A severe fall storm caused significant damage in Kotzebue, Alaska, with high winds and rising water levels leading to airport inaccessibility, disrupted flights, and emergency declarations.

With a bleak salmon return this year in Northwest Alaska, a lifelong fisherman reflects on a season marked by empty nets and big questions.

High water throughout the summer continues to erode the river bank.

Erosion of the shoreline on Well Island is threatening the water line that connects the village of Noatak to their water supply. The Tribal Health System is coordinating with the federal agencies and state and borough to support water supply needs and repairs.

These small rodents are a key part of the Northwest Arctic ecosystem.

A couple of weeks ago I spotted a small gull on the second bridge behind Kotzebue. The bird wouldn't fly and was walking slowly.

LEO Member Jeffrey Luther has been documenting erosion along the Noatak River for many years. His drone footage this spring captures new bank erosion features and icicle formations.

While Northwest Arctic residents encounter bears year-round, such sightings are not common in Kotzebue this time of year, Cantine said. Charlie Henry Jr., an Elder from Kotzebue, agreed: “That is so strange — brown bear in the middle part of the coldest months.”

The Western Arctic Caribou Herd has been declining for years, and the migration patterns of the animals have been changing. In several locations in Northwest Alaska, caribou have been arriving later and later in the season. Friday last week, people in Kotzebue finally started seeing caribou — hundreds of them ― crossing the Kotzebue Sound north of town, coming from the Noatak riverside. Ice conditions are one of the reasons for the caribou’s late migration, said Thomas Baker, chair of the Northwest Arctic Subsistence Regional Advisory Council.

Above normal temperatures in the month of November followed by a series of storms makes varying ice conditions.

Heavy rains have elevated river levels throughout August and September. High water continues to erode the river bank in the community. The photos show a tree that was 22 feet from the edge is know 3 feet. Total erosion has reached 91 ft. by old landfill and new mark shows 112 ft. marker.

Earlier on Monday, Maniilaq Association notified Kotzebue residents about the musk ox in a Facebook post, saying that the animal was “roaming around the Kotzebue area, last sighted near ‘old’ teacher housing on the lagoon.” Health officials asked residents to not approach or agitate the animal and to keep their dogs under control.

Water floods the Kotzebue lagoon. Grasses can be seen in July and a month later in August the water has risen 4-6 ft.

Out commercial fishing on the water in the inter Kotzebue Sound the weather was calm and there were miles and miles of a strange floating orange layer on the surface.

This video shot on June 11th outside of Kotzebue shows red-necked phalaropes displaying circling behavior.

The river in Noatak is slowly cutting away parts of the road. This is an on going problem and the observation by Jeffrey Luther provides the latest in a series about erosion and related impacts.

This post is an update on the river erosion situation in Noatak, where a new channel is being cut by the Noatak River.

As the river changes and erosion happens along the banks, new channels are being formed around the community.

Kotzebue experienced one blizzard after another in March, and now with so much piled up and drifted snow, the community is struggling to dig out.

"I was born and raised in Kotzebue and have been through many storms. This was one of the worst."