Nelson Lagoon (Niilsanam Alĝuudaa)

Nelson Lagoon is an Unangan (Aleut) village located on the north coast of the Aleutian Peninsula, on the Bering Sea side. A Tribal Council is the self-governing body for the village, which has an economy based in commercial fishing.

Notes from our 2024 planning retreat in Anchorage

Current activities

Indian General Assistance Program (IGAP), an EPA grant to help tribes develop capacity to administer environmental programs. Additionally, the community is working on climate adaptation planning, coastal erosion monitoring, dock replacement at Water Lake, and an upgrade to the power plant.

Successes

Permafrost Pathways, which brings together leading experts in climate science, policy action, and environmental justice to inform and develop adaptation and mitigation strategies to address permafrost thaw. Additionally, we have resilience funding from the US Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as strong representation.

Collaborations with ACTION or other communities

We are looking to collaborate with the Chignik Intertribal Council on fish-related data collection, specifically fish environmental DNA (eDNA), a technique for identify DNA found in the environment (e.g., water, soil, air) from cellular material shed by organisms that has accumulated in the surrounding water, soil, air, etc. eDNA allows for testing without having to sample the organism itself. We would also like to do more water quality testing of our river, and to monitor coastal erosion.

We look forward to building capacity via the Community Research Lead (CRL) position.