Rural Alaska

For one eroding village in Alaska, a new home awaits

This is the third year of the effort to move the Village of Newtok to higher ground at a new site, called Mertarvik. One of the crews that has been in and out of Bethel this summer for the project is a group of army reservists who are tasked with getting essential equipment to the new village.

The Malvern Hill and it crew of 15 army reservists sailed from Tacoma May 24 to Port Heuneme, Ca., to load up with heavy equipment - such as bulldozers, fuel tankers and dump trucks, all of which are essential to the construction of the new village, and all of which must be taken away at the end of the season.

The Yup'ik villagers of Newtok is quickly eroding away into the Ninglick River. The Army Corps of Engineers estimates Newtok has less than 10 years left before the land has eroded as the river changes its course. The village is also vulnerable to storm surges and tsunami.

The Newtok Tribal Council decided to move the village to a new location on Nelson Island about nine miles away, setting in motion a five-year project with an estimated cost of $80 million, which will result in the relocation of 350 villagers from Newtok.

Groups working on the project this year include the State of Alaska, United States Navy Reserve, United States Marine Corps Reserve, Alaska Army National Guard, and United States Army Reserve.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Brett Radford is the Marine Deck Officer of the Army Reserve crew - basically, the officer in charge of getting the boat to and from Mertarvik. He said it will be some of the Army reservists second year on the project, and a few have been on it since the beginning.

While they are all getting paid for the work, the assignment is over-and-above the one weekend a month, two weekends a year usually demanded of members in the Army Reserve.

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The men who make up the Malvern Hill's crew come from many different backgrounds - from construction and plumbing, to bartending and even a movie theater attendant. Radford himself is a pilot by trade, and normally his reserve career involves working in an Pentagon office under the Chief of the Army Reserve.

The crew has completed two trips from Bethel to Mertarvik so far. After loading up the boat they sail about two days, offload in Mertarvik, turn around and repeat until the end of the construction season.

"It's a lot of work followed by a little bit of sleep followed by a lot of work," Radford said.

Radford said the very thing that started the project has turned out to be the biggest challenge to completing it - the Ninglick River itself.

Maps of the river are decades old and the river has long since changed its course, which makes navigation tricky.

"The locals who run the river here all the time, it's probably ordinary for them. But for someone starting doing this - I didn't understand how it works, and with the tide and everything," Radford. "Last year the way I looked at it, if I didn't run aground more than twice the way up the river it was a good thing."

Radford said a highlight of the trip has been the warm welcome that Bethel has offered the servicemen. He said the VFW Post 10041, and Buck Bukowski in particular, have gone out of their way to help the soldiers feel comfortable - from opening the VFW Hall at all hours, providing internet access so the men can get in touch with their families, to showing movies and getting snacks and pizzas.

"I know Buck takes a lot out his own pocket I know, so it's just incredible," Radford said. "The VFW and Buck (Bukowski) for last three years have really gone all out all to take care of the soldiers out here."

This story is posted with permission from Alaska Newspapers Inc., which publishes six weekly community newspapers, a statewide shopper, a statewide magazine and slate of special publications that supplement its products year-round.

Victoria Barber

Victoria Barber was formerly the features editor at the Anchorage Daily News and is an occasional contributor.

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