Aleutians West Census Area
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St. Paul Island fuel facility seeks state renewal of its oil spill plan
St. Paul Fuel, LLC has asked the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to renew the spill prevention and response plan for its bulk fuel facility on St. Paul Island. The state takes public comment from Wednesday, Oct. 21, through 11:59 pm Nov. 20.
The facility receives fuel by barge and stores 1,110,445 gallons of diesel and jet fuel in two tank farms, then dispenses it to tank trucks at loading racks. Fuel barges reach the island only twice a year, the City of St. Paul says in a federal port grant application.
DEC's notice says a potential risk exists of oil spills entering state lands or waters. The plan must commit enough resources to respond to a "realistic maximum discharge," the worst-case spill DEC requires operators to plan against. The notice opens a review of the application. It is not an approval, and it does not report a spill.
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Amendment 80 Cooperative 2027 Participant Applications Deadline
Federal managers move 700 tons of unused Atka mackerel to Bering Sea trawlers
Boats that catch Atka mackerel by accident barely caught any, so federal managers are handing 700 tons to the trawl co-op that catches it on purpose.
APIA Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program applications open for elders
Heating help is going up this winter for remote Aleut communities, after a proposed cut was reversed
Heating help is rising about 40 percent this winter for 10 Aleut communities, after their tribal organization won more state funding and reversed a cut.
Latest
Iḷisaġvik College wins approval for distance-learning Unangax̂ Studies certificate
Students on St. Paul Island and in other remote towns can now earn an accredited certificate in Unangam Tunuu, the Unangan language, without leaving home.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom 
Aleut Corporation shareholders return all three incumbent directors over six challengers
Aleut Corporation shareholders reelected all three incumbent directors Saturday over six challengers at the annual meeting in Bellevue, Washington.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFollows: Nine candidates are running for three Aleut Corporation board seats
St. Paul seeks trail grant to replace staircases and resurface the Sledding Hill
St. Paul is applying for a state trail grant to replace stairs, improve gravel paths, and resurface Sledding Hill, with public comment due October 23.
by Melinda Communities.News3w ago1 min read
St. Paul schedules two open houses on harbor improvement plans
St. Paul received over $15 million in federal grants to renovate its aging harbor on St. Paul Island through summer 2030, improving safety and capacity at a key Pribilof maritime access point.
by Melinda Communities.News3w ago2 min readFrom 
Alzheimer's Association offers $50,000 grants for Tribal health programs' dementia work
Tribal health programs in Alaska can apply for $50,000 from the Alzheimer's Association to dedicate a staff member to dementia work. Applications close Nov. 10.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
State keeps Pribilof red and blue king crab closed, bars pot gear near the islands
Alaska keeps Pribilof red and blue king crab fisheries closed for 2026/27 and bars crab pots from waters around the islands, extending a blue king crab shutdown that started in 1999.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Council advisers back changes to help small Alaska towns fish their halibut and sablefish quota
Small Alaska towns bought halibut and sablefish quota, but over 750,000 pounds went uncaught last year. Council advisers want to make it easier to fish.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Japanese surimi executives visit Dutch Harbor on ASMI trade mission
Japanese surimi makers visited Dutch Harbor to push back against tariffs that treat Alaska pollock the same as Russian imports.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Bering Sea Tanner crab limit nearly triples as snow crab falls 45 percent
Alaska tripled the Bering Sea Tanner crab limit to 32.1 million pounds for winter 2026, while cutting snow crab 45% to 5.1 million pounds, with all three major crab fisheries opening Oct. 15.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFollows: State reviews Bering Sea crab catch calculations Wednesday
Doctoral student from Wales and Nome wins BSNC's Tim Towarak Memorial Scholarship
Aapiaq Cheryl Ongtowasruk, who grew up in Wales and Nome, won BSNC's $10,000 Tim Towarak scholarship for her doctoral work on intergenerational learning.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Southcentral Foundation sends a doctor to Nelson Lagoon and a dentist to St. Paul
Southcentral Foundation is sending a doctor to Nelson Lagoon October 5-7 and a dentist to St. Paul Island through October 15 as part of rotating clinics serving 55 rural villages.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Wind advisory for Unalaska and Nikolski Sunday with gusts up to 50 mph
Gusts up to 50 mph are forecast for Unalaska and Nikolski on Sunday. Anything not tied down may relocate. Nikolski gets it first, Unalaska later.
