What Do These Changes Mean for Life in Coastal Alaska?

Bluff retreat coupled with thawing permafrost at Cape Krusenstern National Monument.

Jessica Bryant, 2016 Artist in Residence - Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network

Major changes to ice, sea level, flora, and fauna have happened in Alaska for thousands of years. The difference now is that the changes are happening faster—fast enough for people to see and feel them. The countless ways climate change affects our lives, environment, resources, and the places we care about are not yet completely understood. However, waiting for complete certainty before responding is not an option.

It’s one thing to say, yeah, we can head out earlier, a week earlier next year hunting, but sometimes you’re not always thinking of that. You’re thinking, I have a giant puddle under my house and my house might get swallowed by a sinkhole, which is very real here in Nome. There are houses that need fill year after year. So it’s very real, because sooner or later things are going to change, and they’re going to change so fast people can’t adapt. – Jacob Martin, Nome

Ptarmigan hunting near Skagway.

© Jolanta Ryan

Adaptation is key for these coastal communities and their lifestyles to survive. Some options include:

• Planting warmer-weather adapted plants in home gardens and planting earlier in the season

• Harvesting new species that become available in the area

• Harvesting species at different times of year and using different types of transportation

• Eating new foods and learning different preparation techniques

• Learning new ways of understanding ice and how to safely travel on it

• Developing climate adaptation and coastal management plans

• Developing hazard mitigation plans and warning systems

• Building more climate resilient infrastructure

• Sharing knowledge between generations and communities

What are some of the ways people are adapting to the changing environment where you live?

Meet the project participants!