Nature & Outdoors
RSSNature and Outdoors in Alaska is the state's wildlife, public lands and waters, and the activities Alaskans pursue in them. It tracks hunting and fishing seasons, wildlife management decisions, and access to trails, parks, refuges and fisheries statewide.
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Friday, Aug 28
PFAS found in three Anchorage Bowl wells, one pulled from service
Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility found PFAS in three groundwater wells, pulled one from service, and is seeking $4 million in emergency contracts for water system work.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NMFS closes Central Gulf cod for hook-and-line vessels 50 feet and up
On Sept. 1, Alaska's largest hook-and-line boats lose Central Gulf cod for the year, while smaller boats gain new cod access in state and Bering Sea waters.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Rules on remote Alaska communities' fishing quota return to council
Federal fishery managers revisit rules on how small, remote Alaska communities hold and trade halibut and sablefish quota, at an October meeting in Anchorage.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
New Potter Marsh boardwalk and ice-skating ramp open Saturday
Potter Marsh opens a 200-foot boardwalk, viewing platform, and ADA-accessible ice-skating ramp Saturday, Aug. 29, giving visitors a dedicated alternative to using narrow highway shoulders.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
One-fish king limit holds in most Prince William Sound salt waters
One king salmon in most of Prince William Sound through Sept. 15. The terminal harvest areas still allow two, and the coho are the better bet anyway.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Ketchikan tribe sues Forest Service over South Revilla logging near Ketchikan
Ketchikan Indian Community sued the Forest Service over logging that would cut 44% of winter deer habitat on Revillagigedo Island, threatening subsistence hunting.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
More than 100 coho have passed Bear Creek weir near Seward
More than 100 coho salmon have passed Bear Creek weir near Seward, signaling that freshwater silver fishing in the Resurrection River should improve within the next week or two.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Ship Creek coho slowing as the six-fish limit stays through December
Ship Creek anglers can still keep six salmon a day, but the coho run behind that limit is winding down and the fish are getting harder to find.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
More from Nature & Outdoors
Fairbanks's chum salmon fishery reopens on the Tanana on Friday
Fairbanks-area households can fish for chum salmon on the Tanana again starting Friday, after a strong Yukon run — but coho must be released and limits apply.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Researchers get $812,016 to study Glacier Bay's iceberg seal habitat
Glacier Bay's harbor seals pup on icebergs. The glacier making those icebergs slowed 45 percent, and researchers got $812,016 to study what that means.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Hilcorp wants to fill 95 acres of Arctic wetlands for a gravel mine — comment by Sept. 4
Hilcorp wants to fill about 95 acres of Arctic tundra wetlands near Prudhoe Bay for a gravel mine, with no offset for the loss. Comment is open until Sept. 4.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Thursday, Aug 27
Ahtna closes Cantwell-area lands to the public for moose season
Ahtna, Incorporated closed its private lands near Cantwell to all public hunting and camping during moose season, though state-regulated hunting continues on public lands in the area.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Small cod boats return Sept. 1 in the Bering Sea and Aleutians
Small cod boats get their Bering Sea fishery back Sept. 1 after seven months out, with quota shifted from two fleets that will not catch theirs.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Coho must go back in the water on the Susitna and Little Susitna
You can still fish for coho on the Susitna. You can't keep them. The Little Susitna is projected at 2,104 fish against a goal of at least 9,200.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Two of Juneau's most accessible coho streams close to fishing to protect weak runs
Two of Juneau's most accessible coho streams, Montana and Peterson creeks, close to coho fishing Sept. 1 through Dec. 31 to protect weak salmon returns.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Eshamy District stays closed as sockeye run behind target
A rule capping set gillnetters at 36 hours a week in the Eshamy District took effect in July. The district has been closed to fishing all season.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
About Nature & Outdoors
Nature and Outdoors in Alaska takes in the state's wildlife, public lands and waters, and the hunting, fishing and recreation Alaskans pursue in them. It spans sport, subsistence and commercial fishing, hunts for moose, caribou, elk and sheep, and access to parks, refuges and trails.
Decisions come from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Board of Fisheries, the Board of Game, federal fishery managers and the National Park Service. Seasons open and close as harvest limits fill, and stocks of concern, salmon limits in contested fisheries and halibut shares between charter and commercial fleets are recurring questions. Fishing fleets and seafood plants also depend on federal relief and loan programs and on export paperwork that NOAA explains to sellers.
