Tash Kimmell, KCAW - Sitka

Tash Kimmell, KCAW - Sitka
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A cream-colored worm with a pink head.

Southeast Alaska’s budworm infestation is still going, and they seem to be moving on to spruce trees

According to the Forest Service, this is the first large scale outbreak Southeast has seen since the mid 90s.
a cat fishes a blueberry out of a mug

In Sitka, more cats than you’d expect have more toes than you’d expect

Cats with polydactylism are born with extra digits. In Alice’s case, that means six toes on each front paw, for a total of 20 toes. Most cats have 18.
A man squats next to a border collie-looking dog on a beach

In far out Yakutat, surfers say community is key

There are few places in the world where world-class waves meet unobstructed views of a temperate rainforest. But that’s just a small part of what makes surfing in Yakutat so special.
Snow piled up at the entrance of a building.

Yakutat declares disaster emergency, citing an imminent threat of roofs collapsing

Borough Manager Jon Erickson said Yakutat has gotten about 6 feet of snow over the past few weeks, causing intermittent power outages, damage to buildings and school closures.
A person empties blue mussel meat into a blender.

Sitka Tribe’s shellfish lab honored for safeguarding traditional foods

For millennia, people in Southeast Alaska have relied on the sea for sustenance. But what happens when traditional foods could be deadly? That question was behind the founding of Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Environmental Research Lab in 2016. The lab tests shellfish from 17 Southeast communities as well as tribes on Kodiak Island.
A man and woman stand on a boat in a harbor.

Meet Mary Jo Lord-Wild, Elfin Cove’s volunteer weather observer for nearly 50 years

It was 1971 when Mary Jo Lord-Wild stopped off in the small Southeast Alaska community of Elfin Cove to visit a friend.

In the time of COVID, Sitka’s ‘bread guy’ is building community one loaf at a time

For Southeast Dough Company’s Jylkka, baking bread is not just an occupation but a way of connecting, especially in an age when human connection has never been more tenuous.
A cream-colored worm with a pink head.

Warmer summers fuel western black-headed budworm infestation in Southeast

After nearly 30 years in relative dormancy, the western black-headed budworm population is exploding in Southeast Alaska, leaving swaths of browning hemlock in its path.