Alaska Natives and Corporations

Project Overview In Alaska, winters are becoming shorter and more unpredictable, leading to changes in lake and river ice, impacting access to hunting grounds, fuel wood transportation and recreation for local communities. Researchers supported by this Alaska CASC project will revitalize and modernize a freshwater ice observation network with a youth-centric partnership that teams...

Project Overview Climate change is altering the timing of natural seasonal events (phenology). This is manifesting in many ways including altering patterns of bird migration between Molokaʻi and southcentral Alaska. Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project will combine Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and conventional science to track these phenological shifts...

Climate adaptation planning provides a framework for Tribes to exercise sovereignty over wild resources important for the subsistence way of life and economic and cultural activities that are being impacted by climate change. The climate adaptation planning process includes identifying key resources that are currently being impacted by climate change, or that may be impacted in the...

Climate change is impacting the land and resources that Alaska Native peoples rely on for food security, resource management, and cultural continuity. In Southeast Alaska, communities face increased weather variability due to climate change, which impacts subsistence food resources in streams and coastal ocean waters. Alaska Native communities are asking for co-production models of...

The Situk River is among the most productive resource in Alaska, with nine native fish species and 10 times the density of juvenile coho salmon than any other Southeast Alaskan watershed. The associated fisheries in the Situk River and its adjoining estuary drive a $2 million economy for the community of Yakutat (population 600), with 89 percent of the households harvesting salmon for...

Berry-producing plants, a key resource in Alaska Native communities, provide primary subsistence and have been integral to maintaining cultural cohesion, sense of place, and physical ties to the surrounding landscape. Despite the importance of berry-producing plants, relatively little is known about their vulnerability to changes in climate and environmental conditions. The dynamics of...

Stream discharge and temperature patterns are being altered by climate change, but documenting these changes on the community level is challenging without community partners trained in suitable data collection techniques. The USGS Juneau Field Office is collaborating with the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe (YTT), the Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research (SEATOR) network, and the Southeast...

Berries are a crucial nutritional and cultural resource to communities and ecosystems in boreal, subarctic and arctic areas; however, berry abundance and the timing of the berry lifecycle is becoming more variable and unpredictable due to climate change. Climate adaptation plans across the state of Alaska identify changes in berry timing and availability as primary concerns and point to...

With increasing sea surface temperatures due to climate change, harmful algal blooms in Alaska marine waters are becoming more severe, threatening food security and public health by reducing availability and safety of shellfish and other marine food resources. Paralytic shellfish poisoning, a neurotoxin primarily produced by marine phytoplankton Alexandrium, is the most severe and...

Salmon runs are an important time when salmon migrate from the ocean to freshwater, swimming upriver to reach spawning beds. These annual events provide an important food source for both predators and for local communities. However, Recent declines in salmon runs have caused hardship in subsistence fishing communities throughout Alaska, particularly in the Yukon River Basin. To adapt to...

Since the early 1970s, the negative impacts of small aircraft activity on local wildlife and subsistence hunting have been an ongoing concern expressed by rural communities in Arctic Alaska. More specifically, these communities have expressed concern that aircraft activity from industry, commercial (sport) hunting, research, and tourism is disturbing caribou by altering their behavior...

The Climate Adaptation Science Centers have conducted numerous training and skills development activities to support tribal and indigenous partners as they seek to use scientific information and techniques to understand and respond to climate change impacts. Because these activities were generated in different CASC regions, with different tribal / indigenous stakeholders, climate change...