Environment

a group of students standing around an EV engine

New study aims to fill in the data gaps on EV use in rural Alaska

The study doesn’t promote EVs, but aims to better understand their usage in rural Alaska and clarify misconceptions about them.

Glass recycling coming to Mat-Su next year

Glass will be accepted at the region's recycling center near Palmer.
a dig site

15 years in, the success of community-based archaeology in Quinhagak is bittersweet

The Nunalleq excavation's lead archaeologist calls it a stark reminder that many precontact Yup’ik sites may soon be lost forever.
sockeye salmon

Kenai gets nearly $80K in fishery disaster funds from feds

Most of the money is coming from the east side setnet fishery’s 2018 season and the 2020 Upper Cook Inlet salmon fishery season.
a graph

Scientists monitor series of earthquakes in western Aleutians

Scientists at the Alaska Earthquake Center are monitoring an unusually high number of moderate earthquakes near Adak Island.
a river

Biden administration includes restrictions in Arctic refuge oil lease sale

In its decision, the BLM limited the lease sales to 400,000 acres, which is one-quarter of the coastal plain section of the refuge.
tundra

Arctic tundra now emits planet-warming pollution, federal report finds

Arctic tundra is releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as hotter temperatures melt frozen ground and wildfires increase.
Karluk Spit

Kodiak-area communities’ workshop troubleshoots coastal erosion

A recent workshop in Kodiak connected some rural communities to resources that could help them adapt to erosion and other issues.
a seafood plant

Settlement requires corrective actions at 2 Alaska plants formerly operated by Peter Pan Seafood

Plants in King Cove and Valdez had longstanding waste violations, and Peter Pan's successors must take compliance measures.
Sitka

Renewed Southeast Alaska wastewater discharge permits require better bacteria controls

The six affected communities have exemptions allowing them to perform only rudimentary "primary" wastewater treatment.
Norton Sound

Record-low Bering Sea ice conditions of 2018 expected to be repeated in coming years

As the Northern Bering Sea ecosystem emerges from extraordinary warmth, a study warns of likely future occurrences.
water

Kiana in Northwest Alaska has been without running water for days

With temperatures falling into the minus-30s, local crews are scrambling to thaw the city’s water system. 
a report

Landslides to late freezes: New report makes sense of changes to Alaska’s environment

Staff were doubled for this year's revision of the original 2019 report, which documents climate change effects statewide.
a plant

How a hydroponic garden at Angoon’s high school is cultivating food sovereignty

The facility is a way for the community to have more control over its food, much of which is barged or flown in.
Newtok

Newtok shuts down its critical infrastructure

On Sunday, local tribal leadership decided to shut down the power and water plants in the tiny Bering Sea coastal community.
an animal resembling a dog

Anchorage’s mysterious Gary was, in fact, a wolf hybrid, Fish and Game says

But the results do not show the degree of hybridization or percentage of wolf DNA.
moose

Less-reliable fall snow makes Alaska moose population surveys more difficult

A study projects early season snow will be too paltry for biologists to spot moose from the air in most of the animals’ Alaska habitat.

What can Anchorage’s beached whale teach us? | Talk of Alaska

A dead fin whale that washed up near Anchorage is bringing hundreds of spectators to the beach. What can biologists learn from analyzing this fin whale?
a seafood plant

Alaska seafood processing workers made more money in 2023, but there were fewer of them

The processing employment data, which also shows a higher percentage of nonresident hire, points to difficulties with worker shortages.
a landslide

President Biden approves disaster declaration for Ketchikan landslides

The major disaster declaration opens up FEMA funding to help pay for the cleanup and repair costs to the city of Ketchikan.

As hundreds flock to see dead Anchorage whale, scientists try to learn more about how it lived

Scientists are studying samples of the whale, from its blubber to its baleen.
a river

Kuskokwim River aerial survey finds massive holes, widespread thin ice

Significant hazards on the river led Bethel Search and Rescue to make the theme of its 2024 annual aerial survey “Danger Close.”
a road

Homer Spit damage from high seas declared local emergency

A full moon pushed tides to over 22 feet starting Friday, which continued to build with each tide.
a road

‘Enough is enough’: King Cove officials hail Biden Administration backing for Izembek road

While residents call the road a matter of life and death, environmental advocates say it could threaten vital wildlife habitat.
researchers

Scientists hope to learn about alien intelligence from Frederick Sound humpback whales

SETI researchers camped at a remote Southeast Alaska lighthouse last summer to investigate humpback whale communication.

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