Environment

fishing boats

Alaska’s seafood industry lost $1.8 billion last year, NOAA report says

Glutted seafood markets, low prices, high costs and reduced catches caused pain that swept through Alaska and beyond, the report says.
a river

Juneau leaders propose sandbags, barriers for Mendenhall Valley flood mitigation

The devices are part of phase one in the capital city's plan to counter glacial outburst flooding that has flooded homes.
a landslide

Ketchikan-area landslide strands multiple people along remote road

Sunday's slide came a month and a half after a slide near downtown Ketchikan killed one person and destroyed multiple homes.
a hurricane

Fast-growing Hurricane Milton is officially a Category 5 storm as it nears Florida

Milton grew quickly into a Category 5 storm Monday morning and is forecast to make landfall in Florida midweek.
a refuge

Hilcorp again eyes Interior Alaska for oil exploration

Oil and gas company Hilcorp appears to be moving toward new oil and gas exploration work in Alaska’s Interior.
a natural gas platform in the water

How Alaska regulators ignored a gas conservation scheme

When Anchorage’s big electric utility asked regulators’ permission last year to raise its rates by 5.5%, renewable energy advocates responded with a counterproposal. 
a truck

Salcha man killed in collision with Manh Choh mine ore-hauling truck

Troopers say Temitayo Iyanu Kalejaiye, 43, died at the scene Monday after his sedan turned in front of the truck on the Richardson Highway.
a proposed mine site

Judge finds feds failed to consider full impact of Donlin Gold in environmental analysis

Judge Sharon Gleason found that regulators did violate the law in some aspects of their analysis, but denied some plaintiffs' claims.
salmon in water

Yukon River salmon runs remain low, but glimmers of improvement emerge

The fall run of chum salmon is the third lowest in a record that goes back to the 1970s. But there were some positive signs.
Noatak

Dunleavy declares emergency as erosion threatens Noatak’s drinking water

The erosion that prompted Gov. Mike Dunleavy's action is advancing on the Northwest Alaska community's water lines.

Indigenous filmmakers share community stories of climate change | Alaska Insight

On this episode of Alaska Insight, we speak with two Alaska Native filmmakers documenting the impacts of climate change in their communities.
a trawl vessel

Two Kodiak trawlers caught 2,000 king salmon. Now, a whole fishery is closed.

The incident is sure to draw more scrutiny on the issue of bycatch — the unintended harvest of fish by boats targeting other species.
people on a dock

Magnet fishing catches on with a group of Bethel high school students

What started as a personal hobby for one ANSEP student has turned into a perfect way to give back to the community and have a lot of fun doing it.
a car

EVs are cleaner than gas cars, but a growing share of Americans don’t believe it

Data from Ipsos shows the percentage of Americans who believe EVs are better for the environment than gas cars has dropped 5 points since 2022.
a drone view of a boat

New study warns permafrost thaw along Yukon River could release high levels of mercury

Researchers believe that if permafrost thaw continues at its current rate, it could pose a real threat to many Alaska communities.
water near mountains

Bottled water companies and Anchorage’s water utility engage in feud

The president of one of the companies said the utility’s leaders had taken a “scorched earth, take no prisoners, Sherman’s march to the sea” decision-making approach.

NOAA pilots persevere through September weather for critical algae research in Bering Sea

“The goal is to try to get as much data as we can, and then try to see if we can tell if there is a potential harmful algae bloom happening down there," said project lead Jiaxu Xhang.
a fishing vessel

Marquee Alaska sockeye run was bigger than expected, but the individual fish were small

Bristol Bay’s sockeye salmon have been shrinking over past decades, and this year’s average fish size was the smallest on record.

Old Bureau of Indian Affairs site in Bethel set to begin next phase of hazardous waste cleanup

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the last of the known PCBs and asbestos have been removed, but that residents should avoid the area for now.

$15 million EPA grant for Southeast composting projects latest in local expansion efforts

Tlingit and Haida will use the money to expand composting in Juneau and tribal communities across Southeast Alaska. It’s part of a larger trend of funding for composting in the region.
a destroyed house

String of fatal landslides forces Southeast Alaska to reckon with risk

The string of recent deadly slides is changing the way people look at their surroundings and plan for the future in a changing climate.
tents

Inside Graphite One: A look at Alaska’s largest graphite deposit

During a tour of the project's camp near Nome, officials discussed their plans to extract a key element in making electric vehicles.
tourists

Sitka tourism documentary ‘Cruise Boom’ to debut on PBS

A documentary examining the impact of cruise tourism's explosive growth in Sitka will debut this weekend on national television.
two women stand on the edge of a river bank. the woman in front is holding a very tall green pole with a grey box on top of it

Thawing permafrost is an existential threat for Alaska communities. This nonprofit is trying to help monitor it.

The goal of the project is to put data in the hands of community members, so that they can make crucial decisions about their future.
vehicles

Ketchikan colleagues mourn landslide victim Sean Griffin

The longtime city worker died helping clear storm drains on his day off. Friends say his commitment was central to his character.

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