Accumulated state assessment of the Yukon River watershed: Part II quantitative effects‐based analysis integrating western science and traditional ecological knowledge

Abstract

This article is the second in a 2-part series assessing the accumulated state of the transboundary Yukon River (YR) basin in northern Canada and the United States. The determination of accumulated state based on available long-term (LT) discharge and water quality data is the first step in watershed cumulative effect assessment in the absence of sufficient biological monitoring data. Long-term trends in water quantity and quality were determined and a benchmark against which to measure change was defined for 5 major reaches along the YR for nitrate, total and dissolved organic carbon (TOC and DOC, respectively), total phosphate (TP), orthophosphate, pH, and specific conductivity. Deviations from the reference condition were identified as "hot moments" in time, nested within a reach. Significant increasing LT trends in discharge were found on the Canadian portion of the YR. There were significant LT decreases in nitrate, TOC, and TP at the Headwater reach, and significant increases in nitrate and specific conductivity at the Lower reach. Deviations from reference condition were found in all water quality variables but most notably during the ice-free period of the YR (May-Sept) and in the Lower reach. The greatest magnitudes of outliers were found during the spring freshet. This study also incorporated traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into its assessment of accumulated state. In the summer of 2007 the YR Inter Tribal Watershed Council organized a team of people to paddle down the length of the YR as part of a "Healing Journey," where both Western Science and TEK paradigms were used. Water quality data were continuously collected and stories were shared between the team and communities along the YR. Healing Journey data were compared to the LT reference conditions and showed the summer of 2007 was abnormal compared to the LT water quality. This study showed the importance of establishing a reference condition by reach and season for key indicators of water health to measure change, and the importance of placing synoptic surveys into context of LT accumulated state assessments.

Perceptions of the Environment and Health Among Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

“…This traditional knowledge is essential to incorporate into environmental assessments and federal and tribal governmental policymaking, and for use in planning for safer and healthier tribal communities. 5,17,18 This knowledge also provides a broader context for discussions about environmental health risks and culturally appropriate measures to reduce risk, which are necessary to address environmental disparities and improve tribal health. Finally, incorporating traditional knowledge should not only result in improved environmental conditions and sustainable communities, but greater mutual respect between tribal governments and federal and state environmental and public health agencies.…”

“…5,17,18 Traditional knowledge is a collective knowledge system comprised of values and experiences that are unique to individual societies; in the case of communities that have a more subsistent lifestyle, it bonds cultural aspects of health with the social and natural environment. 17,19 It also informs a code of ethics—one of respect and balance—which governs community members' relationship with the environment and behavior within the environment.…”

Accumulated state of the Yukon River watershed: Part I critical review of literature

“…This information is critical to understand the level of existing environmental deterioration. Ideally, this is done quantitatively using regional monitoring data and statistical determinations of change relative to a defined benchmark of “normal” based on natural variation (Dubé et al , , this issue). Regional monitoring databases do not commonly exist but their importance for CEA is being recognized (Main et al ; Wrona et al ).…”

“…Often for assessments of this kind, integration of many different sources of data are required (Squires et al ). In this article, we illustrate the value of conducting a literature review as a qualitative accumulated state assessment to support more quantitative assessments (see Dubé et al , , this issue).…”

A framework for assessing cumulative effects in watersheds: An introduction to Canadian case studies

“…Dubé, Muldoon et al (, this issue) and Dubé, Wilson et al (, this issue) then applied the accumulated state methodology for watershed CEA to the Yukon River basin—the largest free flowing river in the world and the 4th largest drainage basin in North America, draining 855 000 km 2 in Canada and Alaska, US. An extensive literature review identified 7 “hot spot” areas despite the assumption that the Yukon River is a pristine northern river.…”