Historical Ecology for Risk Management

Applied Research in Environmental Sciences Nonprofit, Inc. (ARIES), the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC), the North Slope Borough of Risk Management, and Cooperative Extension of Ilisgavik College collaborated to plan, develop, and implement a historical ecology model for the North Slope Coastal Region of Alaska. Historical ecology is an applied research program that focuses on interactions of people and their environments. Research applications involve studying and understanding this relationship in both time and space to gain a full picture of all of its accumulated effects. The research program can be applied to understanding changes among community landscapes that can assist strategies for the future. For this proposal, the emphases aligned with the ARIES mission of research, education, and community engagement, the Inupiaq Learning Framework of the North Slope School District, and the eco-heritage indicator of the CRIOS model (Cumulative Regional Integrated Operability Scores).