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A new research project is building a timeline of mercury levels in the Aleutian Islands over the last few thousand years.
Several shipments of food made it into Clyde River, Nunavut, this week after delays due to weather. It's just the latest in a series of problems in the community that's been battered by weather since late January.
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.
Marine hunters of eastern Chukotka often encounter "stinky" whales whose meat is unsuitable for food. The situation has become a problem for local residents. Researchers from Moscow State University and the Beringia National Park believe they have found the causes of an unpleasant odor in animals.
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.
Fall moose hunts are beginning across Alaska. In western parts of the state, biologists hope that hunting pressure will help protect the health of booming populations. They also want to know why there are so many moose in the first place. It may have a lot to do with shrubs — particularly scrubby willows shooting up at the edges of open tundra. Moose feast on their leaves during the spring and summer. These short woody plants are spreading west, aided by climate change, and moose populations are expanding along with them.
Residents and Fish and Game present ideas and opinions around Northwest Caribou population and hunting regulations and restrictions. .
The chief of the U.N. nuclear agency will visit Japan next week to meet with officials and see final preparations for the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.
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.
When Jody Potts-Joseph was growing up, her family mushed sled dogs during the harsh Alaskan winters to hunt and trap, feeding them salmon caught from the Yukon River by the thousands. But after rebuilding her sled dog team as an adult, Potts-Joseph, a member of the Han Gwich'in tribe, had to turn to store-bought dog food. The river that was once renowned for its salmon doesn't have enough to offer anymore.
In a bid to help the recovery of the Yukon River chinook salmon run, the federal government and the State of Alaska have agreed to implement a seven-year moratorium on fishing the species.
Back at his Spokane home, McCrea looked around. No bugs on the lights there either. No frogs in the pond. Only one bumblebee was buzzing against a porch light – and at an odd hour, around 10 p.m. that night.
A proposal to relocate Sitka black-tailed deer into areas crisscrossed with roads, farms and established wildlife populations may ultimately cause more problems than it’s worth, says an internal report from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Two regional tribal organizations, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and the Tanana Chiefs Conference, have each cited different reasons for parting company with AFN.
The small Swedish town of Fagersta, Västmanland County, has been at the epicentre of the recent outbreak of African swine fever.All activities in an area of forest around 1000 square kilometers in the counties of Västmanland and Dalarna have been off limits since Friday following the discovery of dead wild boar.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the presence of red tide on the upper coast was first confirmed at a red tide monitoring station near Freeport about 3 weeks ago.
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