Environment

Keith Gordon with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is leaving his position as Project Manager of the Donlin Gold mine draft environmental impact statement, or EIS.

“Nothing changes,” Gordon said when asked how his departure affects the project. “The agency will just continue with the processes.”

If you’ve been walking through Bethel in the evening or night lately you might have noticed a number of unusual furry moths. There’s rumors that the creatures are an invasive and highly destructive species called the Gypsy Moth. They aren’t. 

Upriver Kuskokwim ice remains mostly in place, according to the annual River Watch crew from the National Weather Service.

The team is flying the Kuskokwim River this week, collecting break up data and reporting ice conditions to communities. The crew landed in Aniak Wednesday and flew upriver to observe the river.

The earliest break up on record has begun in the middle Kuskokwim, but ice is still holding in the upper and lower sections of the river. That’s the results from an aerial survey by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which photographed the Kuskokwim from the Holitna River tributary to Napakiak on Monday.

Middle Kuskokwim river ice is shifting and jamming as what’s predicted to be the Kuskokwim’s earliest break up on record gets underway.

Donlin Gold leaders are meeting with key entities along the Kuskokwim this week.

NOVAGOLD President and CEO Greg Lang, Barrick Executive Director Andy Cole, and Donlin Gold General Manager Stan Foo arrived in Bethel Monday to meet with community members and leaders on the proposed Donlin Gold mine.

The group, joined by partners and consultants, held a community forum to answer questions and present information on the project.