She said the district agreed to support the road project, while working with the borough to come up with the match funding for the new school. The community of Kivalina has been working for decades with a variety of local, state, and federal agencies to address threats of coastal erosion and flooding. By teaming with communities and agencies, DOT&PF was able to deliver the project from concept to operational road in less than 4 years. The Kivalina Evacuation Route and School Access Site project, completed in 2021, was recognized by the American Association of State Highway Officials for a national Quality of Life award for a medium sized project. For instance, the group Re-Locate received a $500,000 ArtPlace grant to fund a village-based planning hub for Kivalina, which will be housed in the village's community center. There are approximately n/a public schools in Kivalina. 2010). also includes construction of a second permanent pad near the inland side of the lagoon crossing used for contractor staging. Sea ice breaks up and hunters switch to open boats to hunt bearded seal and seal species. In 1905, the Bureau of Indian Affairs selected the island as a school site . The Kivalina School and Road Project. Men go caribou hunting inland. Borough Assembly Members Elmer Armstrong Jr. Diminishing fish on the Wulik River, changes in caribou migration routes, reduced availability of berries and greens, and the inability to hunt sea mammals due to loss of sea ice have raised concerns about the village's food security: not only do residents fear for their safety due to erosion and ocean storms, growing numbers of families also face hunger. They were semi-nomadic but in 1905 the federal government built a school on the island. The cost of the project ended up being $43 million, which was supplied by the Federal Highway Administration, the State of Alaska, as well as the Northwest Arctic Borough and the Kivalina IRA. In January 2012, the village of Kivalina voted to seek permission to build a new school seven miles inland, on a hill called Kisimigiiqtuq, which appears to have stable soils and greater safety from ocean storms. Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities officials accepted the award on June 7, 2022. The school site is eight miles from Kivalina, which is only accessible by air or two annual barges. Evacuation routes considered to date by Kivalina and the NAB have included. Kivalina will: Develop an evacuation road and a new school that support the community's longterm - desire to relocate. Campaign Rewards FAQ Updates 3 Comments 8 Community Share this project The long-awaited Kivalina Bridge, connecting the Western Alaska village of Kivalina to the mainland, was completed last spring by Lynden customer ASRC Civil Construction with support from Alaska Marine Lines. At this rate, the island on which the village is located will be swallowed up by the ocean by 2025, according to predictions. The plan also meets he requirements of a I~Iood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) plan as outlined in 44 CFR Part 78, qualifying the City of Kivalina for FMA project grants, The plan's approval provides eligibility to apply for hazard mitigation projects through your state. Section 117 Expedited Erosion Control Project, Kivalina, Alaska 1.0 Community Profile Kivalina, Alaska is a community of about 400 persons living on an 8-mile-long barrier island that separates a 16-mile-long lagoon (Kivalina Lagoon) from the Chukchi Sea (figure 1). In recent years, the Native Village of Kivalina has engaged diverse federal, state, regional, and local partners in quarterly planning meetings and has involved community members in all relocation efforts. As of last week, it became a nationally award-winning evacuation route. For more information about this project check out a featured article in the March 2021 edition of Ruralite. Subsistence, including whaling, is an important part of the local economy. Leverage your professional network, and get hired. Legislative leaders agreed to a capital budget that adds funding to build a new school for the community. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities oversees 237 airports, 9 ferries serving 33 communities along 3,500 marine miles, over 5,600 miles of highway and 839 public facilities throughout the state of Alaska. Seven million dollars had been set aside for the construction of a school in Kivalina, and a road. The feasibility of several potential route alignments were evaluated within a project study area encompassing Kivalina Island, the southern portion of Kivalina Lagoon, and the lower Wulik and Kivalina River drainages in Townships 27N and 28N, Ranges 25W, 26W and 27W of the Kateel River Meridian. In the face of this increased threat, Kivalina needs a safe and reliable means of evacuation. Adak Aleut Corp T1470 C&D. Adak Finger Bay Landfill. Temperature is too hot for drying fish and meat. Women and elders use baited wire to catch crab through ice. 8 Miles of line doubled the number of poles in Kivalina. threats with no safe way to evacuate during storm events with the potential to detrimentally impact the community over time. The state committed to building the school in 2011, as part of a long-fought education lawsuit known as the Kasayulie case. "The process to advance a new road construction project of this magnitude from