The National Science Foundation awarded an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Arkansas $700,000 to monitor changes in river movement and the fish population that are impacting the infrastructure and economy of a village in southwest Alaska called Quinhagak.

Quinhagak is located in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the second-largest deltaic system in the world. The village resides on the mouth of the Qanirtuuq River, which flows through the delta into the Bering Sea, and is known for its excellent salmon fishing, with all five species of Pacific salmon calling it home. Residents of Quinhagak depend on the river for food, water and transportation, but the delta and its rivers have a long history of migrating from their paths. The risk of avulsion, a sudden, unexpected switching of course across the floodplain, would have catastrophic economic and cultural consequences and would likely involve relocation of the entire town.

The region is also experiencing unprecedented levels of warming air and water temperatures, the thawing of permafrost and loss of sea ice. These correspond with increased rates of coastal and riverine erosion, which are collectively and dramatically altering the ecosystem. This has also led to the erosion of infrastructure, such as docks and the airport tarmac. Thawing permafrost and thinner sea ice has made travel and hunting, which is often done on snowmobiles, more unreliable, difficult and even dangerous, as riders can be stranded far from home or transport barges stuck and unable to deliver goods.

FULBRIGHT COLLEGE COLLABORATES

The U of A team represents a collaborative effort in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Carla Klehm, an assistant professor of anthropology and assistant director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (or CAST), leads the U of A team as the principal investigator (or PI), helping to frame an approach that spatial data and on-the ground observations about multiple environmental factors into a database the community can use.

Geosciences master's student Luke Stork reviews imagery of the Qanirtuuq River with U of A co-principal investigators, from left: Taylor Hermes, Jonathan Lim, and John Shaw, on a visit to Quinhagak in 2025.

Klehm's co-PIs include John Shaw, an associate professor and vice chair of geosciences, who leads the rivers team; Jonathan Lim, a postdoctoral fellow at CAST who is a remote sensing specialist and whose long-term relationship with the community facilitated collaboration; and Taylor Hermes, an assistant professor of anthropology, who focuses on characterizing the long-term health and stability of the fish population.

The researchers are working with the community of Quinhagak and Nalaquq, a Native Alaskan-owned geospatial company, to monitor the Qanirtuuq's movement and its potential for avulsion, as well as monitor the fish population, which the community needs to survive. Together, they will establish a geospatial database that will model the river ecosystem and provide maps and community-based workflows that will help identify areas of risk.

If the river does avulse, the community can be forewarned and better prepared to relocate. Equally important, the project prioritizes low-cost solutions that take advantage of the latest science that other rural Alaskan communities can replicate and deploy.

TRAINING THE COMMUNITY

The grant also provides geospatial training, led by Nalaquq, that transfers skillsets necessary for managing and interpreting the computer model and its data to the community, helping to build capacity for the Quinhagak community and others like it.

With a working model in place, community members will be able to monitor the locations and risk for river migration or avulsion. They will also be able to identify areas experiencing erosion or susceptibility to it, which can impact village infrastructure and river navigation, as well as monitor the health and stability of the salmon population.

Lynn Church, Nalaquq CEO and co-PI, describes the importance of the capacity building component of the collaborative effort: "Local leadership and Nalaquq in Quinhagak deeply understand the value of training rooted in the community — where it honors our way of life and strengthens our capacity to respond to local challenges. Our people carry generations of knowledge about the land, rivers and ocean, and by working together to document that knowledge and build practical skills, we can ensure our communities are prepared, resilient and equipped to face emergencies with confidence. That's why we seek partners who respect this vision and are committed to walking alongside us to make it a reality."

This training goes far beyond helping community members better monitor river stability. Quinhagak, like many villages across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, was recently ravaged by Typhoon Halong.

As Nalaquq co-PI Sean Gleason explains, "Nalaquq has always provided funding and training for locally led search and rescue missions across the Y-K Delta, and we are currently helping assess damage from the storm, using the same drones we will use in the river ecosystem project. Our collaboration with the University of Arkansas will provide vital training to increase the number of community members with these transferable skillsets that can be used for emergency response."

Klehm adds that "All of our actions are oriented toward sustainability in teaching the community how to collect data, how to use the data, how to use the database, how to keep the database updated and how to build it in a way other communities can also use it. Nalaquq is helping us navigate the considerable complexities of land management policy in Alaska. Equally important, they are helping us integrate local knowledge and perspectives into the project's framework to produce community-oriented solutions. It sets the project up for success, especially when paired with workforce training in skills useful for commercial applications. We are both appreciative and honored to work with, and learn from, the village of Quinhagak."

The award is part of the NSF's Civic Innovation Challenge, "a research and action competition that accelerates the transition to practice of foundational research and emerging technologies into communities through civic-engaged research." The new award builds on a previous, six-month planning phase award of $75,000. The team created a  five-minute video overview as part of that planning phase.

More information about Nalaquq's search and rescue efforts in response to Typhoon Halong can be found at: nalaquq.com/quinhagak-search-rescue-inc/.