Environment

The second day of a two-day workshop about climate change adaptation wrapped up in Bethel last week. 

On Tuesday, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is hosting a public hearing on how Donlin Gold plans to clean up after itself.

Another tribe in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta has come out against the proposed Donlin gold mine. Kasigluk passed an anti-Donlin resolution last week; all five of its traditional council members voted in favor of it.

It’s becoming a regular discussion in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta: how to adapt to a changing climate.

Leaders across the region are gathering in the Bethel Cultural Center on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the issue. Ray Born, Deputy Manager of the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge, is one of the organizers of the two-day workshop.

The village of Napakiak received $449,000 in federal funding on Thursday that could help them respond to the “imminent threat” of climate change. 

The Nunavut Alaska Provisional Government held a meeting in Bethel over the course of two days, and focused on the proposed Donlin Gold mine. However, no resolutions either supporting or opposing the proposed project were passed by attendees. The group aims to unite all 56 of the villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

The proposed Donlin gold mine has nabbed another key state permit. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation issued the state water quality certification last week, just before the Army Corps of Engineers and Burearu of Land Management issued theirs on Monday.