Alaska
Beaver expansion into Alaska’s Arctic tundra presents problems for people – and opportunities • Arkansas Advocate
When Cyrus Harris first saw a beaver during a camping trip in the tundra territory in the far northwest of Alaska in 1988, the discovery created a stir in his hometown of Kotzebue.
“That made big news then,” he said. He and his companions removed the beaver, which was near Cape Krusenstern just north of the Bering Strait, above the Arctic Circle and, until recently, far north of the Alaska tree line. When they heard about the beaver, Harris said, local Inupiat elders issued a warning that more would appear: “They’re coming, and that’s what’s going to be happening.”
The presence of beavers in the Arctic landscape around Kotzebue is no longer news. The beaver population, previously not an Arctic feature, has exploded in that region – and quickly transformed the landscape.
That transformation was summarized at a workshop in late February at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where scientists and community residents shared research findings and observations.
In a 100-square-kilometer area near Kotzebue — just under 40 square miles — the number of beaver dams jumped from two in 2002 to 98 in 2019, according to UAF research presented at the beginning of the three-day workshop. The workshop was part of a National Science Foundation-funded program called the Arctic Beaver Observation Network, or A-BON. On a wider area of the Baldwin Peninsula, the number went from 94 in 2010 to 409 in 2019. Across a wider area of Arctic Northwest Alaska, their presence went from nothing in the 1950s, as shown in aerial photos, to more than 11,300 beaver ponds identified through satellite imagery by 2019, according to the UAF scientists. The presence of beaver ponds in that region more than doubled between 2004 and 2017, the scientists found.
Satellite images that have tracked beaver expansion over time clearly show not just the number of dams but their drastic impacts, said Ken Tape, the UAF ecology professor who is leading the A-BON program. He pointed to one site as an example. “It basically changes from a little stream into a sprawling wetlands,” he said.
The proliferation of beavers is attributed to the northward spread of woody plants that they eat and use for their dams and lodges.
While climate change has enabled beavers to live farther north, the animals are exacerbating the effects of Arctic climate change. Through their dam and lodge engineering, they are inundating some areas with water, speeding up permafrost thaw. Elsewhere, they are drying out areas.
Effects of climate change were already underway on the tundra landscape, with permafrost warming and lakes expanding or draining and woody shrubs growing bigger and farther north, but those were relatively gradual – until the new arrivals began engineering the landscape, Tape said.
“All of a sudden, the beaver shows up. It’s like, wham, just night and day, completely different,” he said.
‘Tundra Be Dammed’
Tape, who got into beaver studies when he and UAF permafrost expert Ben Jones were tracking climate change effects on the tundra, has now become a leading authority on the animals’ northward expansion. A famous study that he led, published in 2018, described the phenomenon in Northwest Alaska and bore a catchy title: Tundra Be Dammed.
Beavers can be as disruptive to the tundra ecosystem as wildfires are, Tape and his colleagues have concluded.
Beaver presence in Arctic Alaska largely stops at the Continental Divide in the Brooks Range, leaving the North Slope largely beaver-free – for now. There are some exceptions discovered recently: a beaver pond complex that was found on the Kongakut River, which flows through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge near the Canadian border, and some chew marks and tracks left by beavers on the Killik River, which flows from a point in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve into the bigger Colville River.
But that North Slope situation is expected to change, Tape said. Projections are that if the climate continues its current warming trend and shrubs continue spreading north, beavers will follow, moving down the northern side of the divide to establish themselves across the entire North Slope by century’s end, he said. “They’re poised to swim downstream,” he said.
For many residents, their animals’ new presence is a serious problem.
“We’re surrounded by beaver lodges,” said Ralph Ramoth of Selawik, an Inupiat village about 90 miles east of Kotzebue.
Beaver structures have blocked access to traditional areas for duck hunting and berry-picking, and they’ve created barriers on creeks where fish used to spawn, Ramoth said. They have affected water quality as well, he said.
“When I was young, you used to be able to drink the water out of the river. Nowadays you don’t,” he said. Those who try, he said, get stomach distress. “People call it ‘beaver fever,’” he said, referring to the unpleasant intestinal infection caused by the parasite giardia.
Beaver sins
There is a long litany of observed or suspected beaver sins in their new Arctic territory that were discussed at the workshop.
Their dams can be insurmountable barriers to fish, particularly to the whitefish that are important subsistence foods but not particularly strong swimmers. That affects people who depend on those fish for their diets – and reverberates through the food web in ways that might seem surprising. Belugas in Arctic waters, for example, depend on whitefish populations that might be harmed by new beaver presence.
