The WCA is looking toward the future of Wrangell’s landscape by partnering with Two Bears Environmental Consulting Services to develop a comprehensive environmental roadmap.

Supported by a recently awarded federal Climate Adaptation Plan grant, the WCA Earth Branch has begun collecting feedback from residents through an online survey. This outreach effort seeks to gather firsthand observations from people who have noticed environmental changes across the area in recent years.

Jaimlyn Sypniewski, a consultant with Anchorage-based Two Bears, explained that the survey serves as the foundational step for creating a sustainable long-term strategy.

“We want to hear from the community about the things that they have observed and about what concerns them,” Sypniewski said. “A lot of areas in the Southeast share the same concerns. We’re hearing a lot about the fish population and invasive species, like the green crab.”

The project will also examine weather patterns and scientific climate models. Sypniewski noted that water levels and storm frequency are major factors in the region’s safety and stability.

“Obviously, with lots of precipitation, there can be issues, but a lot of times things can happen as a result of precipitation events,” she said. “It’s those precipitation events that can lead to things like landslides.”

To better prepare for these possibilities, she plans to build a weather model that uses recent data to project potential climate trends for the next 100 years.

The federal grant acts as a strategic framework to help tribal governments identify and respond to environmental shifts. Rather than using a generic approach, the plan is designed as a specific roadmap for protecting the area’s resources. The goals include identifying areas at risk for landslides or rising sea levels and combining modern science with the historical knowledge of WCA members.

Two Bears Environmental Consulting specializes in helping Alaska Native organizations manage the technical aspects of federal grants. Their work focuses on data collection and community engagement to ensure the final plan reflects the needs of residents.

Once the document is finished, it will allow WCA to apply for implementation grants to build the specific defenses or systems identified in the report.

Sypniewski is scheduled to visit Wrangell from May 6 to 10 to meet with WCA officials and borough leadership. A large community meeting is also planned, with the date and time undetermined as of last week.

While the survey will remain open for some time, data for the upcoming May presentation will only be collected through the week of April 20.

“People can certainly fill out the survey after April 20, but that data won’t be synthesized for my presentation to the community,” Sypniewski said. “Although it could be used later as part of the final report.”

All members of the community are encouraged to participate in the survey. The QR code for the survey is available on the WCA Earth Branch Facebook page.