LEO Network

About the LEO Network
The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
Continue

Observations

Aklavik Hunters and Trappers asked to keep an eye out for 'orange slime'
Floating substance possibly iron oxide, but GNWT wants to make sure.
Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada
NNSL Media

Sinking in
The community of Aklavik, N.W.T., persevered when devastating floods led the government to attempt to relocate it. Now it faces another existential crisis as climate change thaws the permafrost, forever changing the community’s landscape and wildlife.
Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC

Slow start to the N.W.T. winter road season, as delays abound
The opening of the famed Dettah ice road, a six-kilometre route that cuts across Yellowknife Bay, is typically opened on Dec, 24, according to a 20-year average. Yet a week-and-a-half later, there's still no word on when it will be operational.
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC

How floor repair of 'igloo church' in Arctic Canada could offer deeper look into North's permafrost
The church is no outlier — several buildings in the community are affected by freeze-thaw cycle of permafrost.
Even an iconic church is not immune from changing permafrost.
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada
Eye on the Arctic

State of emergency declared in Aklavik, N.W.T., as flood waters rise
The remote community of roughly 600 people has been on flood watch for about a week and is the latest of several communities in the Northwest Territories to be affected by historic flooding on the Mackenzie River, caused by the spring breakup.
Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC

Heavy snow and thick ice could mean trouble for Aklavik's spring melt, says local
Spring is still months away in the Northwest Territories, but people are already looking ahead at the spring breakup season. In Aklavik, some see signs that could point to heavy flooding, a lot of snowfall, very high snow piles all over town and thick ice.

5 dogs attacked by lynx in Inuvik since late November, says official
Lynx have attacked five dogs in Inuvik since late November, a trend a local wildlife officer calls surprising. The behaviour is unusual since lynx are typically reclusive animals and don't usually come into inhabited areas.
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Dirty water may be reason for very strange shortage of fish harvest, says N.W.T. angler
Anglers in Aklavik, N.W.T., are trying to figure out why there was a shortage of fish in local hotspots this year.

Coyote believed first sighted in Beaufort Delta region since 1974
A coyote caught on camera in the Richardson Mountain range is the first spotted in the region in decades, a wildlife biologist says.

Residents of Aklavik spotting more grizzly bears in town
About 10 grizzly bears have been living at the community dump in Aklavik, N.W.T., this summer. Arey said a couple of bears were destroyed earlier this summer, but said more may need to be killed as residents are still seeing the bears coming into the community near homes.

Inuvik boil water advisory partially due to water plant repairs
A Department of Health news release states the boil water advisory is in relation to high turbidity levels in the river, or muddy water. The turbidity is caused by high water levels.

Unauthorized driving, wetter-than-normal spring behind Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway closures | CBC News
This spring’s closures on the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway are a result of unusually wet weather and drivers failing to respect road closures, according to engineers with the Northwest Territories Infrastructure Department.

This pink salmon swam farther up the Mackenzie River than ever recorded
Two pink salmon have been found near Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., 260 kilometres farther up the Mackenzie River than ever reported.
Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories, Canada

Weather in the Beaufort Delta Just Like Spring
Freda Alunik says it looks 'just like spring' at her camp near the Mackenzie River.
Mackenzie River, Northwest Territory, Canada
CBC News

Great Egret (*Ardea alba*) So Far North
Egret near Inuvik observed by numerous folks in Inuvik.

Aggressive grizzly bear harasses Dempster Highway travellers
Conservation officers believe the same bear was involved in two recent encounters. The most recent involved a motorcyclist forced to back up by the approaching bear.
Dempster Highway (kilometres 230-270), Yukon Territory, Canada
CBC News

Climate Change Drives Up the Cost of Canada’s Northernmost Highway
Chris Burn at Carleton University is tracking the growing cost of maintaining Yukon’s Dempster Highway as warmer weather brings more landslides, washouts and other challenges.
Arctic Deeply

'It scares me': Permafrost thaw in Canadian Arctic sign of global trend
For years now, buildings in Inuvik have been sinking due to thawing permafrost. It's part of a worrying trend across the Arctic, writes David Michael Lamb.
CBC News

Sink hole damages airport
The runway, built in 1958, is over-top of permafrost and frozen soils.

Inuvik experienced one of its warmest, driest summers on record
It wasn’t part of your imagination if you thought it was warmer this summer in the Northwest Territories. Inuvik experienced its seventh warmest summer on record according to data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Researchers try packing down snow to preserve permafrost in N.W.T.
A permafrost scientist in the N.W.T. is leading an experiment that compacts snow near the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway to see if that will slow down permafrost thaw and protect buildings and roads built atop it.

Fort McPherson, N.W.T., declares emergency as flooding threatens access to drinking water
The hamlet said it's declaring a state of emergency because flooding from the Peel River cut off access to the community's airport, and because access to fresh water could be "inaccessible in the imminent future."
Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, Canada

Reports from the land: N.W.T. hunters and trappers describe unusually warm fall
From the thickness of the ice to moose migration and pelt quality, hunters and trappers say the late arrival of cold weather in the N.W.T. is "going to have effects, down the line."

'Incredibly bright' lunar halo photographed in Inuvik, N.W.T.
An Inuvik woman captured a picture of a lunar halo last week. When a retired professor of physics and astronomy saw the picture, he said what was impressive about it was how bright the halo was.