As articulated by Ramoth and by residents of Canada’s Northwest Territories who attended the workshop, beaver structures can impede travel, blocking boat routes long used in the summer and turning once-dependable winter ice-travel routes into danger zones.
Deteriorated water quality is a widespread concern; Harris noted that beaver complexes are plentiful just upstream of the reservoir that is the drinking-water source for Kotzebue.
There are potentially longer-term and wider-ranging effects as well.
By speeding permafrost thaw, they are hastening the release of carbon into the atmosphere, scientists said. That is because permafrost holds organic material accumulated over thousands of years that, through freeze, is resistant to decomposition, said Michael Loranty, an associate professor of geography at Colgate University in New York.
“But when you start thawing that out, it starts decomposing,” he said at the workshop. “And if, you know, you’re kind of putting all that permafrost carbon in the bank slowly over tens of thousands of years and then you thaw it out very quickly, it’s kind of a big pulse, potentially, into the atmosphere.”
There is evidence that such pulses are already underway. Work led by UAF researcher Jason Clark detected hotspots of methane emissions from Northwest Alaska beaver ponds. Methane is a particularly potent greenhouse gas and is known to be produced from permafrost thaw. The discovery of “is an example of a new disturbance regime, wrought by an ecosystem engineer, accelerating the effects of climate change in the Arctic,” said the 2023 study, which was coauthored by Tape, Jones and others at UAF, along with scientists from the National Park Service and the California Institute of Technology.
There are related effects. Though studies are preliminary, there is evidence that beavers are contributing to higher mercury levels in the water systems – and thus in fish populations. Permafrost thaw releases natural elemental mercury that is stored in frozen peat, and beavers stimulate that thaw.. Additionally, the beavers may be inadvertently helping to convert that elemental mercury into methylmercury, the form that is most dangerous to people and animals.
“Beavers bring a lot of wood to streams,” Matthew Mervyn, a graduate student who is studying the question in Canada’s Northwest Territories, said at the workshop. “Since the water slows down, it introduces more bacteria to methyl-ize the mercury.”
Mervyn, with Canada’s Wilfrid Laurier University, is part of a Canadian-British program called Beavers and Socio-ecological Resilience in Inuit Nunangat, or BARIN. It focuses on the Arctic region of the Northwest Territories. There, Indigenous hunters were the first to document colonization of the Beaufort Sea coast by beavers, with the animals spotted in 2008 and 2009.
The benefits of beavers
But there is another side of beavers in the Arctic.
“If I had a T-shirt, it would say, ‘I love beavers.’ I love them. They’re the best things in the world,” Lance Kramer, one of only about three Kotzebue residents who regularly trap beavers, said at the workshop.
He acknowledged that many of his Kotzebue neighbors greeted the news of beaver presence with the expression “Aiee,” a somewhat untranslatable Inupiaq expression of alarm and annoyance.
Kramer, in contrast, has taken advantage of the new arrivals. When he traps a fat beaver, he can use it for meat. The meat from skinny beavers goes to his dog, he said. He is making money selling the pelts. He has created his own detailed map of beaver lodges in the area, with names like “Faceplant Place Lodge” “About Time Lodge” and “Mad Snowman Lake Lodge,” the latter so named because his son became so annoyed about waiting for him to show up there that he built a snowman with an angry face.
He has even taken his love of beavers to show business, albeit subtly. He was an actor in the Alaska-based HBO series True Detective: The Night Country, and in a tense scene where his character brandishes a gun at law enforcement officers, he is wearing a beaver hat made by his mother-in-law.
Kramer brought up other beaver benefits. Aside from supplying meat, fur and income, beavers make it easier for him to hunt or trap other animals that gather at the structures, like wolverines and minks. “You can get everything at a beaver lodge. It’s a one-stop shop,” he said.
Evidence, mostly from outside of Alaska, shows that beaver lodges and dams can create habitat for other species, from insects to birds to predators. Research into that is continuing through the A-BON program; one project, explained by UAF graduate student Sebastian Zavoico, is using sound recorders to track bird diversity at recently established Alaska beaver sites.
While many Arctic residents are leery about the impacts of beaver dams and lodges to fish, evidence gathered to date paints a mixed picture.
In the Lower 48, where many riparian systems have been damaged by development, beavers are often considered restorers. Numerous studies there have found that beaver colonization is good for fish.
