Buckland

An ice jam caused by warming spring temperatures near the village of Buckland has left most of the town underwater and cut off access to the airport road. Residents of the village of about 400 people are preparing to evacuate by boat if water levels continue to rise.

Warm water temperatures may be causing stress and increase the risk of infections and other illness in fish.

"Our temperatures reached 83 degrees, and seem to be getting hotter! We think that maybe the warm water has something to do with the humpy die-off?"

Technology has changed, communities have moved, people have grown older, and the beluga whales the Kanigmiut have relied on for generations have all but disappeared.

5-23-12 Buckland River floods dumpsite - Buckland, Alaska, USA.

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