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The FAA is rewiring Alaska's air routes from beacons to GPS
The FAA is rebuilding Alaska's air routes, trading old ground beacons for GPS — and an Oct. 29 batch of changes gives King Salmon a better-connected path.

Senate panel advances Crow coal land swap 6-5, rejects four amendments
Senate panel voted 6-5 to advance a Montana coal land swap giving the Crow Tribe mineral rights in exchange for federal parcels, but skipping environmental review.

Alaska AG voids contested Area M salmon regulations after ethics challenge
Alaska attorney general voided five salmon regulations after board members failed to disclose conflicts of interest. • Fishing groups won relief through ethics enforcement instead of court. • Regulations would have restricted fishing time and added chinook catch closures. • Board must restart the process to readopt any rules.

AFN gathers Dillingham voices on the future of subsistence
AFN holds a four-hour listening session in Dillingham on Aug. 12 to gather subsistence harvesters' input on how Alaska's subsistence future should be managed.

Nushagak kings close on the calendar, not on a recovery
Nushagak-Mulchatna kings close Friday, release-only to the end. The restrictions lift on the calendar even though projected passage is less than half the goal.

A free clinic helps BBNC shareholders decide who inherits their shares
A free Dillingham clinic Aug. 13 lets BBNC shareholders write stock wills, choosing who inherits their shares instead of leaving it to default law.

Manokotak man arrested on murder charge after fishing-site death
A Manokotak man died after being struck in the head with an anchor during a fishing-site altercation on June 26. Another Manokotak man faces murder and manslaughter charges.

Bristol Bay's sockeye run is coming in stronger than forecast
Scientists raised Bristol Bay's sockeye forecast 16% to 48.2 million — a strong run pouring in as the fleet swells, though still below the bay's recent record years.

No heat closes Dillingham's job center counter early
A heating failure closed walk-in service at Dillingham's Bristol Bay Job Center on Tuesday afternoon, sending staff home at noon and cutting counter hours short.

Bristol Bay tightens the rules on its king salmon again
Bristol Bay's kings keep sliding, so the rules keep tightening: fewer big fish on the Naknek, no bait on the Nushagak, and log every keeper in ink.

The offshore fleet that sees Bristol Bay's salmon run coming
200 miles out in the Bering Sea, research boats catch a glimpse of the world's biggest sockeye run a week before it arrives — and that early-warning window is now closing for the season.

Bristol Bay is hauling in millions of sockeye — and it's still a down year
Bristol Bay has already landed 26+ million sockeye — a staggering haul that's somehow still a down year, running about a quarter below its 10-year average.

Pebble Mine's challenge to EPA reaches an Anchorage court Thursday.
Pebble vs. EPA hits Anchorage federal court Thursday. The salmon, the State of Alaska, and a major mineral deposit all want a say.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers issue 13 citations across Bristol Bay in 10-day enforcement push
Alaska Wildlife Troopers issued 13 citations to commercial fishers in Bristol Bay's Egegik and Nushagak districts between June 26 and July 1 for closed-period and closed-waters violations.

Naknek River sockeye may fall short of forecast
Even in a 45-million-fish Bristol Bay year, the Naknek River is running weak — forcing managers to ration fishing time to protect the spawning run.

Nushagak king salmon run on pace for near-record low season
Nushagak king salmon run is on pace for one of its weakest seasons since 1980, triggering a subsistence closure and forcing commercial fishermen to sell or donate all kings starting July 12.

A storied Alaska king run falls short again — the Nushagak goes catch-and-release Sunday
The Nushagak, one of Alaska's great king runs, is tracking short again — so starting Sunday, sport anglers have to release every king through July 31.

Bering Sea low to push 13-foot seas into Bristol Bay, Kuskokwim Delta Wednesday
Big seas, big problems

A Dillingham campus wants to grow rural Alaska's scientists at home
A Dillingham campus won nearly $889,000 from the NSF to train STEM pros in place for rural Southwest Alaska — a "grow-your-own" model, though the grant runs just three years.

