Sitka

On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll talk about otters and try to understand how they may have changed the coastal ecosystem. We’ll also meet a tribal leader in Sitka who is doing something about it, with a sea otter hunt that also provides furs for Native handicrafts, which seems to be bringing back shellfish. Thanks for listening!

KSKA: Thursday, Aug. 11, at 2:00 p.m. Charles took a road trip-- or rather a ferry trip-- to Southeast Alaska last month, and while there recorded an edition of Outdoor Explorer on the town of Sitka. This historic community is the best place for an Alaskan to take a vacation without leaving Alaska because the boating and wildlife viewing are incredible. We’ll also get to hear about the area’s surfing scene and science education.LISTEN NOW

Herring seiners are not the only fishermen commuting long-distance to Sitka this spring. A half-ton Steller sea lion has been seen in and around Sitka’s harbors recently browsing on the abundant herring. The animal was tagged – just over a month ago – at the Bonneville Dam near Portland, Oregon, about 900 miles to the south.

A program in Sitka allows high school students to work side-by-side with scientists on their research. The Science Mentors Program, run through the Sitka…

Coast Guard Sinks Ghost Ship. ACLU Calls for Independent Investigation of Anchorage Election. Congressman Young Holds Rural Energy Hearing. Bill Would Allow Asbestos Gravel in Rural Communities. Forecasters Predict Manageable Spring Break Up. Redistricting Board Approves New Plan. Forks Roadhouse Burns Down. Scientists Mentor High School Students in Sitka.

The Coast Guard is monitoring a derelict vessel in U.S. waters off Alaska's coast that washed out to sea during the tsunami that struck the coast of Japan…

The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is on two hour notice. Two-hour notice means when a fishery is called, officials will give the fleet a minimum of two hours to get into position.

The bones of a killer whale recovered from Kruzof Island last year will soon be on display at the Sitka Sound Science Center. Volunteers and scientists spent last week rearticulating the orca skeleton.

A pair of recent Sitka High graduates had an unexpected meeting last week – in a combat hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Despite the weak economy, National Parks in Alaska had a modest increase in visitors for 2011.