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Scientists map shifting migration around Alaska mountains, using GPS-equipped eagles

When golden eagles migrate to and from Alaska each year, they have to navigate around the 16,000-foot peaks of the Wrangell Mountains. A new study examines how the weather affects their route.

Science and traditional knowledge converge in North Slope Borough’s bowhead whale program

Scientists have spent the past few decades catching up to traditional knowledge, documenting scientifically what whale hunters already knew. Like the fact that the whales can smell, and that they can travel under sea ice.

An unexpected agency weighs in on offshore Arctic oil drilling: NASA

NASA says a proposed oil lease sale in the Beaufort Sea could impact rocket launches from the Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks.

New federal report: Climate change is going to be expensive in Alaska and impact every household in the state

The latest National Climate Assessment, released today, devotes an entire chapter to Alaska and describes the state as one of the fastest warming places on earth.

As oceans heats up off Northwest Alaska, the fishing does too

The cod population in the Gulf of Alaska is at its lowest level on record. Officials have declared disasters after the failure of multiple Alaska salmon fisheries. But in northern parts of the state, fishermen have been landing huge catches, in numbers that haven’t been seen in decades.

ConocoPhillips executive: more land around Teshekpuk Lake should be available for drilling

His statements come a week after the Trump administration announced it is overhauling the management plan for the 22-million-acre Reserve where Teshekpuk Lake is located, a decision spurred by a series of recent large oil discoveries in the region.

Is there something for everyone in a new vision for Tongass roads?

A citizen advisory committee has released a set of new recommendations that could shape the future of the Tongass National Forest.

Climate change will cost Alaska hundreds of millions per year, report finds

A report from the University of Alaska Anchorage notes some of the biggest climate change-related costs come from damage to infrastructure and communities in rural Alaska as permafrost thaws and coastlines erode.

New legislation improves earthquake preparedness in Alaska

The legislation, which now awaits the president’s signature, could help Alaska implement the latest technology to monitor earthquakes.

Report: Alaska Native communities will face the brunt of climate change

For the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the climate change stakes are especially high because the region is home to the most tribes in the state.

Where’d the website for Walker’s climate change team go?

The Alaska Office of Information Technology is going through the process of updating the state website, which means websites you could access last week may not be available now.
An arch in the snow made from giant whale ribs

Reactions from Utqiaġvik on a whaling quota rule change: ‘We don’t have to beg anymore’

This year, the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission and the U.S. government put forward a new proposal that would change how the International Whaling Commission renews its quota. It passed.

A week after the Anchorage earthquake, city continues to find damaged homes

Anchorage is still coming to grips with the extent of the damage on buildings and homes following the 7.0 earthquake that struck the region on Nov. 30.

Judge dismisses challenges to oil lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska

Environmental groups had argued the federal Bureau of Land Management did not do an adequate environmental review before it held oil lease sales in 2016 and 2017.

ANWR drilling foes see chance to sow doubt

What can opponents of drilling in the Arctic Refuge expect to accomplish with control of just one chamber of Congress? Momentum.

What happens when an oil producer moves into the neighborhood?

Public information about oil and gas exploration on private land comes with a lot of what ifs. Oil and gas wells themselves are permitted internally at the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and the location of wells is only made public after they are approved.

As Alaska warms, the Y-K Delta heats up even faster

Regional temperatures are a big deal because Y-K Delta residents can only travel to other villages by water or by plane. In the past the river usually froze thick enough before December to allow for an ice road, but that hasn’t been the case for the last couple of years.

State and police investigating accident that led to North Slope worker’s death

According to the North Slope Borough chief of police Jeffrey Brown, Shawn Huber died in an accident at the Milne Point facility on Friday, December 7. Huber was 36.

Arctic Report Card: 2018 was the Arctic’s second-warmest year on record

The document looks at seven big categories — the Arctic’s so-called “vital signs.” Those include things like snow cover, the condition of the Greenland ice sheet, and sea ice conditions.
Seen from a distance, an oil rig blips above the horizon in an otherwise flat, snowy landscape.

This winter, a major oil exploration effort is happening in a familiar place: Prudhoe Bay

BP is undertaking a massive effort to get the clearest picture yet of what the Prudhoe Bay oil field looks like. The idea is that, after all these years, there’s more oil at Prudhoe Bay to drill, but it’s in smaller, harder-to-find pockets.