More from Nature & Outdoors
Southeast wolf hunters will be asked to leave a little of the animal behind
Southeast wolf hunters will be asked to leave a strip of hide, a bit of muscle, and on Prince of Wales, the foreleg bones. Season opens Sept. 1.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juneau loses two months of fishing to a 2020 landslide
Juneau loses the north end of Gastineau Channel to all fishing for two months. A 2020 landslide cut hatchery production and the coho aren't returning.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kenai anglers won't get the extra coho they were expecting this fall
Kenai River anglers won't get the usual bump to three coho on Sept. 1 — the limit stays at two through November as silver runs look weak across Cook Inlet.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Hunters near Nome have one last day for a bull moose before the season closes early
Hunters near Nome have one last day for a bull moose before the season closes more than two weeks early, with the area's 17-bull quota set to fill.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Resident king salmon limit near Petersburg is three a day in state waters
Anglers around Petersburg can keep more king salmon now after a low harvest and strong hatchery return — but the fish are few and far between.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Yukon families get chum back, but only in the tributaries
Yukon families can take chum again, but only in the tributaries. The mainstem carries the Canadian-origin run, projected far below its border goal.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Three Afognak sections close as Kodiak gets a 102-hour opening
Three Afognak sections closed Wednesday evening while the rest of Kodiak got periods of up to 102 hours. The Chinook nonretention rule still stands.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Wednesday, Aug 26
As the Chena's king salmon collapse, Fairbanks debates how wide a riverfront buffer to require
Fairbanks is rewriting its Chena riverfront plan, weighing how wide a streamside buffer to require — as the river's kings collapse and property owners watch.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A Hoonah oyster farm wants to grow to about 10 acres
A Hoonah oyster farm wants to add two parcels and renew its state lease for 20 years, bringing the site to about 10 acres. Comments close Sept. 28.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Central Aleutian perch fishery closes early for a second straight year
Central Aleutian trawlers lose Pacific ocean perch at noon Thursday, four months early — the second straight year the fishery has closed ahead of schedule, and faster than last year.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Ninth Circuit upholds federal Cook Inlet salmon management against drift fleet challenge
Cook Inlet drift fishermen lost again in federal court. The fight over who actually gets the fish moves back to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Montana man charged with 37 counts in Bethel hunting residency case
A Montana man faces 37 criminal counts in Bethel for claiming Alaska residency to hunt while living out of state, a violation that affects license costs and permit eligibility.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
Nonresidents can't keep yelloweye around Prince of Wales anymore
Nonresidents can't keep yelloweye or other demersal shelf rockfish around Prince of Wales as of Wednesday. Alaska residents still get one a day.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Petersburg-area gillnetters get one more day before the fishery closes
Drift gillnet fishermen near Petersburg get one more day before Districts 6 and 8 close Thursday — the second short extension this month for the fishery.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
With monitoring down, the state is using a commercial opening to gauge coho
Norton Sound gillnetters get one 24-hour coho opening this weekend. With monitoring projects mostly down, the state is using it to gauge abundance.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The Fortymile road hunt lasted 48 hours, exactly as predicted
The road-accessible Fortymile caribou hunt opened Aug. 20 and closed 48 hours later, exactly as the state biologist predicted before it began.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Tuesday, Aug 25
Yakutat scallop fishery closes as harvest reaches 145,000-pound cap
Yakutat's commercial scallop fishery closes Wednesday as the fleet hits its 145,000-pound limit — a small statewide fishery worked by just two boats.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
East Cook Inlet clam beaches stay closed; the west side is the option
The razor clam beaches Alaskans could drive to are still closed. What's left this season is across Cook Inlet, reachable only by boat or plane.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Kodiak's one-king limit runs three more weeks
Kodiak saltwater anglers can keep one king a day through Sept. 15, then two. Kings have been steady, with several over 20 pounds in the past week.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Cook Inlet pot boats get back into state-waters cod on Sept. 1
Cook Inlet's jig-only Pacific cod season closes Sept. 1 and reopens to all legal gear, leaving 339,000 pounds of unharvested quota available to pots, jigging machines, and troll gear through year-end.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
New EU seafood paperwork lands Sept. 3, and it is not the only change
New EU seafood export certificates take effect Sept. 3. For Alaska's wild-caught fish and crab, the bigger change is a separate catch-documentation overhaul.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Sand Point salmon fishery opens Wednesday for 109 hours, the longest window of the string
Sand Point's salmon fishery opens for about 109 more hours this week, shaped by a strategy that protects immature salmon in the Shumagin Islands.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Monday, Aug 24
A Situk River king salmon closure is extended as returns fall short
A Situk River fishing closure protecting weak king runs is extended through Aug. 31 — one of several 2026 restrictions on a key Yakutat subsistence river.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
The federal government wants to lift roadless protections, including in the Tongass
USDA wants to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule across 58.5 million acres, including the Tongass. Alaskans have until Sept. 21 to weigh in on it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