In Alaska, where study of the beaver-fish relationship is just starting, the evidence is that the animals have been positive influences in some spots and negative in others, according to information presented at the conference by UAF graduate student William Samuel. He has been tracking the relationship between beavers and Arctic grayling – and the relationship between beavers, grayling and wildfire. Within Interior Alaska, he found strong evidence that beaver densities increased in burned areas and that the combination of beavers and fires could be bad for grayling.
But the presence of beavers can make forested areas resistant to fires, too. Dammed areas can serve as fire breaks and help speed ecosystem recovery after wildfires, research in the Lower 48 has found.
The “beaver fever” name notwithstanding, beavers may not be as responsible as people think for giardia infections, said Glynnis Hood, an environmental science professor at the University of Alberta. “Beavers always get the rap, but humans carry giardia, too, and they don’t always clean up after themselves,” she said at the workshop.
Entrenched in the tundra landscape?
Future action on beavers might address both negative and positive aspects, suggested Andy Bassich of Eagle, an Interior community near the Canadian border.
“I don’t want, really, to use the word ‘infestation,’ but in some people’s minds that’s the appropriate word,” he said. In his region, where beavers have long been established, the animals have become a good source of food that substitutes for traditional food sources like salmon that are in short supply, he said.
If people want to get rid of “nuisance beavers” that might be blocking fish passage or creating other problems, perhaps there should be some kind of combined economic and cultural program that trains young people to hunt and trap them, process them, tan the hides, providing both meat and income, Bassich said.
Whatever Alaskans and Arctic residents decide to do about them, beavers may be in the far north for good.
That was a lesson imparted by Lennie Emaghok, an elder from Tuktoyaktuk, a Northwest Territories Inupiat community on the Beaufort Sea coast.
He recounted how in 2020, along a relatively short stretch of creek, he and others found 10 beaver structures and quickly removed most of them, including one that was particularly towering.
“When we returned three days later, the dam was built back, as if we had never touched it,” he said.
Hood summarized the power of the wood-chomping rodent. “Never underestimate a beaver,” she said.
Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: [email protected]. Follow Alaska Beacon on Facebook and Twitter.
WHEREAS, on June 3, 1942, six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, World War II arrived in Alaska when Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island was bombed by Japanese – the first aerial attack by an enemy on the continental United States; and
WHEREAS, the Japanese pilots expected little resistance; but because of an intercepted message three weeks earlier, the installation was on high alert, and Navy and Marine personnel were prepared with anti-aircraft defenses; and
WHEREAS, encountering unexpected resistance at Dutch Harbor, installation, Japanese forces shifted their focus to the Margaret Bay Naval Barracks, where the attack claimed the lives of 25 servicemen; and
WHEREAS, following the initial attack on Dutch Harbor, Japanese forces launched additional assaults on Dutch Harbor, Adak, Kiska, and Attu, resulting in the Aleut people being evacuated and held in internment camps in Southeast Alaska for three years, through which many did not survive; and
WHEREAS, the brave soldiers of the United States Armed Forces and allied Canadian Forces fought valiantly for more than a year to reclaim the remaining Aleutian Islands. The battle of Attu stands as one of the most costly American assaults in the Pacific, with hundreds of servicemen making the ultimate sacrifice to liberate Alaska; and
WHEREAS, on the 84th anniversary of the bombing of Dutch Harbor, we remember and honor all who were affected by the attack, paying tribute both to the military personnel who served and died to defend our Nation and to the Aleut people who died while imprisoned.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Mike Dunleavy, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF ALASKA, do hereby proclaim June 3, 2026, as:
Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day
in Alaska and encourage all Alaskans to join with the people of Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, and the Aleutian Islands to honor all who were lost in Alaska during World War II, and I order the Alaska State Flag to be flown at half-staff in remembrance of those who perished.
Dated: June 3, 2026
A plane belonging to the Alaska National Guard appears to have been damaged during operations connected to Operation Epic Fury as part of American military efforts against Iran, according to online reports. Defense officials have so far declined to confirm whether Alaska National Guard personnel or equipment are taking part in the campaign.
Last week, defense industry news outlet The War Zone published photos of a KC-135 Stratotanker transiting through a British airbase. In the pictures, made by photographer Andrew McKelvey, the rear bottom of the fuselage and wing stabilizers are “peppered with temporary shrapnel damage repairs‚“ according to The War Zone’s article. The plane also appears to be missing its refueling boom, the proboscis extending from under the tail to pump off fuel to other aircraft.
