Module 1   Case Study
Part II Winters are warmer, extreme cold periods are shorter.
Falls are warmer. Freeze-up is later; unable to cross the river as early as before. Break-up is earlier and/or it is occurring faster. Permafrost is thawing. Ice is thinner and has more holes. Increase in precipitation; most responses referring to precipitation in the fall. Less snow in winter. Greater variability; alternating freezing and thawing; greater difficulty predicting weather. Lakes and sloughs are drying and filling with vegetation. Less flooding in the spring. More erosion of banks of rivers and sloughs. Expansion of spruce forests to new areas. Increased shrubbery, especially willows. Decline in moose abundance over the past 5–10 years.
Decline in quality of Chinook salmon, with most referencing increase in proportion of jacks (smaller/ younger salmon); more “slime,” sores on salmon.
Reports of new birds including magpies and strange waterfowl; decrease in abundance of game birds including geese and ducks. Increase in traffic from nonlocal hunters.