Strategic needs of water in the Yukon (SNOWY): participatory mapping in Alaska

Abstract

As part of the larger, NSF funded research project, Strategic Needs of Water on the Yukon (SNOWY), participatory mapping workshops were held in three villages (Kotlik, Chevak, St. Mary's) located in the lower Yukon River Basin and Yukon-Kuskokwim delta region of Alaska. The goal of these workshops was to create a suite of maps based on seasonal subsistence resource utilization and begin to assess changes to the winter climate in the Yukon. In concert with the maps, participants also created seasonal subsistence calendars listing resource utilization throughout the year and engaged in interviews to discuss seasonality. The research focused on the nature and degree of the relationship between seasonality and subsistence resource vulnerability. We used data collected through semi-structured interview, participatory mapping, and seasonal calendar workshops in three communities located in the Yukon River Delta (YRD) over the course of two weeks in February 2014 and a return visit in May 2014.