Environment

a map

Landslide triggers 55-foot tsunami wave at Kenai Fjords National Park

Heavy rains and melting glaciers are making landslides in the area more common, says a geologist.
A person on a four-wheeler

New research uses 130 years of historic flood observations to help identify future risks

Researchers compiled and analyzed a database of hundreds of written accounts and observations going back to the late 1880s.

Spike in salmon shark sightings near Kodiak stumps researchers

The sharks are turning up in fishermen's nets more often, but scientists say it's not clear whether their Alaska population has risen.
a cruise ship

Advocates call for a ban on cruise ship scrubbers, citing pollution concerns

Critics say scrubbers trade would-be air pollution for water pollution, and that regulators aren’t keeping Alaska waters clean.
Napakiak

Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta residents brace for fall storms after early floods and erosion

Last week’s fierce storms aren’t unprecedented, but longtime residents say they aren't all that normal either.
Unalakleet

Federal government to maintain protections for 28 million acres of Alaska D-1 lands

The move is widely supported by Alaska tribal and conservation groups, but is opposed by the state and its U.S. senators.
a landslide

Crews assess further risk after fatal Ketchikan landslide

Teams of scientists, engineers and meteorologists were assessing the slide site's steep hillside Tuesday in Ketchikan.
an orca

Orcas challenge the Bering Sea’s black cod industry

Orca depredation isn't just a costly headache for fishermen — it can be dangerous for orcas, too.
a landslide

Ketchikan authorities ask people to avoid area of fatal landslide as experts assess secondary slide risk

Officials say evacuation orders remain in effect for areas near Sunday's slide, measured at 1,100 feet long.
a broken telephone pole

Ketchikan residents describe a chaotic scene in the hours after fatal landslide

Marty Gillet was in his home in the White Cliff neighborhood when he said he heard something that sounded like a freight train. 
a heat pump

Heat pump incentive program aims to lower home heating bills in Gustavus

Gustavus was one of a dozen U.S. sites chosen for the National League of Cities' Advancing Economic Mobility Rapid Grant program.
A sign says AIDEA

Alaska’s embattled economic development agency signs contracts with 7 law firms

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, is pushing an array of controversial projects across the state.
a vessel

NOAA study links massive Bering Sea snow crab loss to climate change

The new study deepens the connection between human-caused climate change and the crabs' die-off in recent years.
lawmakers

Alaska delegation asks Biden to act on Canadian mining near transboundary rivers

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Mary Peltola expressed concern over Canadian mining impacts on U.S. communities.
flooding

Juneau Assembly approves emergency funds for flood recovery, lays out plans to investigate flood mitigation

Most of the money will fund removing debris and fixing city infrastructure, but $150,000 will go toward studying future flood prevention.
a road

Road section removed at Alaska’s Katmai National Park to protect archaeological sites

The road section, built in 2014 without proper tribal consultation, has now been removed, and the park has improved its procedures.
coral

Lawsuit claims fishery managers have failed to adequately protect Alaska’s coral gardens

An environmental group says the National Marine Fisheries Service should do much more to limit bottom trawling in the Gulf of Alaska.
a map

Southeast tribes seek a pause on Canadian mine near B.C. border

An attorney says the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission hopes to ensure tribes "are not sidelined" by projects.
a storm

Third consecutive Bering Sea storm touches down on Alaska’s west coast

Meteorologists say the brunt of the storm is likely headed for the southern edge of the Seward Peninsula.
a building that says united states border inspection station on it has an american flag in front and two stop signs and signs instructing commercial trucks and buses to go in a specific lane.

Solar panels? A heat pump? Planners weigh how to make a remote Alaska border crossing more eco-friendly

The government is rebuilding its border crossing near Tok. Planners hope to reduce fossil fuel usage there by about 60%.
king salmon

9th Circuit lifts closure of Southeast Alaska king salmon troll fishery

A three-judge panel partially reversed a lower court ruling in a lawsuit brought by the Washington-based Wild Fish Conservancy.
flooding

Coastal Yukon River faces flood advisory as lower Kuskokwim catalogs flood impacts

Meteorologists say Tropical Storm Ampil could back up the Yukon River, causing erosion and structural damage like that on the Kuskokwim.
A stretch of open highway

Interior sees record temperatures as former typhoon approaches Alaska

Some temperatures in the eastern Interior hit 90 degrees Sunday, as ex-Typhoon Ampil moves toward Western Alaska this week.
surf

The oceans are weirdly hot. Scientists are trying to figure out why.

Scientists knew that climate change would cause the oceans to heat up a lot. But current ocean temperatures are even higher than expected.
a whale

Vessel strike suspected in Southeast Alaska whale death

The whale was one of two found dead last month in the Icy Strait area near Hoonah, according to NOAA biologists.

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