Environment

a landslide

Therapists talk about their role during Haines’ deadly 2020 landslide

All Haines residents were affected in one way or another by the slide that killed two people three years ago.
the Kodiak Animal Shelter

Kodiak dog tests positive for canine distemper

Kodiak Animal Shelter staff say the dog has been put down, with all other dogs put into quarantine and adoptions temporarily halted.
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Prince of Wales added to state disaster declaration for Wrangell landslide

Under the amendment, Prince of Wales Island residents affected by the Nov. 20 storm that hit Wrangell now qualify for state disaster relief.
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Wrangell search suspended for 12-year-old boy still missing in deadly landslide

Derek Heller was never found after the Nov. 20 slide that killed four other members of his family and 65-year-old Otto Florschutz.
A yellow plug hangs from the front of a black truck

Anchorage offers drivers free cords, timers amid call to plug cars in

Local officials say at 20 degrees or colder, drivers should plug in cars' engine heaters to reduce both carbon monoxide and wear on vehicles.
a landslide

‘We could still hear the hillside cracking’: How Wrangellites helped each other after the landslide

People stuck on the far side of the fatal Nov. 20 slide described a night of confusion and an improvised evacuation.
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Husband of sole Wrangell landslide survivor found dead in search

The Thursday recovery of 65-year-old Otto Florschutz's body brings the Nov. 20 disaster's official death toll to five. Derek Heller, 12, is still missing.
mining vehicles

An Alaska Native tribal council greenlit a gold mine. Some tribal members aren’t happy.

Some in the Native Village of Tetlin claim their leaders broke tribal laws when agreeing to the Manh Choh mine.
Kachemak Bay

Lawsuit decision reinstates jet ski ban in Kachemak Bay

Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman ruled in favor of environmental groups that challenged Fish and Game's authority to repeal the ban.
a landslide

Power restored to homes cut off by last week’s Wrangell landslide

Two people remain missing after the deadly Nov. 20 slide. State officials are taking applications for assistance from people affected by the disaster.
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As climate change raises landslide risk, Southeast communities look for solutions

After a deadly 2015 landslide, Sitka developed a new warning system. Six more communities are developing their own versions.
Japanese knotweed

Alaska experts try to untangle invasive Japanese knotweed

Japanese knotweed can survive being hacked into pieces and thrown into the ocean — and scientists say it has a growing hold in Southeast Alaska.
a landslide

Deadly Wrangell landslide is part of a pattern in vulnerable Alaska mountainous terrain

Scientists say climate change increases precipitation and extreme rainfall, adding to risks, and that more knowledge is needed for public safety.
Wrangell

Conservation group supports formation of new Alaska Native corporations

A leader within The Wilderness Society called the change "a significant step toward correcting injustices against Alaska Native communities."
Steller sea lions

Steller sea lions top list of Alaska marine mammals killed by human activities

According to a federal report, 710 of 819 human-mammal interactions reported from 2017 to 2021 caused the animals' removal from the population.
a woodstove pipe

EPA takes final action on plan to improve Fairbanks-area air quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced final action on a state plan to improve wintertime air quality in Fairbanks and North Pole.
a man with his snowblower

Climate change will deliver more heavy precipitation events to Southcentral. Is Anchorage prepared?

Some neighborhoods waited more than a week to be plowed after recent snowstorms.
a nuclear reactor tower

Army studies disposing Fort Greely reactor materials at Delta Junction landfill

Some components of Fort Greely's deactivated nuclear reactor were entombed on-site after it was shut down in 1972.
Kasigluk

Bethel SAR warns against Kuskokwim River travel after aerial survey

Bethel Search and Rescue's annual Nov. 18 survey found open water along the Kuskokwim, which is freezing faster near Bethel this year but still unsafe.
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Storm that hit Wrangell brought wider Southeast Alaska damage

The storm that caused Monday's deadly landslide in Wrangell also triggered slides near Ketchikan and knocked out Coast Guard radio relay towers.
A children's playground covered in frost and surrounded by snow with sunlight shining on it.

Anchorage breaks November snow record but warmer El Niño winter still expected

“In Anchorage, every single day that had snow during that nine or 10-day period where it just seemed like it didn't stop, every one of those days was warmer than normal,” climate researcher Brian Brettschneider said.
a map

Environmental groups ask federal appeals court to halt Willow oil project

The plaintiffs argue that Judge Sharon Gleason made a mistake when she allowed work to proceed on ConocoPhillips' Willow project.

Alaska communities must adapt as climate change transforms state, federal report says

Declining sea ice, thinning snowpack, thawing permafrost and other climate-driven changes are threatening Alaskans statewide, the report says.
A white man and woman on a boat wearing waders. The woman is holding up a rope laden with strings of kelp.

Cordova kelp farmers need to process their harvest. A scientist is piloting a solution.

Alysha Cypher with the Prince William Sound Science Center has a $400,000 EPA grant to use waste heat from the local electric co-op to dry Cordova seaweed. 

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