Krysti Shallenberger

How did Pete Kaiser get to be one of Alaska’s top mushers? He says that it's "basically a lifestyle."

The Kuskokwim 300 Race Committee moved the starting line from its traditional place in front of the Joe Lomack building near the river to the front of the small boat harbor.

Climate changes are hitting home in many ways: the Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race had to make a last-minute route change, and the Kuskokwim River is taking longer to freeze, so more residents in remote Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities have to travel by air instead.

The company is trying to develop one of the biggest gold mines in the world in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The mine, if built, would disturb 2,800 acres of wetlands. Because Donlin can’t restore all of those wetlands, it is required to protect wetlands somewhere else.

Regional temperatures are a big deal because Y-K Delta residents can only travel to other villages by water or by plane. In the past the river usually froze thick enough before December to allow for an ice road, but that hasn’t been the case for the last couple of years.

For the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the climate change stakes are especially high because the region is home to the most tribes in the state.

Former University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kuskokwim Campus Director Mary Ciuniq Pete was a fierce protector of subsistence practices and a strong advocated for her students. She died November 17 at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

Some residents of Crooked Creek see the potential for much needed economic development while others see the possible disruption of their subsistence lifestyle.

The effort to get the Kuskokwim 300 into the Hall of Fame began three years ago.

So far in the permitting process, Donlin Gold's biggest milestone has been the Army Corps of Engineers’ joint record of decision, issued in August. Listen now