Johanna Eurich, KYUK - Anchorage
Johanna Eurich is a contributor for the Alaska Public Radio Network.
Funding for opioid overdose kits offers “hope” for Alaska’s drug epidemic
The state government is gearing up for a major battle against the opioid epidemic sweeping through Alaska. Listen now
Proposed Donlin Gold mine runs afoul of the Iditarod dog mushing community
The historic Iditarod Trail took center stage during a meeting held by the Army Corps of Engineers Tuesday on the proposed Donlin Gold mine. The route has been changed, but not far enough to suit some longtime mushers. Listen Now
Teacher turnover affecting rural schools
The Yupiit School District is possibly the smallest in Alaska. It is operated by residents and serves around 660 students living in three Yupik villages in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta -- Akiachak, Akiak and Tuluksak. One of the challenges the district is teacher turnover.
Educators debate responses to challenges facing rural schools
Many if not most of Alaska's rural schools are not working. Low student performance and high teacher turnover are just two of more obvious indicators of problems in these mostly Native school districts. Those working in the schools say it's time for radical changes.
Indigenous communities in Russia say retreating sea ice pushes walruses away
As Arctic sea ice has retreated north during the last decade, walruses have adapted by changing their haul-outs to take advantage of better resources and food. That's good for the walruses... but it's a problem for some Russian indigenous communities on the Chokotkan coast. Download Audio
Scientists say murre die-off comparable to Exxon Valdez spill
The number of dead common murres showing up on Alaska’s beaches is growing, and the scale of the die-off is now on par with the grounding of the 1989 Exxon Valdez in Price William Sound when 22,000 birds were collected.
Download Audio
New arrivals in Kotzebue Sound preying on belugas
Kotzebue Sound is changing and beluga hunters are facing new competition: killer whales.
Download Audio
Alaska holding out against emission-cutting policies
The Arctic is on the front lines of climate change. Alaska is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet. A group called Alaska Common Ground hosted an all-day forum in Anchorage over the weekend to answer the question, "What are we doing about it?"
Download Audio
Honey Buckets Here For The Long Haul
Governor Tony Knowles wanted to put honey buckets into a museum. 20 years later, experts meeting in Anchorage recently heard that they're not going anywhere soon.
Download Audio
AK: Farming
The dream of homesteading and living off the land is part of the Alaskan mystique. Few succeed. The couple who owns Chugach Farm, have made it work on only one acre in the middle of the woods in Chickaloon.
Download Audio
AK: Plastics
Some say that after climate warming, plastic is the biggest environmental problem we face. And unlike climate warming, no one argues over who is responsible for the plastic in our oceans – we are. After researching and reporting on it, Johanna Eurich wanted to do her part to reduce plastic trash. The task is daunting. She started at home, in her tiny log cabin in Spenard.
Download Audio
Group Uses National Water Dance To Raise Compassion
A small group of people gathered Saturday in Anchorage to use art to make change. The National Water Dance was an effort to use the art of human movement to generate compassion for the nation’s streams, lakes and oceans.
Download Audio
Museum Exhibit Opens Highlighting Marine Debris Problem
Marine Debris used to be mostly nets, buoys and fishing gear but now it includes plastic bottles, bottle caps, and styrophone. It's everywhere, there's nowhere to put it and more is coming every day. Johanna Eurich reports on a new museum exhibit highlighting the problem.
Listen Now
Board of Fish Discussing Cook Inlet Salmon Issues
This week the board of fish is dealing with the contentious battles over Cook Inlet salmon. In both the Kenai and the Mat-Su Boroughs many are fighting over fish that are disappearing.
Download Audio
High Tech Trackers Gather Info On Cook Inlet Kings, Reds
The Alaska Board of Fish will begin deliberations on the Cook Inlet fisheries in Anchorage next week. One of the more difficult issues before the board is the declining King salmon runs and demands by sports fishing interests to shut down the commercial catch of reds to let every precious king into the Kenai River system.
Download Audio
Domesticated Salmon Research Topic Of Discussion At Boston Meeting
Imagine a domesticated salmon raised on land and eating plants. Depending on your point of view, it’s a nightmare or a dream on the edge of becoming true.
Subsistence Rights Top Concerns At UN Hearings
The Women’s Symposium coincided with a visit to Alaska by a UN official who held hearings in Anchorage and Chickaloon this weekend to assess the human rights of Alaska Natives. This is the first time the UN is formally investigating the U.S. treatment of Alaska Natives. The right to subsistence resources topped the list of concerns.
Mt. Edgecumbe Students Present Bowhead Whale Findings
A Mount Edgecumbe High School science student from Kotzebue presented new findings on bowhead whales Tuesday at the Marine Science Symposium.
Head of Alaska Coast Guard Tours the Arctic
The retreating ice has increased traffic in the Arctic Ocean raising the need for the Coast Guard to look at improving its oversight and rescue capabilities in the region.
Tuesday, Admiral Tom Osteobo, head of Alaska’s Coast Guard operations, headed north on a C-130 with media in tow, to take a look around.