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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 51
What is it like to live in a home threatened by erosion in Kipnuk, Alaska?
In Kipnuk, Alaska, the Kugkaktlik River has been eroding between 3 feet and 10 feet per year. Homes that were previously over a hundred feet away from the shoreline are now threatened by erosion and need to be moved to a safe location. What is it like to live in Kipnuk in a home threatened by erosion? The one-minute video below features Nelson, his family, and the community.
Click the image above to watch a one-minute video featuring Nelson and his family in Kipnuk, Alaska. Credit: YouTube.
Erosion Exposure Assessments Completed for 48 Alaska Coastal Communities
In addition to Kipnuk, nearly 100 other Alaska communities are threatened by erosion. However, until recently, few communities had access to site-specific data and analysis to help prevent disasters. Recently, the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) published the Erosion Exposure Assessment of Infrastructure in Alaska Coastal Communities, funded by the Denali Commission. They assessed historical shoreline change, forecasted erosion 60 years into the future, and estimated the replacement cost of impacted infrastructure using cost data provided by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC).
DGGS used historical shoreline change to forecast erosion impacts in the 48 Alaska coastal communities identified in the map above. Credit: DGGS.
Erosion Exposure Assessment - Kipnuk, Alaska
DGGS’ analysis in Kipnuk estimated it will cost $15.7 million to replace infrastructure exposed to erosion through 2075. In the map above, the blue shaded area shows the land expected to be impacted by erosion through 2075. Buildings are shaded based on the expected date of impact. This year, Kipnuk is planning to use the erosion forecast maps to develop solutions to protect, relocate, replace threatened infrastructure. Click here to read the Kipnuk Erosion Exposure Assessment. Image credit: DGGS.
How Does This Benefit Communities?
Here are a few examples of ways data and maps produced by the erosion exposure assessments can benefit communities:
- Inform community decisions to protect infrastructure. For example, when will homes be damaged and where are safe locations to move homes?
- Inform project development and engineering design for solutions. For example, how can the barge landing and adjacent land be protected from the erosion threat?
- The historical shoreline data can support additional erosion modeling that includes projected future environmental conditions, such as wind speed and wave action.
- The maps and data are third-party verification of the erosion threat, which some funding agencies require before investing in communities.
What is the Status of Baseline Data and Risk Assessments in Communities?
The recent DGGS work makes an important contribution to understanding the erosion threat in coastal communities. However, it is a relatively small portion of the overall data collection and risk assessment gaps for communities facing multiple environmental threats. What are the other gaps? The Community Flooding, Erosion, and Permafrost Assessment Status Webpage tracks data and risk assessments for all environmentally threatened communities. The tool aims to:
- Support communities and partners to develop data collection and risk assessment projects.
- Inform agency decision-making by investing in the areas of greatest need.
- Foster collaboration and coordination across organizations by increasing information sharing.
Contact Jaci Overbeck at jacquelyn.overbeck@alaska.gov if you have any questions about the site or know of any community-specific updates for the database.
Upcoming Events
Alaska Ice Jam Workshop
The Alaska Silver Jackets Team is hosting an one-and-a-half-day free virtual Ice Jam Workshop April 19-20 to bring together ice experts and Alaskans who deal with ice jams. Topics include ice jam formation, mitigation techniques, research, modeling, considerations for erosion protection, and discussion. Contact Erin.H.Stockdale@usace.army.mil for more information or to RSVP.
Participate in the National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference
The National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference is inviting proposals for presentations, trainings, working groups, and climate conversations. The conference will be August 29 - September 1 both in-person in St Paul, Minnesota and online. Applications are due April 22. For more information and to apply, visit the conference website.
News Roundup
After more than a decade, overcrowded Shaktoolik is finally getting new homes. Losing housing due to environmental threats can exacerbate overcrowding. This article and six-minute video explores the housing shortage in rural Alaska and features Sophia Katchatag and her family in Shaktoolik. Sophia was Shaktoolik’s resilience coordinator and recently transitioned to the tribal administrator position.
NOAA published the Sea Level Rise Technical Report, which provides the most up-to-date sea level rise projection for all states in the United States. The chart below shows three sea level scenarios for northern Alaska. Click here to explore the interagency sea level rise scenario tool.
A new fund is asking for donations to support Alaska Native communities facing environmental disasters
The Climate Impact Response Fund is a new fund that provides immediate financial assistance to Alaska communities facing climate change and environmental threats. Click here to listen to a recent news story that describes the fund.
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 through community planning, project development, grant writing, project management, grant management, and other technical assistance.
ETC@anthc.org | (907) 729-4521 | www.anthc.org/cetc | 4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 561, Anchorage, AK 99508
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