Background Articles

Alaska is experiencing rapid environmental changes, including record-high temperatures, shrinking sea ice, increased wildfires, and unusual wildlife patterns, such as the decline of salmon and the rise of snow goose populations.

A University of Alaska Fairbanks study links king salmon decline in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers to climate change impacts such as warming temperatures, which decrease salmon body size and breeding efficiency.

A dead fin whale washed up near downtown Anchorage, attracting hundreds of onlookers while scientists study it to learn more about the whale's life and death.

The Biden administration supports a land trade in an Alaskan wildlife refuge, exchanging 490 acres for 31,198 acres, despite controversy and opposition from some tribal communities.

The article emphasizes the importance of voting for climate-conscious leadership in the wake of unusual and severe flooding in an Arctic community during winter.

Climate change is affecting nearly every aspect of life, said Gwich’in Council International board member Evon Taa’ąįį Peter, who is Neetsaii Gwich’in and Koyukon Athabascan. For one thing, he told ICT, more than 60% of the forest lands of the Alaskan Gwich’in nation have burned in wildfires in the past 10 years. As of July 10, 582,000 acres had burned this year in 328 wildfires in Alaska. “I couldn’t open the windows of my house for seven days straight, I think, because it would just let smoke billow into my home, which was already too unhealthy for us to be outside. So most of us just had to remain indoors…so there’s definitely very real dramatic and in-our-face impacts from climate change across the state, even in (an urban area like) Fairbanks,” Peter said.

A new federal program expedites the repair of Alaska's mining-damaged waterways, incorporating a streamlined environmental assessment process to restore up to 5 miles of habitat annually over 25 years.

Industry representatives assert that trawling near Kuskokwim Bay complies with regulations and does not impact salmon, despite local concerns about habitat damage and fish migration.

A petition to list king salmon as endangered in Alaska faces opposition due to concerns about its impact on local fisheries and management practices.

In Northwest Alaska, the Red Dog mine faces potential delays in expansion, risking future revenue and jobs for the local community, amid environmental and cultural impact concerns.

Experts decided that during the fishing season, red fish in the water area of the Anadyr estuary can be caught only two days a week. It was decided to introduce a large number of passing days to preserve the chum salmon population spawning in this basin.

An Alaska Native corporation is withdrawing from the Ambler road project due to concerns over environmental impact and subsistence practices, despite economic potential.

Japan plans to expand its commercial whaling to include fin whales, five years after resuming whaling and leaving the IWC.

A right-wing leader advocates for increased whale hunting and international marketing of whale meat, despite global regulations and declining participation in the industry.

The article discusses a contentious proposal for new fish passage infrastructure at the Eklutna River dam, with differing plans and potential legal challenges as stakeholders await the governor's decision.

The U.S. Forest Service is revising the 25-year-old management plan for the Tongass National Forest and is actively seeking public input to guide its future use and conservation.

A study attributes the nearly 50% growth of caribou herds in B.C. and Alberta to controversial wolf culls, which may need to continue for decades.

The Biden administration has halted the Ambler Road project to protect wildlife and strengthen environmental safeguards in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, sparking mixed reactions.

Federal regulators have significantly reduced the Western Arctic caribou harvest limit for local subsistence hunters from five animals per day to 15 per year, with only one cow allowed, due to the herd's continued decline and low cow survival rates. Non-local hunting is banned until the herd recovers.

The years-long debate is taking on increasing urgency as subsistence harvesting bans continue and the policy responses under consideration threaten to impose steep costs on the industry.