by Alaska News3w ago1 min read
Alaska Volcano Observatory raises Gareloi alert level after brief explosion
Gareloi, a remote western Aleutian volcano, had a brief explosion Thursday. AVO raised its alert a notch and has reported no further unrest since.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFrom 
Coast Guard hoists ship captain 58 miles south of Adak with Air Guard help
The Coast Guard and Alaska Air National Guard flew more than 1,000 miles to pull an ailing master off a container ship near Adak and get him to Anchorage.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFrom 
St. Paul Island tribe awarded $649,890 for math project for Pribilof students
The Aleut Community of St. Paul Island has a $649,890 federal grant for a gifted-and-talented math project for Pribilof School District students.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Pollock trawlers shut out of central Bering Sea area after hitting herring bycatch limit
Pollock fleet hit its herring bycatch cap, so part of the central Bering Sea closes to pollock trawling until March 1. Last year it closed five days earlier.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
State gets new federal grant to oversee monitoring at Amchitka nuclear test site
The state has a new federal grant to keep watch over Amchitka, where the U.S. set off its biggest underground nuclear test. So far, it's $41,000 for five years.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Unalaska creates its first Key to the City, carved from walrus ivory by Unangan artist Gertrude Svarny
Unalaska now has an official Key to the City: a two-sided walrus ivory carving by Unangan artist Gertrude Svarny, with 50 numbered replicas to give out.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Atka IRA Council gets $548,271 federal grant to build four greenhouses in the Aleutian village
Atka, a roadless Aleutian village of about 60, will build four greenhouses with a $548,271 federal grant to grow fresh produce closer to home.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
High wind warning ends for Atka and Adak after two days of strong Bering Sea winds
A high wind warning for Atka and Adak ended Friday night. Forecasters called for gusts to 80 mph; Adak's airport station topped out around 61 mph.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Global refinery disruptions widened fuel margins in 2026, and rural Alaska's barge fuel cost more
Galena's utility paid 29% more per gallon for this year's barge fuel, and St. Paul paid about $7.55. Summer's dip in oil prices came after the fuel was bought.
by Cale Green1mo ago4 min read
Unalaska's council cleared the mayor to accept a Trident-hosted trip to a Navy commissioning
Unalaska's council cleared the mayor to take tickets, lodging and a ride from Trident Seafoods for a Navy commissioning. No undue influence, it found.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A high wind warning covers Atka and Adak with gusts up to 80 mph
Adak and Atka are facing wind gusts of up to 80 mph today, and out on the water the seas are forecast to build as high as 33 feet tonight.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Unalaska accepts $3.8 million EPA grant to clear junk cars and scrap metal from its full landfill
Unalaska's landfill filled up with junk cars and scrap metal before the EPA's $3.8 million arrived. The city had already sent one full barge of it away.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Unalaska renewed the seafood waste line easement for another decade
If the seafood waste line under Unalaska's roads ever breaks, Westward Seafoods cleans it up. The city rents it the ground for $2,250 a year.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A Kodiak crab quota lease would guarantee boats Unalaska-level prices
Kodiak's fisheries association would lease its crab processing quota to Royal Aleutian, on the condition that Kodiak boats get paid Unalaska prices.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Halibut scientists report whale losses and a shift in when females mature
Halibut scientists told their advisers this week they still cannot count what whales take, and that females are maturing younger than the models assumed.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Nine candidates are running for three Aleut Corporation board seats
Nine candidates are running for three Aleut Corporation board seats, and the early proxy deadline is 5 pm Wednesday. Final deadline is Oct. 14.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readFrom 
The state is still taking comments on a school rule it dropped last year
Alaska's education department is still taking comments on a rule its board killed 11 months ago. The follow-up the board asked for is harder to find.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Unalaska council appoints election judges for Oct. 6 vote
Unalaska City Council appointed election judges and clerks for the Oct. 6 municipal election, with nonemployee staff paid $20 an hour from the city budget.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Saint Paul's harbor needs $90 million in work, and the city wants input
A 2021 study found Saint Paul's harbor needs over $90 million in work. Residents get two chances in October to shape what actually gets built.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A magnitude 6.5 quake hit west of Nikolski, the third big one this year
A magnitude 6.5 quake hit west of Nikolski with no tsunami and no expected damage — the third magnitude-6 quake near the village this year.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Unalaska student wins national naval history award for Angoon bombardment project
Unalaska student River Zaochney won a national Naval History Award for a project on the 1882 Navy bombardment of Angoon, a Tlingit village the Navy formally apologized for in 2024.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The snow crab limit is going up. There aren't more crab.
The Bering Sea snow crab catch limit would rise 13% this winter — not because there are more crab, but because scientists cut the safety margin in half.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
The state's analysis of Alaska's first crab hatchery says it would add little
Alaska's first crab hatchery wants a permit. The state's own analysis says the crab it releases would likely make no measurable difference to the fishery.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago5 min read
Unalaska awarded its harbor contract before the sea otter permit was final
Unalaska signed a $21.9 million harbor contract. The permit allowing the work to disturb sea otters is still a draft, and comment closed after the vote.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Unalaska votes Oct. 6, at the one polling place in town
Unalaska votes for city and school board seats Oct. 6 at City Hall, the town's only polling place, open 8 am to 8 pm. Six people will run it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Unalaska's harbor rebuild came in $10.6 million over, and the city is paying cash
Unalaska's harbor rebuild came in at nearly double the 2023 estimate. The city is paying the $10.6 million gap in cash and says it could not do it twice.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Managers want to double a halibut cap. Their own analysis warns against it.
Federal managers want to roughly double a halibut vessel cap in the Bering Sea, though their own analysis says it helps a few big boats at the fleet's expense.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom 
Unalaska raises nonprofit grant audit threshold to $300,000
Unalaska's small nonprofits no longer need a costly annual audit to keep their city grants — one group said audits ate about 13% of its award.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 