Researchers talk climate change in Venetie

Residents of Venetie welcomed ten researchers from the UAF Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research program on Nov. 21 for an open discussion about climate change and its implications to rural villages and their subsistence livelihoods.

Nearly 35 people showed up for the forum in Venetie, located on the East Fork of the Chandalar River, 45 miles northwest of Fort Yukon. The population of Venetie is 181. Community leaders from several neighboring villages of the Yukon Flats region also attended, including Fort Yukon, Circle, Beaver and Arctic Village.

“We went to hear about climate change by learning from local residents who have a rich knowledge of the land and animals of that region,” said Gary Kofinas, associate professor at UAF’s School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and Institute of Arctic Biology. Kofinas is also the director of UAF’s Resilience and Adaptation Graduate Program. LTER researchers presented findings in Venetie about their research on fire and moose ecology, rural-urban moose hunting and climate change scenarios .

“Those of us from UAF were impressed with the firsthand observations on climate change by local harvesters, and pleased at the excellent exchange of ideas between researchers and residents.” Kofinas said. “People were hungry for information and eager to share their stories.”

The project with Venetie began last year when 19 active subsistence harvesters from the community were interviewed to document local observations on climate change and how people are responding to it. The session began with a presentation of the results from those interviews. Two UAF research projects will continue with Venetie for at least the next three years.

The Bonanza Creek LTER, a National Science Foundation LTER program site, focuses on the importance of understanding long-term consequences of changing climate and disturbance regimes in Alaska’s boreal forest. LTER is moving toward a greater focus on the human dimension in its efforts, Kofinas stated. “Climate change requires that we consider the challenges and opportunities it presents to people. If we are going to make that link, we have to study how social and ecological systems interact.”