Background Articles

The clam population crashed on the east side of Cook Inlet about a decade ago and has been slow to bounce back.

Berry pickers have long reported that the number of wild berries has been diminishing, and a 26-year study is now confirming the unexplained decline.

The number of gray whales migrating along the Pacific Coast of North America has steadily declined by nearly 40 percent from a 2016 peak, and the population produced its fewest calves on record this year, according to U.S. research released on Friday.

Two resolutions brought before the Alaska Federation of Natives during this year’s annual convention called for efforts to reduce salmon bycatch for fish that return to the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers.

A year after the closure of the Bering Sea crab harvests in Alaska, surveys show that crab populations are still low, raising doubts about future harvest prospects and suggesting that continued closures may be necessary.

Cecelia Brooks remembers a time when the deep forest of New Brunswick was so cold, snow could still be found in its depths in August. That rarely happens anymore. Brooks, who lives on St. Mary's First Nation in Fredericton, is one of many Indigenous people in the Wabanaki region who say climate change is threatening traditional plants and medicines. Those changes, Brooks says, could alter their way of life.

The Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Tribes and Climate Change Program is publishing a report called the Status of Tribes and Climate C...

This study examines another mechanism of human impact on large species. If humans hunted a keystone species to a certain tipping point or extinction, they may have indirectly triggered a collapse of a complex ecosystem, leading to a chain reaction resulting in the extinction of other species. Since it is difficult to study ecosystems that existed thousands of years ago, the authors researched a more recent megafauna extinction event of the Steller’s sea cow in the mid-1700s, for which a few in person observations from Georg Steller exist.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy lauded the partnerships with Alaska businesses and “tremendous team effort to get salmon into the hands of our fellow Alaskans in need."

For years, populations of Sitka black-tail deer have slumped, leaving residents without a staple source of protein. A three-day summit held in Craig last month prompted lengthy discussions about the problem. When loggers cut down a section of old growth Sitka spruce, hemlock and cedar in the Tongass National Forest, there’s no need to replant — trees grow back on their own. It’s what scientists call an “even-aged forest.” When trees all start growing at the same time, they create a dense canopy that prevents light from reaching the ferns and berry bushes that black-tail deer love to snack on. And because the trees grow close together, they end up long and spindly — not the massive, thick, tight-grained trunks that make old growth lumber so highly valued.

The seabirds are struggling because of climate-linked ecosystem shifts — which can affect the supply and the timing of available food — as well as a harmful algal bloom and a viral outbreak in the region, she said. And their peril jeopardizes the human communities, as well: "Birds are essential to our region — they are nutritionally and economically essential," said Sheffield.

A 20-year-old treaty keeps Alaska and Canada working together, even through the devastating king and chum salmon collapse.

Three charters flew to distribute 10,921 pounds of donated king salmon to Bush and rural Alaska communities.

Second of three parts: As salmon stocks have crashed on the Yukon River, so has a key source of income in fish-dependent communities.

Ida Wessman, 28, bought her family's herd of reindeer after her father passed away five years ago. "It's been going pretty well. With this industry you've got high points and low points," Wessman said, alluding to severe 2019-2020 weather that killed 15,000 of the animals.

Scientists determine geese died due to exhaustion and salt-poisoning. More birds end up dying because of the long flights they undertake, in extreme conditions.

The climate crisis is bringing extreme heat, changing ocean currents and intensifying storms – and it’s dealing a devastating blow to one of the most threatened groups of birds in the world.

It causes legs to fall off and, ultimately, results in disintegration of the animals’ bodies. Climate change may be behind that disease, as the arrival of Pacific marine heat waves coincided with the disease outbreak, according to federal biologists.The sea star, with a range from Baja California to the Aleutians, would be the first sea star with an Endangered Species Act listing.

Residents and Fish and Game present ideas and opinions around Northwest Caribou population and hunting regulations and restrictions. .

Disagreements persist over the extent of the restoration plan for the Eklutna River in Alaska, with utilities arguing that a replacement dam would be costly and increase electric rates, while proponents of the plan believe it would benefit the public interest by boosting local fishing and tourism and improving the ecosystem.