Background Articles

Amid declining salmon runs, Coastal Villages Region Fund has shifted away from subsidizing village-based seafood processing. Coastal Villages used to pursue that mission in large part by operating smaller commercial fisheries for salmon and halibut. Each year, the fishing season was an opportunity to earn wages at the group’s processing facilities or for local fishermen to earn cash selling their catch — an economic lifeline for many families in one of the state’s poorest regions.

The U.S. Department of the Interior released a 1,200-page supplemental environmental impact study (EIS) on the proposed Ambler Access Road in Alaska, which reveals potentially greater social and environmental impacts than previously thought, including concerns about disrupting traditional hunting and fishing lifestyles and causing permafrost thaw.

While the ships are free to pass through the Bering Strait, its 55-mile width means that any spills would be likely to drift toward Alaska communities.

The most-expensive project in the nationwide initiative is $25 million for Alaska to replace a dozen culvert sites along the Parks Highway.

The forces of climate change that are reducing ice cover and opening up the Arctic to more activity are making Alaska more important in regards to Homeland Security. For the Department, which has a combination of public safety, emergency response and law-enforcement functions, climate change is creating new challenges for which old responses are no longer adequate.

Extreme heat around the nation is affecting some flights departing from airports including Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Phoenix, which have had triple-digit temperatures this week.

The damage wrought to the park’s road by melting permafrost is creating a new reality affecting visitors, park staff, local businesses and potentially wildlife.

Shishaldin is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutians — it’s had nearly 30 eruptions since 1824.

E-bikes offer riders added range, mobility and approachability. But they also potentially bring an added element of increased speed to mixed-use trails that are already buzzing with activity.

A research project found that the Bering Strait is at least a meter deeper on the Alaska side than previously believed, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. The project evaluated new and old bathymetric surveys, applying modern technology to the latter to more accurately pinpoint locations.

Ice lies thick on the water as nuclear powered icebreakers "Sibir" and "Arktika" escort LNG carrier "Fedor Litke" into the Vilkitsky Strait en route to a Northeast Asian port.

Hurtigruten Norway says the first zero-emission coastal cruise vessels will be sailing in 2030.

The air quality index, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency metric for air pollution, exceeded a staggering 400 at times in Syracuse, New York City and Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. A level of 50 or under is considered good; anything over 300 is considered “hazardous,” when even healthy people are advised to curtail outdoor physical activity.

Scientists think a traumatized orca initiated the assault on boats after a "critical moment of agony" and that the behavior is spreading among the population through social learning.

Since the first big winter storms, snow on the western Kenai Peninsula has collapsed roofs, broken gas meters and raised backcountry avalanche risk. “I think we can safely say that this was the most snow in any winter for the northwest Kenai Peninsula since the winter of 2011, 2012,” said Rick Thoman.

Norwegian invests NOK 50 million to build Norway's first e-fuel factory. Airline company Norwegian thus hopes to reach its own climate goals, and using e-fuel rather than jet fuel.

Ambler Elder Virginia Commack said that the borough's decision does not reflect the opinion of many Northwest Arctic residents. This month, almost 80 Northwest Arctic residents, current and former, signed the petition against the development of the Ambler road project. When the Alaska Department of Natural Resources held two public hearings last year, out of about 37 people who called, only two spoke in support of the project.

Chugach Electric Association estimates there are more than 2,300 EVs (including plug-in hybrids) on the road in Alaska. That’s still a tiny percentage of the total cars, but in Anchorage alone, that number went up by 120% since June 2021. Drivers say modern EVs can handle the winter conditions just fine.

A long, thin cloud of ash began drifting toward the Aleutian Islands on Wednesday and continued east toward the Gulf of Alaska, where it caused major disturbances for air traffic starting Thursday. Volcanic ash is a danger to planes because it is abrasive and can cause engines to fail. Alaska Airlines canceled 51 flights that day, the company said in a statement. Alaska Airlines canceled 11 flights by 6 a.m. and said more are possible, with delays likely through the day.

Due to ash from the volcano in Kamchatka, Russia, Alaska Airlines canceled eight flights Wednesday between Anchorage and Western Alaska airports in Adak, Bethel, Dillingham and King Salmon.