In the photographs, the Stratotanker’s tail number is visible, identifying the refueling plane as belonging to the Alaska Air National Guard’s 168th Wing, based at Eielson Air Force Base outside of Fairbanks. The wing’s mission includes aerial refueling. That’s the tactic of large planes unloading vast quantities of fuel to aircraft, ranging from fighter jets to rescue helicopters, in midair.
Pictures from a different photographer published last week by another blog, The Aviationist, show the same plane. The tail includes the letters “AK” painted above a white polar bear.
In addition to the photographs, the reporting from The War Zone is based on publicly available flight data and social media posts scraped from a variety of sources.
According to information from Flight Radar 24, the Stratotanker left Eielson on March 5, just days after the U.S. and Israeli militaries began bombing Iranian targets on Feb. 28. Through March, according to public flight records, the plane was based at Ben Gurion Airport southeast of Tel Aviv, where, according to The War Zone, dozens of American refueling aircraft were staged as part of Operation Epic Fury.
There are no public flight records connected to the Stratotanker through April and most of May, until it appeared to fly through England on the way to the United States at the end of last month.
It is not clear how many Alaska Air National Guard planes, personnel or units are currently deployed in connection to the war effort against Iran.
A spokesperson for the Alaska National Guard referred all questions about Operation Epic Fury to the U.S. Central Command.
A spokesperson for CENTCOM, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, declined to answer questions on the record or provide any specific information about Alaska National Guard units deployed as part of ongoing military operations, citing the need to protect service members and operational security.
The Alaska National Guard has posted no informational releases or pictures connected to an overseas deployment during the last few months.
Much of Operation Epic Fury has been waged by military aircraft, and aerial refueling is critical to keeping planes supplied during long flights. A May 12 report from the Congressional Research Service composed of public damage reports to U.S. military aircraft noted that among the 42 records of damage or losses were seven KC-135 Stratotankers, though the findings were published before photos emerged of the Alaska-based plane. The report noted that the Defense Department “has not published a comprehensive assessment of combat losses” from Operation Epic Fury.
The tail number is associated with a Stratotanker manufactured in 1964, the year before Boeing ceased making them. All of the nearly 400 KC-135s currently in operation within the American military date back to that era of the Cold War.
The aircraft has the word “Tetlin” painted on the top of its tail. The name is an homage to the Interior Alaska village, one of several selected to honor longstanding bonds between military aviators and Alaska Native communities, according to photographs of a dedication ceremony posted by the Alaska National Guard last summer.
The 168th Wing currently has 12 Stratotankers attached to the unit. That number bumped up in April after a long campaign by Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan to allocate more tankers to the state’s portfolio given its vast geography and high number of advanced fighter jets.
- Alaska Airlines is opening its newest Lounge at Portland International Airport, featuring thoughtfully designed spaces with twice the square footage and seating of the current space
- The new Lounge reflects the airline’s appreciation for its loyal guests and comes as Alaska continues to expand its service in Portland, offering more flights and more options for guests
- The investment to modernize the Portland Lounge is part of Alaska’s growing portfolio to elevate its global guest experience and expand its Lounge footprint, including new spaces in Seattle, San Diego and Honolulu
PORTLAND, Ore., June 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Alaska Airlines is set to welcome guests to its newest Lounge at Portland International Airport (PDX) when it officially opens on June 4, underscoring its continued investment in premium travel and one of the carrier’s key West Coast hubs.
After more than two years of construction, the approximately 14,000-square-foot Lounge will welcome guests with a warm, thoughtfully designed Pacific Northwest aesthetic, featuring an inviting fireplace and a striking wooden Mt. Hood mural by artist Ben Butler. At twice the size of the current Portland Lounge, it offers more than 230 seats, including Alaska’s Signature Loungers, along with high, open ceilings that bring in natural light and views of PDX’s new terminal. Guests can relax, enjoy fresh, regionally inspired food, sip barista-crafted beverages or cocktails from West Coast partners, or take advantage of ample power plugs and privacy booths for calls and meetings.
“Portland guests have chosen Alaska for years and played an important role in our growth in the Pacific Northwest,” said Shane Jones, senior vice president of fleet, products and guest experience. “This new Lounge is our way of thanking them and a reflection of our growing portfolio of premium guest experiences. We look forward to opening our doors this week and welcoming guests with the signature hospitality and thoughtful touches Alaska is known for.”
