Dave Bendinger, KDLG - Dillingham
House science committee grills McLerran on EPA’s effort to block Pebble
EPA Region 10 Administrator Dennis McLerran testified in front of a House oversight committee Thursday. It was McLerran who decided to move forward with a Clean Water Act 404c determination in the Bristol Bay watershed, following an ecological risk assessment done by EPA. The House committee has been investigating whether or not that was fair to Pebble Mine and proper for EPA. Download Audio
Togiak herring season starts out rough
The Togiak herring fishery is having a tough season. First the herring showed up and started spawning earlier than ever before, then the winds and weather proved uncooperative. KDLG's Dave Bendinger has more on the ongoing effort to harvest roughly 29,000 tons in the state's largest herring fishery: Download Audio
Bristol Bay Native Corporation plans to acquire Katmailand
The Bristol Bay Native Corporation announced plans to acquire Katmailand, Inc., a long running sport fishing and bear viewing operation in and around Katmai National Park. Download Audio
Togiak herring fishery opens on earliest date on record
The Togiak herring fishery opened Sunday, the earliest date on record. The herring showed up unexpectedly last week and have already begun to spawn all over Bristol Bay's northern coast. As KDLG's Dave Bendinger reports, Fish and Game, processors, and the fleet got caught flatfooted and are hustling out to try and make a season. Download Audio
Togiak tribe banishes Dillingham man for 10 years
Citing "known fact" of 26-year-old's importation of drugs and alcohol, tribal president Jimmy Coopchiak said unnamed man is "no longer welcome in this community." Download Audio
Retired EPA ecologist Phil North speaks out
Retired EPA ecologist Phil North resurfaced in the US last month for deposition in a lawsuit filed by the Pebble Mine. Pebble alleges EPA broke Federal Advisory Committee Act rules when it developed the Bristol Bay watershed assessment, and says North was at the center of the effort. But whether Pebble found a silver bullet with EPA's once 'missing man' remains to be seen Download Audio
Ex-EPA official Phil North returns to U.S. for lawsuit between EPA and Pebble
Former EPA official Phil North returned to the United States and is cooperating with a deposition in a lawsuit between the Pebble Partnership and the Environmental Protection Agency. KDLG's Dave Bendinger has more: Download Audio
Protection of bodies of water to be delegated by Legislature
The state legislature may soon take a clear line of authority over designating Tier 3 or Outstanding Natural Resources Waters in Alaska, which is the highest level of protection for bodies of waters in the US. [Both the Koktuli and the Bristol Bay Watershed as a whole have been nominated in the past.] Governor Bill Walker says the consequences Tier 3 status are too far-reaching for a state agency to have control over. KDLG's Dave Bendinger has more. Download Audio
Murkowski, Jewell joust over King Cove road
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski chairs the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Tuesday, she used that platform to grill Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on a number of issues in – or not in – the president’s budget, including the King Cove road.
Download Audio
Aleknagik man in custody for stabbing wife
An Aleknagik man is in custody this hour [today] on attempted murder and assault charges. Troopers say 51 year old Robin Chythlook stabbed his wife multiple times and pointed a hunting rifle at the unarmed Village Public Safety Officer Tuesday evening. Download Audio
Governor puts funding for Dillingham DA office back in his budget
Governor Bill Walker announced his intentions Tuesday to keep the Dillingham District Attorney’s office open. Walker’s amended operating budget restores the $340,000 of funding the Department of Law had originally proposed cutting in the December version of the budget.
Assault at Wildwood Correctional Center leaves Dillingham man hospitalized
A fight between inmates at the Wildwood Correctional Facility in Kenai has left a Dillingham man hospitalized in Anchorage. KDLG News has learned that Vaughn Clark, who was sentenced last December to four years in jail on drug dealing charges, was one of two involved and was medevaced with serious injuries Tuesday night.
3 Togiak men die in boating accident after successful hunt
Families were gathered to mourn Sunday in Togiak after the bodies of three men lost in a boating accident had been recovered from beaches near the village. Download Audio
Kokhanok Boy, 5, dies in accidental shooting
State troopers now say that a 5-year-old Kokhanok boy was accidentally shot Saturday by an 11 year old boy who had gotten hold of a .22 caliber rifle. The two were apparently in the same home playing video games at the time.
Troopers investigating accidental shooting death of 5-year-old
State troopers have concluded an on scene investigation but still have not released details as to what led to a young boy's shooting death in Kokhanok over the weekend. Kokhanok is a village of about 160 people on the south shore of Iliamna Lake.
Confidential Informant heroin buy leads to another Dillingham arrest
Police allege that Chelsea Sam, 22, sold a dose of black tar heroin to a confidential informant three days before Christmas. At her arraignment on a felony charge of second degree misconduct involving a controlled substance Thursday, Chief Dan Pasquariello was asked to testify about the substance police recovered.
Report: EPA fair in regulating Pebble
A report released Wednesday by the EPA's Inspector General found the agency's work in Bristol Bay regulating the development of proposed mines like Pebble has been unbiased and done without a predetermined outcome.
Download Audio
Dillingham drug bust nets $19K cash, 12.5g heroin
The Dillingham Police Department seized 12.5 grams of heroin and $19,000 cash in a drug bust in the Nerka subdivision Saturday night. The alleged dealer is Joshua G. Rivera, 37, from Anchorage, who is being held on two felony charges and $50,000 bail.
Download Audio
Colorado guide charged with game waste violations
Following more than a yearlong investigation, state wildlife troopers have charged a Colorado man with eight counts of "unlawful acts while acting as a big game guide" in Alaska, specifically in GMU 19. That hunting area stretches from Kalskag, past McGrath, to the border of Denali National Park and Preserve.
Download Audio
Law Dept. insists Fairbanks Four not ‘exonerated’
The state's Department of Law maintains the Fairbanks Four were not exonerated in the settlement, or completely cleared of blame.
Download Audio