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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Brief tuna bounty in Southeast Alaska spurs excitement about new fishing opportunity
Waters off Sitka were warm enough to lure fish from the south, and local anglers took advantage of conditions to harvest species that make rare appearances in Alaska.
Sitka, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Two Bears Are Shot In Building on HPR
A brown bear and one of her two cubs were shot and killed by a Sitka resident early Thursday after the animals entered into a storage building in the 4200 block of Halibut Point Road, in the vicinity of the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal, and were trying to get into freezers.
Sitka, Alaska, United States

Climate Change Linked to Berry Declines
Observations and research across Alaska indicate shifting berry ripening times and unpredictable yields, with climate change as a key factor affecting these important subsistence and cultural resources.
Sitka, Alaska, United States
Gemini , Jerry Hupp, Jordan Tanguay , Katie Spellman

Possible bowhead whale sighting in Sitka Sound raises questions
In late March, a local whale biologist spotted something out of place in Sitka Sound. She’s still having a hard time believing it, but pictures suggest an incredibly rare sighting– a juvenile bowhead whale.
KCAW

Southeast Alaska’s budworm infestation is still going, and they seem to be moving on to spruce trees
Last summer’s unusually warm weather fueled an explosion in the western blackheaded budworm, leaving masses of browning trees in many areas of Southeast. The worm, which is the larval stage of the budworm moth, is known to feed on the new growth of trees, leaving them with a brownish-red appearance.
KCAW - Alaska Public Media

Crews work to contain fuel spill after tugboat runs aground north of Sitka
The grounding ruptured one of the tug’s fuel tanks, which can hold around 13,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Alaska Public Media

Landslide briefly blocks access to hydro dam after record rainfall in Sitka
Rainfall in Sitka broke records on Wednesday, and February is shaping up to exceed the month’s typical rainfall by leaps and bounds.
KTOO

An invasive parasite is taking over Alaska blue mud shrimp. Researchers want to kill it.
Orthione griffenis, or O. griffenis, eventually kills its host shrimp, and soon the remaining shrimp can’t find each other to reproduce, rendering a blue mud shrimp population extinct.
Alaska Public Media

Skier survives avalanche in the crater of Mt. Edgecumbe near Sitka
The man was buried between 5-8 minutes before two other skiers in his group located him with avalanche transceivers.
Alaska Public Media

Sitka team conducts first humpback whale necropsy in 5 years
The Coast Guard reported the dead 47-foot female humpback to NOAA on Sunday evening. It had washed ashore on the south end of Kruzof Island. The whale looked healthy and its belly was full of fish — most likely herring. But they did find some evidence of blunt trauma.

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) sighted in Sitka
"This is the earliest I have ever seen a hummingbird in this region."

Search underway for bear following ‘predatory’ attack on a neighborhood dog in Sitka
The bear tore through a chain link enclosure around midnight on November 4, and killed a 125-pound mixed-breed dog belonging to Georgiana Smith — who immediately informed her Indian River-area neighbors of the incident on the Sitka Bear Report Facebook page.

A pair of stranded killer whales (and a sick sea lion) has biologists looking for answers
“For the killer whales, I honestly don’t know if this is normal or not,” said Mandy Keogh, the Regional Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries in Alaska. Dead killer whales simply aren’t seen that often.

3 more gray whale carcasses found in Alaska amid spike in deaths along West Coast
An alarming number of gray whales have been found dead this year from Mexico to Alaska, triggering a federal investigation into what’s causing the die-off.
Anchorage Daily News

Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) Sighting
Laysan Albatross (*Phoebastria immutabilis*) seen in the north during typical nesting season.

Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) North of Usual Range
Brown Booby (*Sula leucogaster*) sighted far north of its usual tropical habitat.

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Gray Catbird found northwest of its normal range.

After 3 days, ‘stressed’ sea lion that ventured into Sitka can’t find its way back to the ocean
Why did the sea lion cross the road? Scientists don't know yet.
Anchorage Daily News

Black meat from a Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)
Unusual dark coloration in Sockeye salmon (*Oncorhynchus nerka*) meat
Falls Creek, Alaska, United States

As Sitkans wait for roe, news of sickness from herring eggs in Canada
Typically, cholera is associated with tropical destinations. But recently, the bacteria that can cause the disease was found in subsistence herring eggs in British Columbia. As Southeast Alaska tribes get ready to gather herring eggs, it’s left some people wondering about the future.
Elizabeth Jenkins, Alaska's Energy Desk - Juneau

Alaska Board of Fisheries navigates ‘uncharted territory’ for Southeast’s king salmon
The Alaska Board of Fisheries faces some tough decisions this week. One of those is how to conserve dwindling king salmon stocks in a way that won’t financially cripple Southeast salmon fishermen.

No injuries in Sitka Labor Day landslide
A landslide in Sitka early Monday afternoon stranded people on either end of the road system for about eight hours, but otherwise there no reports of damage or injuries.

Scientists find strange sea creatures in Alaska for the first time
Pyrosomes were first seen on the Oregon coast in 2014 and every year since. Recently they have been reported in Washington, BC and Alaska. These weird organisms that resemble large pink thimbles, could signal really big changes in the marine ecosystem.
CBS News

Scientist says hatchery strays could threaten wild fish populations
Large numbers of salmon straying from hatcheries in Southeast Alaska, as well as a low river flow, helped create lethal environments for wild salmon, according to a new report.
Alaska Dispatch News

Tiny California Sea Cucumber (Parastichopus californicus)
The smallest California cuke I have found.

Jellied sea creatures confound scientists, fishermen on U.S. Pacific Coast
Drifting throngs of pyrosomes, jelly-like, glowing organisms native to tropical seas have invaded Pacific coastal waters from Southern California to the Gulf of Alaska this year, baffling researchers and frustrating fishing crews.
Baranof Island, Alaska, United States
Reuters

Sitka considers code changes in landslide zones
The state is currently mapping the potential risk for landslides in Sitka. This time next year, the Sitka Assembly will be presented with a community-wide map. Listen now

Sitka-based trooper kills brown bear chasing his dog
The 400-pound young boar attacked the 6-month-old puppy Wednesday morning, according to troopers and state biologists.
Alaska Dispatch News

Two-Spot Keyhole Limpet (Fissurellidea bimaculata)
A limpet not seen in the area before.

Archaeologists say they've found the campsite used by survivors of legendary 'doomed' ship
Kruzof Island, Alaska, United States
Alaska Dispatch News

Early Ripe Blueberries (Vaccinium ovalifolium)

Thousands of Velella (by-the-wind sailors) Washed Up In Southeast AK

Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) in Full Bloom
Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) are in full bloom on Baranof Island.

Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) Blooming In February
Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) Blooming in February

Early Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) Blossoms
Salmonberry blossom seem a little early this year.

Landslide destroys Starrigavan restoration projects
High rainfall this month is being blamed for a major landslide near Sitka. The US Forest Service reports that a 100-acre slide came down in the Starrigavan Valley, about ten miles from town. The slide, and water damage to an ATV trail in the valley and other hiking trails elsewhere in Sitka -- all add up to a tough month for the agency.
KCAW

Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) Sighting
Rare Layson Albatross (*Phoebastria immutabilis*) sighting.

Jumbo squid is captured in unfamiliar waters
Sitka, Alaska
msnbc.com

New Invasive Species Detected in Alaska
Last summer while scoping for marine invasive species we found the invasive colonial tunicate, Didemnum vexillum also know as marine vomit.
ADFG News

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