Background Articles

The paucity of common resident avian species, especially songbirds, was one more peculiar element of an unusually strange Anchorage winter. And, arguably, early spring. Local birders, biologists and watchers all noticed something was off.

Birds are rapidly vanishing from North America, with dramatic population losses in places that were once thought safe.

The Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council and the Pacific Flyway Council have closed harvesting and egging of Emperor geese and restricted egging of Black Brant geese for the 2025 hunting season due to declining populations.

Highland Council is consulting on water activity restrictions at Loch Ruthven after a dramatic decline in the breeding Slavonian grebe population was recorded.

Salmon advocates have raised concerns over declining salmon numbers, blaming an oversupply of hatchery-reared fish that overwhelms natural stocks and disrupts ocean ecosystems.

An investigation into the death of roughly 100 fish near Alaska’s Kensington gold mine remains inconclusive months later, with both state regulators and Coeur Mining unable to pinpoint the cause despite extensive testing.

Researchers in southwestern Alaska are investigating why the once-thriving Mulchatna caribou herd has not rebounded, focusing on factors such as disease and nutrition. The study employs real-time monitoring of pregnant caribou and detailed fat measurements to evaluate calf survival and overall herd health.

Researchers in southwestern Alaska are closely monitoring the Mulchatna caribou herd using advanced technology to determine whether disease or nutrition is behind the herd’s failure to recover. The study comes amid efforts to understand a dramatic population decline that has led to a subsistence hunting closure.