Alaska is the largest carrier serving Portland, operating more flights than any other airline, including more than 100 daily departures. Portland is a critical hub in Alaska and Hawaiian’s network with expanding service to over 60 destinations across North America and beyond. This summer, Alaska will launch year-round service to Everett/Paine Field and Pasco–Tri-Cities, along with seasonal service to Jackson Hole. Last month, new service began to Baltimore, Bellingham, Idaho Falls, Philadelphia and St. Louis. By this fall, Alaska will offer 50% more seats in Portland than just two years ago, reflecting strong demand for travel and the airline’s continued investment in the market.
“Our strong partnership with Alaska has helped to elevate the new PDX as a world-class destination that showcases the Pacific Northwest and makes everyone feel at home,” said Chris Czarnecki, PDX business and properties director. “We’re thrilled their new PDX Lounge is here for the long-haul, offering travelers a stunning spot to relax, recharge, and experience a taste of our region.”
The nearly $18 million investment in the Portland Lounge is part of Alaska’s growing Lounge footprint and broader commitment to enhancing the guest experience as it expands globally. Building on this investment, Alaska just announced its plans to open a landmark, more than 41,000-square-foot Lounge in 2027. The Lounge, which will be located in Seattle – home to the airline’s main hub – will be the largest in its network and among the largest airline lounges in the country. The airline is also designing its first Lounge in San Diego along with a new, expanded Lounge in Honolulu, both slated for early 2028.
Alaska Airlines Lounge members can access eight premium Lounges across the Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines network, including its largest Lounge in Seattle and additional locations at its hubs in Anchorage, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Alaska Lounge+ membership unlocks access to all Alaska Lounges, plus nearly 90 partner Lounges worldwide, including select oneworld and partner Lounges. To learn more or sign up to become an Alaska Lounge member, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is Alaska Airlines opening at Portland International Airport?
A: Alaska Airlines is opening a newly redesigned Lounge at Portland International Airport (PDX) on June 4, 2026, offering a larger, more modern space with premium amenities, regional food and beverage options, and enhanced comfort for guests.
How big is the new Alaska Lounge in Portland?
A: The new Lounge is approximately 14,000 square feet—about twice the size of the previous Portland Lounge—and features more than 230 seats.
What amenities are available in the new Alaska Lounge at PDX?
A: Guests can enjoy:
- Barista-crafted coffee and specialty beverages
- West Coast-inspired cocktails
- Fresh, locally inspired food
- Signature Lounge seating and private booths
- Ample power outlets and workspaces
- Relaxation areas with premium finishes
Who can access Alaska Airlines Lounges?
A: Access is available to:
- Alaska Lounge members
- Alaska Lounge+ members
- Eligible First Class guests
- Eligible oneworld and partner airline passengers
What is the difference between Alaska Lounge and Lounge+ membership?
A: Alaska Lounge+ membership includes access to all Alaska Lounges plus nearly 90 partner Lounges worldwide, while standard Alaska Lounge membership provides access to all eight Alaska-operated Lounges.
Why is Portland important to Alaska Airlines?
A: Portland is one of Alaska Airlines’ key West Coast hubs, with more than 100 daily departures and nonstop service to over 60 destinations across North America. By this fall, Alaska will offer 50% more seats in Portland than just two years ago, reflecting strong demand for travel and the airline’s continued investment in the market.
How is Alaska Airlines expanding its Lounge network?
A: Alaska Airlines is investing in multiple new and expanded Lounges, including:
- A 41,000+ square feet landmark Lounge in Seattle opening in 2027
- A new Lounge in San Diego
- An expanded Lounge in Honolulu
How much did Alaska Airlines invest in the new Portland Lounge?
A: Alaska Airlines invested nearly $18 million in the new Portland Lounge as part of its broader investment in premium travel as the airline continues to grow globally.
About Alaska, Hawaiian and Horizon
Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, and McGee Air Services is a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines. We are a global airline with hubs in Seattle, Honolulu, Portland, Anchorage, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. We deliver remarkable care as we fly our guests to more than 140 destinations throughout North America, Latin America, Asia, the Pacific and Europe. Guests can book travel at alaskaair.com and hawaiianairlines.com. Alaska and Hawaiian are members of the oneworld alliance. Members of our Atmos Rewards loyalty program can earn and redeem points with oneworld airlines and our additional global partners that serve over 1,000 worldwide destinations. Learn more about what’s happening at Alaska and Hawaiian at news.alaskaair.com. Alaska Air Group is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as “ALK.”
SOURCE Alaska Airlines
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