Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook: Results from local expert surveys
Dates
Publication Date
2019-08-06
Citation
Herman-Mercer, N.M., Loehman, R.A., Toohey, R.C., and Paniyak, C., 2019, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook: Results from local expert surveys: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9HDXE32.
Summary
The Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta Berry Outlook is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Water Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities. Berries are an important subsistence resource culturally and nutritionally for Alaska Natives as well as an important resource for the globally significant population of migratory birds in the Yukon Delta wildlife refuge. As such understanding berry resources is essential for human and bird populations and is of interest to communities and land managers alike. A trichotomous choice survey coupled with a participatory mapping exercise was used to document local expert observations. Five [...]
Summary
The Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta Berry Outlook is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Water Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities. Berries are an important subsistence resource culturally and nutritionally for Alaska Natives as well as an important resource for the globally significant population of migratory birds in the Yukon Delta wildlife refuge. As such understanding berry resources is essential for human and bird populations and is of interest to communities and land managers alike. A trichotomous choice survey coupled with a participatory mapping exercise was used to document local expert observations. Five berry species previously identified as important for Indigenous subsistence within the region (Herman-Mercer and Schuster 2014; Hupp et al. 2015) were included in the survey: cloudberry (known locally as salmonberry (Rubus chamaemorus)), crowberry (known locally as blackberry (Empetrum nigrum)), cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), and arctic raspberry (known locally as redberry (Rubus arcticus)).
The survey instrument was developed in iterative consultation with Tribal Council staff in each village and was approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (OMB control number 1028-0122) per the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (1995). A purposive sampling strategy (Schutt 2009) targeting community experts was used. Community experts were defined as individuals that had lived in their community for at least 10 years and had participated in berry harvesting consistently over this time frame. Respondents were provided with an informed consent sheet that explained the risks and benefits of participation, including that the results of the project would be made public, though their identities would not be shared and the maps of berry harvesting locations would be aggregated at the village level to protect individuals. Surveys were administered in person with project personnel reading each proposition to the respondent and recording their answers on a paper survey. To avoid potential confusion due to local nomenclature respondents were shown a picture of each berry and asked to verify the supplied name or provide an alternate name before the propositions for each berry species were read. The survey consisted of propositions regarding the importance of specific berry species within Indigenous households; observations of changes in berry abundance, phenology, habitat, or availability; attribution of potential drivers of change; and instance of changes in behavior in response to changing berry resources. Respondents were asked to agree (yes) or disagree (no) with propositions or state that they were unsure of an answer (don’t know). The third option of don’t know was provided to respondents to prevent false or unreliable answers by forcing respondents to choose yes or no when they in fact do not know the answer (Converse and Presser 1986).
Participatory mapping is a general term applied to activities that work with participants to gather and map spatial information to help communities learn, discuss, build consensus, and make decisions about their communities and associated resources (NOAA 2015). Here we used participatory mapping to document the locations of different species of berries and understand any social, ecological, or climatological reasons that these locations may be shifting. Mapping was accomplished using topographic basemaps of the villages and surrounding areas overlaid with mylar sheeting. The area surrounding the villages of Hooper Bay and Kotlik were represented with arrays of 1: 63,360 USGS quadrangle topographic maps (USGS, 2017). A 1:250,000 USGS topographic map was utilized for Emmonak, and a 1:500,000 scale community-created place names map in Chevak. Participants identified harvesting locations for each of the five berry species by drawing onto the mylar sheeting using varying colors of markers to represent different species of berries as well as to distinguish between current and historic harvesting areas. Participants were encouraged to draw polygons, but in some cases lines and points were used. Location maps were manually digitized in ArcMap 10.5.1(ESRI 2017) using a USGS topographic digital basemap that matched the scale and extent of the paper maps used during the participatory mapping activity.
A total of 52 individuals and four villages participated in the survey, 34 respondents were female and 18 were male, participants’ ages ranged from 30 to 79, and on average participants had spent 46 years in their home community and 43 years picking berries. Forty-eight maps were created as survey respondents that harvested berries together often completed the mapping exercise together. The survey and the raw survey results are presented here along with further demographic information. Berry harvesting location maps, aggregated at the village level are also presented for cloudberries, crowberries, and blueberries.
References
Converse, J. M., & Presser, S. (1986). Survey questions: Handcrafting the standardized questionnaire (Vol. 63). Sage.
Herman-Mercer, N.M., and Schuster, P.F., 2014. Strategic Needs of Water on the Yukon: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Studying Hydrology and Climate Change in the Lower Yukon River Basin. U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2014-3060.
Hupp, J., Brubaker, M., Wilkinson, K., & Williamson, J. (2015). How are your berries? Perspectives of Alaska's environmental managers on trends in wild berry abundance. International journal of circumpolar health, 74(1), 28704.
NOAA Office for Coastal Management (2015). Stakeholder Engagement Strategies for Participatory Mapping, SOcial Science Tools for Coastal Programs. 28p
Schutt, R. K. (2009). Investigating the social world: The process and practice of research. Sage Publications.
