In Hooper Bay and Chevak kavlakuaraq, also known as black berries or crowberries, are missing from the tundra.
Roy Bell, whom locals call "the botanist" has an explanation. A massive storm in 2022 brought flood waters to this part of Alaska and the tundra was inundated with salt water for days. Add to that a cold and rainy summer and Bell said it’s the perfect recipe for a blackberry crash.
“I noticed that the areas where they flooded, some of the plants, many, like the medicines and the berries, they’ve all gotten bad,” Bell said.
KYUK Senior Reporter Emily Schwing has been traveling to the coastal communities of Hooper Bay and Chevak to see how people are recovering from one of the most powerful storms to hit the state in the last five decades. She caught up with KYUK reporter Francisco Martínezcuello to share what she learned.
This episode was supported by a grant from the Center for Rural Strategies and from the nonprofit media organization Grist.