inception through construction completion is rigorous, generally involving years of field investigations, engineering, community and stakeholder collaboration, environmental assessment, permitting, and land acquisitions - all before any construction can begin," she said. She said the contract proposals seemed hurried and were pushed at special meetings called with short notice. The team delivered the project to the construction phase in just 22 monthsputting Kivalina residents on the road to a more secure future. The funding was part of the 2011 settlement of a lawsuit that asserted that the state's method of financing school construction discriminated against rural students. Planned projects included a living archive, large-scale models and drawings of Kivalinas traditional territory, sanitation technology demonstration projects, and artists in residence. It is a traditional Inupiat Eskimo village in which subsistence activities provide the majority of food supply (e.g., seal, walrus, whale, salmon, and caribou). Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. He opposes the cuts, and worries the state may expose itself to more litigation if it backs out of funding the school. The residents of Kivalina have also engaged non-profit organizations and the international community in their plight, and have sought new sources for future funding of their relocation effort. 166 likes. Erosion and wind-driven ice have resulted in plans to relocate the village to a new site 2.5 miles away. A cinematic and observational portrait of the Arctic at an unprecedented time of cultural & environmental change! So I'm very optimistic.". - Kirk Koenig, Commuting to new Kivalina school has been precarious with unreliable bus service, Iupiat leader and whaling captain Oliver Leavitt dies at 79, Northwest Alaska report Tylenol shortages, Arctic residents share their favorite nicknames, Kotzebue police investigate a shooting; no injuries reported. In fact, Kivalina school is the last of the five schools named in the settlement to receive full funding, Mearig said. The community of Kivalina has been working for decades with a variety of local, state, and federal agencies to address threats of coastal erosion and flooding. Richards said he called the special meeting in Seattle because the Assembly was already in the city for a retreat. Kivalina IRA President Millie Hawley says that this is a process that belongs to the people of Kivalina. The resolutions said a no-bid contract would result in cost savings, quickercompletion of the project and greater flexibility, as well as higher quality plans and construction. The Kivalina Road was constructed to withstand coastal and riverine erosion and to minimize damage to the underlying permafrost, Tessen said. 53.7% of people in Kivalina have completed high school. And this accelerated timeframe resulted in a significantly reduced design and administrative costs. (800) 478-1110 (in AK) When winter set in, they'd move inland to hunt caribou for food. Mogelijkheden zijn: By teaming with communities and agencies, DOT&PF was able to deliver the project from concept to operational road in less than 4 years. Copyright 2004- Due to effects of climate change, Kivalina intends to relocate to escape the ongoing vulnerability to flooding and erosion. Anchorage Daily News. While school construction is remote and speculative, if constructed within the vicinity of the project terminus, the school could augment the undeveloped evacuation site by serving as a full-service community emergency shelter with all-season support capabilities. Through its Department of Community and Regional Affairs, the State of Alaska currently assists the community with a relocation coordinator to further interagency efforts to finalize this or another relocation solution. 2023 and limited reproduction rights for personal use are In 1992, Kivalina residents voted to move, and in 2003 and 2006, U.S. government reports said Kivalina had to be relocated within the next 10 to 15 years, due to erosion from warming temperatures. Kivalina K-12 Replacement School - Kasayulie GET STARTED GO BACK Action Stage Start Valuation $50,438,397.00 Bid Date June 9, 2021 Address KIVALINA, AK 99750 Details Contacts Documents Products Overview Project Type Primary School, Middle/Senior High School, Kindergarten, Sewage Treatment Plant Owner Type From Service Report Type Project 2301 Peger Rd Fairbanks, AK 99709-5316 For over a decade, Kivalina and the NAB have evaluated the feasibility of numerous road routes, lagoon crossing options, and material source locations Last updated April 26, 2013. It has long been a stopping place for travelers between Arctic coastal areas and Kotzebue Sound communities. Meet in front of the main office. The Kivalina Evacuation and School Site Access Road project would provide Kivalina residents a safe and reliable evacuation route in the event of a Seven million dollars had been set aside for the construction of a school in Kivalina, and a road to it. This content supports the highlighted step. Delivered right as the newspaper goes to print every Thursday. Millie Hawley is president of Kivalinas tribal government, and she had not heard of the cuts until reached by phone for this story. A rural school project the state is legally obligated to complete was among the reductions. Currently hiring for on-call and part-time! Kivalina has been at its current location since its school was built in the early 1900s. (Creative Commons photo by Lt. Cmdr. As a consequence, there would makes no provisions for further distribution. It would be very detrimental to the students and the school here in Kivalina, says Hawley. A new rock revetment wall has a projected lifespan of 15 to 20 years. Seat A- Kivalina, Noatak, Baird Mountains, Kiana & NoorvikP.O. Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities(DOT&PF) officials recently accepted the award. publisher and owner, including duplication on not-for-profit websites. Demo Debris Landfill. The mission of the department is to Keep Alaska Moving through service and infrastructure., Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, ALASKA DEPARTMENT of TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC FACILITIES. Richards, the borough mayor, said the borough was "regathering" on Wednesday and building the 7-mile road was its first priority. (Fairbanks, Alaska) Residents of Kivalina, Alaska have a new evacuation route in case they need to leave their island home during a winter storm. But now the ice is too thin; they can go anywhere., The meaning of "season" in coastal Iupiaq communities is different than in the western context. (907) 451-5479 The new road, bridge and causeway were designed to accommodate all modes of transportation for all seasons, and residents began using the new route immediately after opening. Warmer weather also brings heavy snow storms, and these coincide with increasing numbers of visits to the health clinic to treat high anxiety levels and injuries related to snow clearing. document.write(year) "A comparable project could easily take an average of eight years to complete.". Invalid password or account does not exist. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities oversees 237 airports, 9 ferries serving 33 communities, over 5,600 miles of highway and 839 public facilities throughout the state of Alaska. Hunting for caribou until river freeze up, also time in fish camps, berry picking, and hunting ptarmigan and other birds. Sen. Anna MacKinnon, an Eagle River Republican who is in charge of the capital budget, was not available for an interview. Route alternatives were evaluated for feasibility On the other. But the district spent about $5,500 to send representatives from Alaska to Seattle to oppose the proposed contract. NAB within the Study Area (Community Proposed Alternatives). While in the past year, the community did not have a need to evacuate, the road has been used for access to construct the new school, said Danielle Tessen, DOT information officer. Lagoon Crossing Alternatives: Four lagoon crossing alternatives (Solid Causeway, Solid Causeway with Culverts, Solid Causeway with Culverts Kivalina incorporated as a city in 1969. All rights reserved. According to court documents, while Jayson Knox, aka "Birdie . KIVALINA, AK 2022-06-16 Delta Discovery Edward S. Curtis' Unpublished Alaska A new book featuring one hundred images of Alaska Natives has been released by the Curtis Legacy Foundation - Unpublished Alaska. Media Awaits Release Of National Guard Emails, Delving Into Anchorages Municipal Election Results, Juneaus first electric bus is a bust, but the city will move forward with electrifying the fleet, Polar bear kills a woman and her 1-year-old son in Western Alaska village of Wales, Sen. Bert Stedman: Alaskas PFD formula should change this year. 7.7. Aerial view of the village of Kivalina, which is threatened by coastal erosion of the long barrier island between the Chukchi Sea in the distance and a lagoon at the mouth of the Kivalina River in the foreground in a 2015 file photo. On the island where Kivalina is located, three ancient bodies and artifacts were discovered belonging to a people who went extinct over a millennium ago. While Alaska DOT&PF knew that the Kivalina project could have qualified in multiple categories, Quality of Life was the strongest nomination category. Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities officials accepted the award on June 7, 2022. Work together and with partners to develop projects and policies to protect our residents, infrastructure, natural environment, and subsistence resources. Five villages have the same climate change issues, some worse than ours. Concepts previously studied for their feasibility include construction of an earthen causeway across the lagoon that variously incorporates hydraulic and boat passage options including bridge(s), culvert(s), or both. ", "Mayor Richards stated recent meetings over the Kivalina school construction project have caused division between School Board members, the Assembly and the Administration," the Dec. 29 announcement said. "The embankment was also constructed to a minimum 6-foot thickness to provide sufficient insulation over the frozen ground.". The special meeting in Seattle because the Assembly was already in the city for a retreat easily... Miles away of 15 to 20 years if it backs out of funding the school people! Until river freeze up, also time in fish camps, berry picking and... Mackinnon, an Eagle river Republican who is in charge of the lagoon used! Environment, and subsistence resources berry picking, and hunting ptarmigan and other birds species... 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