Yukon River

During the second year of a sudden salmon collapse on the Yukon River, residents of traditional villages are facing food insecurity and a loss of culture.

KSKA: Thursday, Sept. 08, at 2:00 p.m. The Yukon River, almost 2000 miles long, is a great place to explore in a canoe or raft. On our next show, we’ll be covering river floats from Whitehorse to Dawson City, down to Eagle, onward to Circle, and down to the Dalton Highway Bridge. We’ll also be learning about the Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve, an unusual national park unit that spans more than 100 miles of the river, with the nature and history that’s found there. LISTEN NOW

After Yukon Quest mushers arrive in Dawson City, they drive their teams head across the Yukon River to a public campground, where handlers build elaborate camps for the dogs. They’ll get massaged, fed and sleep for the 24 hour layover.Download Audio

Brent Sass was the first Yukon Quest musher to arrive today in Dawson City, the halfway point on the Yukon Quest trail. The 200-mile stretch of trail to Dawson City is the longest between official race checkpoints.Download Audio

On the Yukon Quest Trail, there are a few things mushers have to be especially picky about including a sturdy sled. Jumble ice near McCabe Creek, half way to Pelly Crossing is testing sled engineering this year.Download Audio

The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog race starts Saturday. For more than 30 years, the race course has followed an old Gold Rush era trail that took advantage of the frozen Yukon River. But recently, there have been places where the river hasn’t frozen up. That’s starting to raise question about the impacts of climate change on Alaska’s state sport.Download Audio

National Weather Service staff are in Galena monitoring rising Yukon river water and conducting fly overs to check on one particular jam.

Now its time for our weekly trip around the state for 300 villages. This week, we're heading to St. Mary's near the Yukon River and then farther north to Wainwright, on the Chukchi Sea.

Pollock Fleet Asks, "Where Are The Fish?" Bethel Murder Trial Proceedings Off to a Rocky Start. Fire Claims Dot Lake Utility Building. Secretary Sebelius Visits the Alaska Native Health Center. Ester Residents Raise Money for a Library. Chum Run is Strong on the Yukon. Southeast's Pink Salmon Fleet Logs Record Year. Federal Government offers Help for Alaskan's Facing Foreclosure. NANA Opens New Hotel in Kotzebue

We'll take a peek into life in Beaver, an Interior village on the Yukon River with a history going back to commercial whaling days, and then we'll visit with Moose Pass, a railroad town on the Seward Highway.