Togiak sockeye escapement far below goal as fishing cuts loom
Low Fish counts lead to questions on season in Togiak

Bristol Bay hit its sockeye forecast. Prices are a different story.
Bristol Bay caught nearly as many sockeye as last year but is running 40% behind on value. Strong run, soft prices.

An Ekwok safety officer was assaulted doing the job alone
An Ekwok village safety officer was assaulted at the clinic following up on a case — the risk of being the lone law enforcement in a remote village.

On one of the world's great king rivers, a 'poor' rating is partly the plan
Fish go bye bye? Oh no0ooo

Two Washington men cited for fishing Bristol Bay while it was closed in Naknek
Two Washington men — one 67, one 21 — got cited for fishing Bristol Bay's Naknek District while it was closed, plus three more counts each.

BBNC kicks off shareholder season with a salmon-day picnic
BBNC's shareholder season kicks off Aug. 8 with a salmon-day picnic in Anchorage, tours eight communities, and builds to the Oct. 3 board vote in Naknek.

One town, six citations: Homer stands out in Bristol Bay
Six people from Homer turned up in a single batch of Bristol Bay fishing citations — more than any other town. Whether that's coincidence or something more isn't yet clear.

A rare stretch of 75-degree heat is coming to Bristol Bay this week, could disrupt berry picking and fishing
Bristol Bay is due for 70 to 75 degrees Wednesday and Thursday — heat this region sees about once a year, and enough to interrupt summer subsistence.

Delta Junction man cited for fishing closed waters and gillnet violation in Nushagak
A Delta Junction man was cited for fishing in closed waters and violating gillnet rules in Bristol Bay on July 4, one of 11 citations troopers issued during peak sockeye season.

On the Wood River, so many sockeye are coming back that the state wants you to keep more
Good news for once on the water: the Wood River sockeye run near Dillingham is so strong the state doubled the limit to 10 fish a day, through year's end.

Bristol Bay fishery opens under old rules as new regs stall in review
Bristol Bay's commercial salmon season opened June 1 under old rules while new regulations adopted in January remain stalled in legal review.

In Tyonek, one health aide holds the village's care together
Robert Stephan is the only health aide in Tyonek, a boat-or-plane village where the doctor visits every two months. Now he's headed to PA school.

Bristol Bay enforcement program yields 11 citations across Naknek and Nushagak districts
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited 11 people in Bristol Bay's Naknek and Nushagak districts for commercial fishing violations including closed-period fishing and unlicensed crew.

Egegik and Kvichak stocks rise at Bristol Bay's Port Moller intercept
Egegik and Kvichak sockeye stocks are now dominating the catch at Bristol Bay's Port Moller intercept station, shifting the mix managers use to decide commercial fishing openings in early July.

A fisherman feared lost, as Bristol Bay's run shows strain
A crew member is feared dead after going overboard near Egegik Bay, as record-low sockeye counts force fishery closures and troopers cite fishermen across Bristol Bay.

Bristol Bay sockeye limit stays at 10 fish through year's end in Wood River and Nushagak-Mulchatna drainages
Bristol Bay doesn't seem to be having the problems with fish the rest of the state is.

Ugashik posts above-average sockeye harvest as Bristol Bay ramps up
Ugashik District has harvested 79,000 sockeye salmon as of June 22, running ahead of the typical pace for this date as Bristol Bay's season picks up.

Fish and Game will bring moose permits to four Nushagak River villages
Fish and Game will hand-deliver moose permits to four Nushagak River villages this year, so hunters without road access to Dillingham don't have to make the trip.

Bristol Bay's ice is starting to break — and it's about to set off a cascade of fish and fishermen
Lake Aleknagik's ice is breaking in southwest Alaska, triggering young salmon migration and opening the first fishing window of the season at stream outlets where trout and char gather to feed.

Troopers are running an enforcement blitz on Bristol Bay's peak season
Troopers cited four more in Bristol Bay last week — mostly for improperly marked boats, the very violation Fish and Game flagged as a season priority. Part of a bigger crackdown.

Portland fisherman cited for fishing during a closed period in Kvichak Section
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited a Portland fisherman for illegal netting in Bristol Bay. This is one of 11 recent enforcement cases.
