowledge to inform the community’s decision to protect infrastructure at the current site, move back to a new subdivision, or relocate threatened infrastructure in Old Kasigluk to New Kasigluk.

All-Hands-On-Deck: Explore a New Data & Risk Assessment Tracking Tool for 144 Environmentally Threatened Communities

Effectively responding to climate change requires an all-hands-on-deck response. Coordination and information sharing are essential. To address this need, the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) created a tool to track and access all existing data and reports on flooding, erosion, and permafrost risk for 144 communities. The tracking tool, called the Community Dashboard, allows communities, scientists, engineering firms, agencies, and other partners to quickly access all baseline data and risk assessment information from a single source. The tool can also be used to identify data and assessment gaps so communities can develop projects and agencies can target investments in the areas of greatest need.

Check out the website for a story map and search for a community’s name in the Community Dashboard. If you know of existing data or projects that are not currently in the database, reply to this email and we’ll update it. This project was funded by the Denali Commission Village Infrastructure Protection Program. ANTHC and the State of Alaska Division of Community & Regional Affairs (DCRA) contributed to the website design and content.

Recent Events

Hundreds of researchers call for Indigenous Input in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) Program

In March 2020, Indigenous organizations wrote a letter to the NSF NNA program requesting significant changes to enable the program to support research that benefits Alaska communities on the frontlines of climate change. However, NSF continued to operate the program without addressing the concerns raised in the letter. In January 2021, 228 Arctic researchers from across the country signed a letter to NSF calling for Indigenous input in NNA. The NNA program has the potential to support threatened communities with science and engineering research needed to address climate change impacts to infrastructure. NSF must adapt NNA so its investments benefit Alaska Native communities.

Golovin and Hooper Bay Alaska Coastal Flood Impact Assessments

The Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) is producing community-specific flood assessments that estimate historical storm heights. These include a flood map showing current infrastructure and a graphic relating infrastructure heights with previous floods. The assessments support community planning and can be used to improve the accuracy of flood modeling. This initial publication includes Golovin and Hooper Bay. Analysis for other communities will be released in the future. Read the full report here.

Funding Opportunities 

National Coastal Resilience Fund Pre-Proposals Due April 7, 2021

Click here for more information.

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Tribal Climate Resilience Grants Due April 23, 2021

Click here for more information.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Justice Grants Due May 7, 2021

EPA will support two $160,000 multi-partner projects in Region 10 for work that supports vulnerable and overburdened communities who are disproportionately affected by environmental health risks, including climate change. EPA will also support $50,000 community-specific projects. Click here for more information.

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 | www.anthc.org/cetc | 4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 561, Anchorage, AK 99508

If you enjoyed this issue, please forward this email to a friend.