Several communities in the Norton Sound are struggling with contaminated drinking water days after the significant September storm hit the region.

GOLOVIN RESIDENTS ARE IN CLEANUP MODE as their community works to restore power, phone service and clear debris. After the flood waters receded from the weekend’s severe fall storm, some locals are left with feet of sand in their homes. “At my place we’ve got three feet of sand we’re still shoveling out with the crew here, trying to get the sand out of the living area so we can get the sheetrock to go ahead and dry off,” Alaska Senator Donny Olson of Golovin said.

Storms can bring a bounty to the beach - driftwood sometimes or in this case, clams! But be careful out there. There are new concerns about emerging levels of harmful algae in Western Alaska waters, which could impact shellfish and human health.

In a recent report from the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST), 16 salmon caught in the Mjólká river in the Westfjords were confirmed to originate from farms. Signs indicate that the salmon originate from open sea farms by Haganes, where a hole in the pen caused part of the stock to escape in August.

Biologists do not expect either to reach their goals for fish reaching their spawning grounds.

The berry picking promises to be good all over Iceland this year, even though it is starting late, due to the cool, wet summer. Arna, the lactose-free dairy company based in Bolungarvík, has already received a tonne of wild bilberries, which will be used in yoghurt for sale in shops all over Iceland.

Federal officials have declared a drought-related disaster in Rhode Island while New England’s second-largest city is restricting outdoor water use as the drought in the Northeast worsens.

Researchers stepping off the research vessel Norseman II in Nome last weekend, brought significant news of having found very high concentrations of a phytoplankton called Alexandrium catenella in regional waters. Alexandrium is an algae that can produce saxitoxins, which can cause dangerous paralytic shellfish poisoning in people. The scientists issued an advisory, notifying Norton Sound Health Corporation, UAF Sea Grant and the Alaska Division of Public Health.

There were alternatives for Trans Mountain Corporation to digging a trench in the river to lay pipe during the time the salmon were running.

08-03-22 In response to declining numbers of Fortymile and Nelchina caribou, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is taking a more conservative approach to both harvests this fall.

After no commercial crabbing since 2019, this summer’s Norton Sound Red King Crab fishery had a record year of $3.7 million dollars in ex-vessel value.

The booming Bristol Bay salmon run has broken the record set just last year, while on the Yukon River, Chinook are too scarce to harvest.

A resident of Seldovia reported an infestation of worms infesting an area of salmonberry brush and nettle.

Volunteers at the Whittier Slug-Out learned about Alaska’s invasive species and helped mitigate European black slugs near a popular cove on Prince William Sound.

I saw an extreme amount of spittle bugs not only on grasses and plants but on flowers.

There were a plenty of what appeared to be juvenile dead stickle back fish on the top of the embankment of a few ponds.

"Since about May 25, crews have been seeing multiple species showing what we believe are signs of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The signs we are seeing widespread is a headshaking that we equate to "getting the cobwebs out", like a person may do when they first wake up. This behavior occurs regularly every couple minutes. This behavior has been observed in: black brant, cackling geese, bar-tailed godwits, dunlin, lapland longspurs, spectacled eiders, emperor geese, greater white-fronted geese, sabines gulls, glaucous gulls, and red-necked phalaropes."

Off to a very slow start.

Over the past five days there have been increasing reports of unusual behavior in a variety of bird species including brant goose, snow goose, white-fronted goose, and Canada goose.

State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Gerlach says the Mat-Su case confirms that migrating birds have brought avian influenza to Alaska.