Alaskans have been spotting turkey vultures all over the state this year
An unusual bird was sighted in the Yukon Flats village of Chalkyitsik recently. The raptor, uncommon to the state, has also been spotted in a few other Alaska locations. Bird biologist Jim Johnson says there’s broader evidence that the nomadic turkey vulture is expanding north.
Chalkyitsik, Alaska, United States
KUAC

Alaska man kills polar bear that strayed from its usual habitat
Jim Hollandsworth of Arctic Village said he encountered the bear in early January. He said the bear had tried to get into his cabin about 32 kilometers from the village.
Arctic Village, Alaska, United States

Dead Hare Infested with Ticks
A dead hare was observed in Interior Alaska that was infested with a native species of tick. Wildlife officials are asking residents to keep an eye out for ticks on pets and for signs of tick infestation in large mammals, such as hair loss in moose.
Fort Yukon, Alaska, United States

An unfrozen North
The world’s permafrost holds vast stores of carbon. What happens when it thaws?
Toolik Lake Field Station
High Country News

Porcupine caribou herd numbers highest in monitoring history
"Currently we don't have any studies specifically looking at what factors are affecting those demographics," said Jason Caikoski, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Listen now
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Low Water Levels in the Yukon River
Water levels are 5 feet below normal.
Fort Yukon, Alaska, United States

Smoke from northeast Alaska fires drifts into Fairbanks
Smoke from a handful of fires in northeast Alaska and across the border in Canada drifted south to Fairbanks on Tuesday and is expected to linger through Wednesday night.
Fort Yukon, Alaska, United States
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

The Arctic is full of mercury, and scientists think they know how it's getting there
The remote Arctic tundra may seem like the last place on Earth human pollution should be causing a problem — yet it’s filled with mercury contamination.
Toolik Field Station, Alaska, United States
The Washington Post

Wildfires burning across northern Alaska
Of the 89 wildfires burning across Alaska right now, several are in the northern part of the state, either in the Arctic or near its southern boundary.
Campbell River Fire, Alaska, United States
The Arctic Sounder

Alaskan Caribou Are Adapting to Warming
The most recent study noted that Arctic thaw is occurring one to two weeks earlier than the first study, and the North Slope growing season is lengthening by 15 to 21 days. At the same time, however, caribou are maintaining the same reproductive timeline.
Dalton Highway, Alaska, United States
Scientific American

Huge Thaw Crater
Downriver from Arctic Village
East Fork Chandalar River, Northeast Interior, Alaska, United States

Delayed Winter River Travel
Poor ice quality on the Teedriinjik (Chandalar) River
Venetie, Alaska, United States

Milbert's Tortoiseshell Caterpillar (*Aglais milberti*) Infestation
Milbert's tortoiseshell caterpillar infestation
Chalkyitsik, Alaska, United States

Still No Snow or Yukon River Ice
11-27-12 Still no snow or Yukon ice - Fort Yukon, Alaska, USA
Fort Yukon Alaska, United States

Late Salmon Run
11-1-12 Late salmon run - Fort Yukon, Alaska, USA

River Erosion on the Yukon Flats
Yukon Flats community dealing with river erosion and landscape changes that are threatening the loss of traditional harvesting areas.

Spruce Bark Beetle
We are worried about the effects of large infestation and about wildlife.

What caused an Arctic river to run red?
Ruben Henry won't ever forget the day the Chandalar River ran red along the banks of Arctic Village. It was the talk of the tight-knit, Brooks Range town, and no one had could remember it ever happening before.
Arctic Village, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Mountain Lion (*Puma concolor*) in Interior Alaska
Mountain lion sighting on the Chandalar River
Venetie, Alaska, United States

American moose *(Alces a. americanus)* North of Historical Range

‘We’ve never seen this before’: River overflow on winter road to Old Crow delays supplies
First trucks made week-long pitstop on river bank due to overflow on newly completed winter road. On the first attempt to cross the overflow, a truck’s front tires went through approximately eight inches and the vehicle had to be towed out, in the report. No one was hurt, and there was no damage done.
Old Crow, Yukon, Canada
Yukon News

Mushers react to scary closure of chum fishery
A lack of chum salmon is causing pain in riverside communities of Yukon and Alaska, as mushers are left without a traditional source of food.
Old Crow, Yukon, Canada

Wolves are preying on dogs in Old Crow
Wolves don't typically linger around the community, they're hungry because the caribou are all in Alaska right now. There's also little snow around Old Crow so it may be harder for wolves to hunt moose. About ten dogs have been killed.
Old Crow, Yukon, Canada

'We never had fires like this for many years': Old Crow residents nervous about nearby fires
26 fires are burning in the Old Crow district but Yukon Wildland Fire says the community is not at risk
Old Crow, Yukon Territory, Canada

Beavers on the tundra? Yukon biologists see the unexpected
Tom Jung and Dave Mossop were monitoring falcons on Yukon's Arctic coastal plain when they spotted a beaver dam, made of shrubs. 'This was a bit of a unique observation.'
Babbage River, Ivvavik National Park, YT, Canada

Blueberries (*Vaccinium uliginosum*) at 60-mile Steese
These berries were on a south slope in a recently burned area. Seems early to me!
Pleasant Valley, Alaska, United States

Freezing Waterlines
12-21-12 Freezing waterlines - Evansville, Alaska, USA
Evansville, Alaska, United States

Permafrost Melt Causing River Erosion
Severe permafrost thaw and erosion along Koyukuk River banks.
Allakaket, Alaska, United States

Decreased Peregrine Falcon Sightings on Yukon River
Between the fall of 2021 and the fall of 2022, APU students observed a dramatic decrease in the number of Peregrine Falcons between Eagle and Circle, Alaska.
Eagle, Alaska, United States

Eastern Phoebe (*Sayornis phoebe*), Taylor Highway
Bird observed well beyond its typical range.
Columbia Creek Bridge, Taylor Highway, Alaska, United States

Support

Observation Template