Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska - Juneau
Jacob Resneck is CoastAlaska's regional news director in Juneau.
Scrubbers are supposed to clean cruise ship emissions. Critics say they pollute the water instead.
For the past several years there’s been a debate between regulators over what to do about “scrubbers," which allowing the shipping industry to burn cheaper, dirtier fuels.
The Roadless Rule is supposed to protect wild places. What went wrong in the Tongass National Forest?
The Tongass has been the heart of the logging industry in Alaska for decades, starting in the 1950s with the arrival of pulp mills.
Alaska Senate bill would expand regulation of ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water
Alaska lawmakers are considering a bill that would expand testing and regulations for PFAS chemicals in drinking water, which has been linked to cancer and other serious health conditions.
Malaspina ferry could get second life as Alaska attraction
“We would be interested in converting the ferry into a floating hotel/restaurant,” said one pitch letter to the state.
Forest Service approves expansion of Juneau-area gold mine
The plan calls for raising the main tailings dam by 36 feet and more than doubling the waste storage capacity in what were once two freshwater lakes.
New oversight board faces hard choices about the Alaska Marine Highway’s future
The new board tasked with revitalizing Alaska’s state-run ferry system met for the first time on Feb. 11.
Navy seeks expanded area for Northern Edge drills in 2023
The U.S. Navy says its warships will need more room to maneuver during next year’s military exercises in the Gulf of Alaska.
64 wolves taken in controversial Prince of Wales harvest
The Alaska Department of Fish & Game reported Wednesday that some 64 wolves were taken during a month-long hunting and trapping season on and around Prince of Wales Island. The most recent population estimate, from fall of 2020, says there’s around 386 wolves in the area.
Government plans to clean up Sitka’s abandoned and contaminated Fort Babcock
Eight decades after the fact, the federal government plans to spend $2.2 million to clean up a contaminated former army site on Kruzof Island near Sitka.
A docking mishap in Ketchikan damages 2 state ferries
One Alaska state ferry collided with another while docking in Ketchikan last Friday, causing some damage but no reported injuries. The collision happened around 4:25 a.m.
State says it’s prepping Tazlina, hiring catamarans to bolster Southeast Alaska’s winter ferry schedule
Alaska Department of Transportation recently signed contracts with at least two vendors to run catamarans to Southeast villages. But officials in coastal communities aren’t sure the passenger-only vessels will be able to meet residents’ immediate needs.
Winter storms stress Hydaburg Dam, imperiling Southeast Alaska city’s water supply
An eight-foot dam on Prince of Wales Island is at risk of failing. Officials said Thursday there’s minimal risk to life and property but a breach could knock out the city of Hydaburg’s water supply.
Indigenous-led conservation and development effort gets $2M boost from foundations
Sealaska announced earlier this year that it’s transitioning away from large-scale logging. The Seacoast Trust is one of the initiatives it says it hopes to expand economic opportunities in Southeast Alaska’s communities.
Dunleavy administration loses lawsuit over Kake subsistence hunt
A federal judge has rejected the Dunleavy administration’s legal challenge to a special rural subsistence hunt for the Southeast community of Kake during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alaska seeks private operators to fill gaps in winter ferry schedule
The state of Alaska is looking to the private sector to offer ferry service between Juneau and four Southeast villages facing months-long gaps this winter from January to March.
Public comment period opens as Biden moves to restore Roadless Rule protections to Tongass
The Biden administration on Tuesday formally began the process of restoring ‘Roadless Rule’ protections to millions of acres of Southeast Alaska’s federal forestlands.
Biden administration begins Roadless Rule do-over for Tongass
The Biden administration is expected to roll out its plan for bringing back the Roadless Rule on Tuesday.
Federal investigators probing ‘loss of control’ in Alaska Seaplanes crash on Juneau runway
Federal investigators have released more information about a commercial passenger plane that crashed at Juneau’s airport during takeoff late October. But they have yet to determine what caused the small passenger aircraft to lose control as it picked up speed on the runway, forcing the pilot to crash land.
Man arrested after reports of an active shooter sent Kake into lockdown
The community of Kake was on lockdown Tuesday morning following reports of an active shooter who began firing a weapon in the early hours of the morning. Now authorities confirm that a suspect, 48-year-old Keith Nelson of Kake, has been arrested and flown off the island.
Rifts widen over Yakutat village corporation’s expanded logging
Recently logging has concerned elected officials in both the city and tribal governments, who have called for a halt to cuts in areas they say are ecologically sensitive and culturally sacred to Yakutat’s inhabitants.