CLIMATE CHANGE

Let’s Take a Closer Look

No words. No numbers. No graphs. Just a series of colored bars.

These “climate stripes” are visual representations of temperatures in the Chugach since 1900. Each band represents the average temperature for a single year, relative to the average temperature from 1900 to 2022. The shade corresponds to the rank of each year from coldest—dark blue—to warmest—bright red. The warming trend in the Chugach is remarkable. The numerous and consistently bright red stripes on the right show the undeniable warming trend in the Chugach region over the past three decades. 

DATA SOURCE:  analyzed and provided by Rick Thoman from the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy

Climate
Impacts
Dashboard

The Chugach region is witnessing dramatic environmental changes, from retreating glaciers to more intense storms and shifting precipitation patterns. These changes affect our daily lives, from the availability of fresh water to the health of fish and wildlife habitats, and even the risk of landslides and floods. Dive into our interactive maps and charts to see how these changes impact your community and discover what the future might hold.

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Visit the Dashboard

Click on the topics below to explore further:

Changes in Climate

Temperature | Snowfall | Precipitation | Wind

Changes on Land

Contaminated Sites | Invasive Species | Plant Hardiness Zones | Landslides | Glacial Change

Changes in the Water

Stream Gauges | Shellfish Toxins | Harmful Algal Blooms | Ocean Acidification

Iqsak Vision - Chugach Regional Resources Commission

7 Generations of Change StoryMap

Human Experiences of Climate Change in the Chugach region

This online tool showcases generations of change in the Chugach, beginning with Lily, a youth from the Chugach region. Learn about local environmental impacts, shifts in temperature, changes in subsistence resources, and more through the story of Lily, her ancestors, and her descendants. 

This StoryMap is a resource to share information about local climate impacts, provide downscaled models of climate change to help inform future planning, and to put a human and environmental face to this data to tell the story of how climate change is impacting our region.

View the StoryMap Here!

Effects of Climate Change & Ocean Acidification 

Ocean acidification threatens many of the ecosystems and resources upon which Chugach Tribal Members depend. Colder waters accumulate more carbon dioxide than warmer waters, making our oceans more acidic than the global average. Worldwide, oceans have increased in acidity by 30 percent over the last 250 years as they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and future projections show a potential annual increase of 0.5 to1% in acidity. 

Currents, freshwater input, and tidal movement cause wide variability in local levels of ocean acidification in Southcentral Alaska, but levels have been steadily increasing over time. Ocean acidification has many impacts on traditional foods, particularly shellfish, as carbon dioxide creates carbonic acid in water, which binds with the carbonate ions shellfish need to produce shells. More information about ocean acidification can be found on the APMI website.

Learn More at APMI.org

Vulnerability of Traditional Foods

and Food Systems to the Impacts of
Climate Change in the Chugach Region

The Chugach region encompasses seven Sugpiaq and dAXunhyuu (Eyak) communities in Prince William Sound and the southern Kenai Peninsula.  This report is a compilation of traditional knowledge and observations by surveyed Tribal members regarding the status of many of the traditional subsistence resources upon which they rely.  Respondents considered how a changing climate may be making salmon, non-salmon fish, marine invertebrates, marine mammals, land mammals, birds and eggs, and plants and berries more vulnerable in the Chugach region. Respondents further considered how these changes will impact their livelihoods, including the food and economic security for themselves and their communities. These observations were contrasted with historical subsistence harvest data collected by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This is one of several documents that will be used to help guide adaptive responses to strengthen environmental and social resilience in the Chugach region.

Download the Vulnerability Assessment
CRRC-Climate Change Perceived Risk.png

2024 Chugach Region Climate Resiliency Strategy

Recommendations from the Tribal Climate Cohort

Download the Climate Resiliency Strategy

Publications & Resources

2024 Chugach Region Climate Resiliency Strategy • Recommendations from the Tribal Climate Cohort

Alaska’s Chugach region, which encompasses over six million acres of land and five thousand miles of coastline in Southcentral Alaska, has been home to the dAXunhyuu (Eyak) and Alutiit/Sugpiat people since time immemorial. Today, over fifteen hundred Tribal members still live and work in seven communities throughout Prince William Sound and the Lower Cook Inlet: Chenega, Cordova (Eyak), Nanwalek, Port Graham, Seward (Qutekcak), Tatitlek, and Valdez. The Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) is an inter-Tribal fish and wildlife commission authorized as a Tribal consortium under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1991. CRRC is authorized by the seven member Tribes to provide essential government services to Tribal citizens around natural resource management, subsistence activities, climate change adaptation and environmental concerns, food security, and access to healthy traditional foods and clean water.

Vulnerability of Traditional Foods and Food Systems to the Impacts of Climate Change in the Chugach Region

The Chugach region encompasses seven Sugpiaq and dAXunhyuu (Eyak) communities in Prince William Sound and the southern Kenai Peninsula. This report is a compilation of traditional knowledge and observations by surveyed Tribal members regarding the status of many of the traditional subsistence resources upon which they rely. Respondents considered how a changing climate may be making salmon, non-salmon fish, marine invertebrates, marine mammals, land mammals, birds and eggs, and plants and berries more vulnerable in the Chugach region. Respondents further considered how these changes will impact their livelihoods, including the food and economic security for themselves and their communities. These observations were contrasted with historical subsistence harvest data collected by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This is one of several documents that will be used to help guide adaptive responses to strengthen environmental and social resilience in the Chugach region.

Vulnerability of Alaska Native Tribes in the Chugach Region to Selected Climate and Nonclimate Stressors

In this supplement to the interagency Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the Chugach National Forest and the Kenai Peninsula that was published in 2017, we assess the vulnerability of seven Alaska Native tribes in the Chugach region, which includes Prince William Sound (tribes in Chenega, Cordova, Qutekcak [Seward], Tatitlek, and Valdez) and the adjoining Kenai Peninsula (Nanwalek and Port Graham), to key climate and nonclimate stressors. Over the next 50 years, all communities are generally expected to experience higher temperatures, with decreasing snowpack along the coast where these villages are located. However, at a finer scale, neither climate change nor natural resource distribution are uniform among communities.

5th National Climate Assessment Alaska Chapter

The Global Change Research Act of 1990 mandates that the US Global Change Research Program produce a report on climate change every four years. CRRC was invited to be a technical contributor to the 5th National Climate Assessment’s Alaska Chapter, showcasing the work of CRRC and APMI in researching, monitoring, and addressing the impacts of climate change on local resources.

Native Village of Eyak Priority Climate Action Plan

CRRC and NVE were awarded funding under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to develop a climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the community of Cordova. In March 2024, we published the priority climate action plan which focuses on priority measures in the electrical generation and distribution sector, the solid waste sector, and the blue economy. A comprehensive climate action plan covering all emissions sectors in Cordova will be completed in 2025.

Tribal Adaptation to Changing Climate in the Chugach Region, Alaska

CRRC was invited to contribute an article to Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development. This article discusses the importance of traditional foods to the Sugpiat, d’AXunhyuu (Eyak), Tlingit, and Athabaskan people who have called the Chugach region home since time immemorial, threats to those foods from climate change, and some of the efforts CRRC and regional Tribes are undertaking to address climate impacts on food security..

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