Page 6 - Donlin Spring 2020 Newsletter Digital

Ice road team sharing a meal (left), following the road clearing work between Chuathbaluk and Napaimute (right).
FROM RIVER TO ICE HIGHWAY
By Rebecca Wilmarth & Samantha Angaiak
For villages along the Kuskokwim River, access to critical services like medical care, food and supplies is often determined by the weather for air travel. In the winter, the Kuskokwim River ice road has served as a highway, connecting villages mostly in the lower sections of the river for many years. This year, Donlin Gold supported efforts to extend the ice road to provide an invaluable lifeline to communities all the way to Sleetmute for the first time.
The Native Village of Napaimute took the lead on the project; Mark Leary and his crew, a half-dozen people from local villages, have been in the ice road business for more than 60 years combined in the middle and lower river. Their equipment consists of a plow truck dubbed “Tumlista,” which in Yup’ik means “the one who breaks trail;” a grader; a dozer when necessary; and a handful of support pick-up trucks that carry their fuel, tools and a high-tech piece of ice radar equipment that automatically pings the depth of the ice to a computer installed in the truck.
Crooked Creek Traditional Council’s Tribal Transportation Director Tim Zaukar has been gaining experience in ice road work over the last few years. He and his crew began putting in the road below Crooked Creek as soon as the conditions were safe. As the Napaimute team made their way upriver
they joined forces with Tim’s crew, which provided an additional grader and support truck. Additional
resources were utilized to open the road to Red Devil and Sleetmute. As the crew grew and made their way upriver, they were warmly welcomed by locals who provided food, lodging and logistical support. Mark Leary said it’s a project he hopes will continue into the future if conditions and funding allow for it.
“People know me as a strong advocate for the Kuskokwim ice road because the social and economic benefit to the region is so huge, so I never get tired of talking about it,” Leary said.
Leary said Tim Zaukar and his team from Crooked Creek have been maintaining the area from Sleetmute to Chuathbaluk since the initial road was plowed.
“You know, we worked hard to put it in but keeping it open is another obstacle that we need to overcome,” Zaukar said. “We would like to keep our guys busy working on keeping it open; we need our lower river people to help keep it open and even our upper
river people.”
“Ultimately, this is because of the support Donlin was willing to put behind it. Otherwise it never would have happened,” Leary said.
Upon the crews’ arrival, the community of Sleetmute hosted a potluck of appreciation with food provided
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Photos by Mark Leary