Emily Schwing, special to Alaska Public Media
Yukon Quest Officials Consider Alternate Route
Open water on both the Yukon and Tahkini Rivers in Canada has Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race Officials considering alternative routing for this year’s race, which starts in Whitehorse, Yukon and finishes 1000 miles later in Fairbanks.
Allen Moore Wins Copper Basin 300
Two Rivers musher Allen Moore has won the Copper Basin 300 for the third year in a row. This is Moore’s sixth overall win in the mid-distance sled dog race.
Omnibus Spending Bill Increases Money for Wildfire Management
The $1-trillion dollar spending plan passed by Congress last weekend and signed by President Obama this week includes money for wildfire mitigation and management and that budget is up from years prior.
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Governor Cuts Funding for Mining Road Project That is Subject of 2-Day Meeting in Fairbanks
Tribal leaders and stakeholders representing communities that could be impacted by a proposed 220-mile industrial road gathered in Fairbanks to discuss cultural, environmental and social impacts of the road’s potential construction. The meeting is happening at time when the state is facing difficult budget decisions that could hamper the project.
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NIH Awards UAF $23.8 Million For New Diversity Program in Biomedical Research
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has received a $23.8 million award from the National Institutes of Health for a new ‘Biomedical Learning and Student Training program,’ or BLAST. The new undergraduate program is part of a national effort by NIH to enhance diversity in the biomedical workforce.
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Public Meetings Begin On Proposed Park Service Sport Hunting Ban
The National Park Service will host 17 public hearings across the state beginning Tuesday, October 21 through November 20th to address the agency’s proposals to prohibit some sport hunting on National Park and Preserve lands.
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After Two Years, Biologist is Still Trying to Count Alaska’s Migratory Shorebirds
Two years ago, one biologist set out to try and count the number of shorebirds that migrate to and from Alaska each summer. The data collected in conjunction with the National Park Service the will help wildlife managers track bird reproduction and survival rates. It may also be useful as off shore oil and gas development moves ahead.
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Fairbanks Air Quality Regulation Now In Local Lawmakers’ Control
Voters in the Fairbanks North Star Borough have rejected a ballot initiative that would have continued a ban on local regulation of area clean air standards.
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Gubernatorial Candidates Spar Over Interior Issues
Two candidates running for Alaska Governor debated during a forum Tuesday in Fairbanks. Sean Parnell defended his administration when Bill Walker questioned what the current governor is doing about the high cost of energy in the Interior.
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Groups Push To Mobilize Alaska Native Voters
Over the last few months, the non-partisan ‘Get Out the Native Vote’ has made a big push to mobilize native voters across the Alaska. Roughly one in five potential voters in the state is Alaska Native. A number of native organizations have signed on to help with the movement.
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Gwitch’in Translators Scramble to Ready Election Materials
According to a U.S. district court order, the Alaska Division of Elections has until October 10th to provide outreach and poll workers in three remote regions of the state with election materials and voting information that has been translated from English into either Yupik or Gwich'in. In Fairbanks, Gwich’in translators are finding the process challenging.
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‘Targeted Hunting’ Permits Considered In Fairbanks Area
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is considering an option to issue “targeted hunting” permits this winter to take moose that frequent roadways in the Fairbanks area.
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Studies Predict Peril for Alaska’s Feathered Migrants
America’s birds are in trouble. That’s according to two reports out earlier this month from the National Audubon Society and the Department of Interior. Both documents suggest climate change could have dire effects for many of the birds that migrate to Alaska each year.
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Arctic Sea Ice Hits Minimum Extent, 6th Lowest On Record
The National Snow and Ice Data Center this week announced Arctic sea ice reached its minimum extent on September 17th. It’s the sixth lowest sea ice extent since scientists began keeping records back in 1979.
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Alaska’s Glaciers Shrinking Faster Than Expected
Alaska’s glaciers are shrinking faster than scientists had thought, but glaciers that terminate in the ocean may be relatively resilient to climate change in comparison to their land-locked counterparts. The data comes from a multi-year airborne survey conducted by NASA.
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Red Fox Expansion Causing Problems On North Slope
As the winter approaches, many animals are migrating south, but there’s one sly creature that scientists say in recent years has started to remain in the high Arctic in the winter. Red foxes have not only expanded their habitat into the far north, the charismatic, bushy tailed mammal is out-competing the native Arctic fox and causing problems at oil field dumpsters in Prudhoe Bay.
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Champion Distance Musher Jeff King Plans a Return to the Yukon Quest
Champion distance musher Jeff King of Denali plans to return to the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race next February. It’s been a quarter century since he’s run that race. In 2015, he’ll face a three-time defending champion, a rule change regarding rest times and mandatory stops and number of young, upcoming mushers.
Fairbanks Schools Secured Following Unrelated Incidents
A handful of Fairbanks schools have been on high security alert in the last two days due to two separate incidents.
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NPS Proposes Permanent Ban on Predator Hunting Practices in Alaska’s Preserves
The National Park Service published a proposal in the national register last week that would permanently prohibit some sport hunting practices in Alaska’s ten national preserves. The Park Service has sparred with the state for years over hunting in National Preserves.
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AK Firefighters Battling California Fires
More than 300 firefighters from across are Alaska are in California battling wildfires for at least the next two weeks. Most of them travelled from Interior Alaska villages for the Alaska Fire Service and the Alaska Division of Forestry. The crews came through Fairbanks before they left for the Lower 48.