​On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared an unusual mortality event for several species of ice seals in Arctic waters. Since June 2018, NOAA has documented 282 dead seals in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.

“For the past two years, the number of stranded ring, bearded and spotted seals is about five times more than is usual,” said NOAA spokeswoman Julie Speegle. 

The three seals covered by the unusual mortality event, or UME, are bearded, ringed and spotted seals. Speegle says the Shishmaref and Kotzebue areas have reported the highest number of dead seals. 

As NOAA continues to investigate what’s behind the rise in Arctic ice seal deaths, Speegle says the UME declaration frees up funds and focuses research to investigate the die-offs. 

“A working group on unusual mortality events will be looking at the data that is collected," Speegle said. "And there will be a team set up to investigate this. So declaring an unusual mortality event definitely brings more focus and resources to the investigation.”

Speegle says scientists haven’t yet identified a cause for the rise in seal deaths. But researchers and local residents have observed several changes to the seals and their habitat, such as lack of sea ice and an increase in illnesses. 

“We have made some observations that the past couple years have been warmer than usual. So that’s one of many factors we’re looking into," Speegle said. "We are also looking into the possibility that these animals may have been affected by harmful algal blooms, which also occur when the sea temperatures are warmer than usual.”

Speegle says the die-offs can give researchers clues as to the status of Arctic marine ecosystems. 

“They sort of give us an idea of what is going on in the ecosystem," Speegle said. "So when marine mammals start dying off in unusual numbers, then that indicates that something is awry.”

And Speegle says that the unusual die-offs are particularly alarming for Native communities in the area because the seals are a high source of protein for subsistence hunters. 

“Certainly these animals are important for food security for people that live in the coastal communities and in Western Alaska, as they hunt these seals to put food on the table for their families,” Speegle said.

Both the ringed and bearded ice seals are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Speegle says people who happen upon dead Arctic seals should contact NOAA’s Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network at (877) 925-7773.

Fueling a home in the winter can be expensive, especially when you live in rural Alaska, where the weather is colder and heating oil can be pricey to ship. 

In order to get more data on fuel use in rural communities, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) is recruiting for a study to monitor fuel oil usage in Kotzebue. 

Dominique Pride is an investigator with ACEP. She says there's no concrete data on fuel oil usage in the state, only estimates. 

"We don't have any actual consumption data on fuel oil, because it's not a regulated utility," Pride said. "So for things like natural gas, which is a regulated utility, we know how much these households are using."

ACEP is looking for a minimum of 20 households in Kotzebue to participate in the study. People interested must fill out a survey to see if their heater will be compatible with ACEP's sensor. Pride says the homes must rely on only fuel oil for winter heating. 

"If you have, let's say a wood stove or a boiler, we can't monitor the heat that's coming from that," Pride said. "So the goal of the study is to figure out how much total energy people are using to heat their homes." 

Once the sensor is installed near the heater, it will track data on when, how much and how often the participant uses fuel oil to heat their home.

"And we'll be able to tell people, on average when it's -20 (degrees) how much fuel are you using in a day, or when it's -30 how much fuel are you using in a day," Pride said.

Participants will also receive 50 dollars when the sensor is installed and 100 dollars after two winters, when the study concludes.
Pride says that ACEP is conducting similar studies in Fairbanks and Tanana, and she's hopeful the results of the study can help communities better accommodate heating as part of their budget.

Kotzebue residents interested in the study can get more information at acep.uaf.edu/fuel

​​Beginning Sep. 9 in Anchorage, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is holding a series of public hearings on the proposed Ambler Road project. BLM released the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) last week. 

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) is proposing the construction of a 211-mile-road that would provide access to the Ambler Mining District. The road would start at the Dalton Highway near Prospect Creek and end at the Ambler Mining District. It's estimated the road would cost $280 million. 

The road would cross through Gates of the Arctic National Park.

​​Environmental groups have expressed concern over the impact that construction would have on both subsistence and air quality in the communities along the proposed road. Mining advocates have highlighted the high paying jobs that construction would bring to the areas.

​The first public hearing will be held Tuesday, Sep. 10 in Anchorage.

A hearing in Kotzebue will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, Sep. 16 at the Northwest Arctic Borough chambers.

The final hearing will be held in Buckland on Friday Oct. 10.