Environment

All Alaska news stories about the environment, climate and weather. Could also include topics like animal die-offs related to the environment.

Pribilof scientists work to bring back decimated blue king crab population

The last commercial harvest of Pribilof Island blue king crab was in 1999. Extremely low population numbers have kept that fishery closed. Listen Now

State, Native Corps ask U.S. Supreme Court to enter fray over polar bear habitat

The State of Alaska and a dozen Native organizations have filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to overturn a ruling that designated vast swaths of coastal Alaska as critical habitat for polar bears.

Video: Below ground in the Fairbanks permafrost tunnel

Ancient microbes, unusual ice structures, mammoth bones — there’s a lot happening below the surface in the Fairbanks Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility. The underground laboratory, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, is kept at a constant 27 degrees Fahrenheit.

Glacial fjords home to surprise coral, but maybe not for long

Most people wouldn't expect coral to thrive in Southeast Alaska. But it exists in the silty waters of glacial fjords. Now scientists are wondering if the coral, which serves as important fish habitat, could be in danger from an invisible threat — ocean acidification. Listen Now

Court ruling keeps bearded seals on Endangered Species List

An appeals court today upheld a federal decision to list a species of ice seals as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Listen Now

As objection hearings wrap, countdown to new Tongass plan

The U.S. Forest Service wrapped up objection hearings Wednesday on a plan that could shape the future of timber in the Tongass National Forest. Listen Now

Video: Whale skeleton takes flight in Anchorage

Researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks were at Kincaid Beach in Anchorage to finish recovering the skeleton of the humpback whale that washed up there in July. Listen Now

New Southeast atlas identifies valuable habitat and threats

Audubon Alaska recently released an atlas showing where the most valuable salmon streams and bird habitat are located in Southeast. It also identifies the biggest threats to those areas. Listen Now

Fairbanks advocates file another lawsuit against EPA over air quality

Fairbanks area air quality advocates have filed another lawsuit aimed at forcing the Environmental Protection Agency to adhere to Clean Air Act deadlines. Listen Now
boats in a harbor on a sunny day

Southeast weather: exceedingly beautiful and very unusual

The weather has been beautiful in Southeast Alaska for two weeks straight. That is very unusual. September and October are normally the rainiest months in the region. Listen Now

One last chance to protest at the end of an era for the Tongass

The federal government is getting close to finalizing a plan that could shape the future of timber in the Tongass National Forest. Various stakeholders have given input through the years. But if the objection letters are any indication, several agencies and groups are still not content — for different reasons. Listen Now

Ask a Climatologist: Long temperature streak ends

For the first time since February, the statewide temperature index for Alaska dipped below normal earlier this week. Sunday and Monday were both slightly below normal, interrupting a 218 day stretch of above normal temperatures. Listen Now

New satellite-based technology aims to crack down on illegal fishing

Commercial fishing in Alaska is a multi-billion dollar industry. But every year, billions of dollars are lost to illegal fishing around the world. A new satellite-based surveillance system makes it easier to track illegal fishing. But some fishermen aren’t ready for Big Brother watching their every move. Listen Now
Chum salmon in water

Court sides with UCIDA on Cook Inlet Salmon management

A federal appeals court has sided with United Cook Inlet Drifters Association [UCIDA] in a lawsuit seeking to return Cook Inlet salmon management to federal fisheries control.

Arctic Sea ice at second lowest level on record

Arctic Sea ice retreated to its second lowest level on record this summer. Scientists announced today the ice likely reached it s lowest extent on September 10th. The Arctic Ocean ended the summer season with 1.6 million square miles of ice, tying 2007 for the second lowest amount. Listen now

Save those cans, aluminum recycling returning to Bethel

Hold onto those aluminum cans. Recycling is returning to Bethel, and ONC’s Environmental Coordinator Mary Matthias is leading the way. Listen now

Alaska prepares for vessel disasters

Thousands of vessels every year move through Alaska's waters. If something goes awry, their cargo and fuel could end up in the ocean. Cleanup efforts for past groundings near Unalaska have proven difficult and costly.
The view from Point Hope, early winter 2015. (Photo by Ellen Chenoweth/University of Alaska Fairbanks)

Oil and subsistence in the warming Arctic: A conversation with Tom Kizzia

In the most recent issue of The New Yorker, Alaska writer and longtime former ADN reporter Tom Kizzia looks back at the debate over offshore drilling in North Slope communities. Kizzia visited Point Hope to report on how climate change is affecting the region’s twin pillars: oil development and subsistence hunting.

Alaskans protest North Dakota pipeline by paddling in solidarity

Members of the One People Canoe Society from Juneau paddled in unison today down the Missouri River in North Dakota. The trip is a show of solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux who are protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline Project. A federal court is expected to rule on whether pipeline construction goes forward tomorrow.

Gone glacier: fashion magazine depicts Mendenhall melt too soon

The magazine Marie Claire sent a team of journalists and fashionistas to the Mendenhall Glacier in the summer. The story that appeared in its September issue is called On Thin Ice: Can the Fashion Industry Help Save the Planet? But as first reported in the Juneau Empire, the magazine got a couple of key things wrong. Listen now