Nature & Outdoors
RSSAlaska News covers outdoor recreation, trails, parks, wildlife viewing, fishing closures, and safety in Alaska's natural areas.
Anchorage hunters can zero rifles at free sight-in day July 8
Alaska Fish and Game hosts a free rifle sight-in day July 8 at Rabbit Creek Shooting Park, 4 to 8 p.m., with a gunsmith and chronograph on site.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Cordova's fishermen are getting a new dock — and losing "the slowest crane in harbor"
Cordova cleared the way for a new offloading dock at Camtu's Alaska Wild Seafoods — retiring what one council member called "the slowest crane in harbor."
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Wildlife Troopers cited a Bellingham fisherman for allegedly fishing in Bristol Bay
A Washington fisherman was cited for allegedly fishing across a closed boundary in Bristol Bay — the invisible lines that keep the world's biggest sockeye run from being overfished.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
The West Coast halibut fleet left most of its quota for the July 7 opener
The West Coast halibut fleet caught just 27% of its quota in the first opener, so about 191,000 pounds are still up for grabs when boats head back out July 7.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska now makes Dall sheep hunters pass a perfect-score test
Alaska now makes full-curl sheep hunters ace a 20-question quiz before hunting — because the herd is down 40 to 70 percent and every misjudged ram counts.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Ship Creek closes for 10 days as a king shortfall hits the hatchery
Anchorage's Ship Creek closes to all fishing July 3–13. A weak king return isn't meeting hatchery broodstock goals that supply fisheries across Southcentral, not just the creek.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Policing the world's biggest salmon rush
Amid Bristol Bay's 44-million-fish sockeye run, troopers cited five commercial fishermen for closed-period, gear-spacing, and grounding violations — the rules that keep a frenzy fair.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Two Kasilof dipnetters cited for dipnetting's most common mistake
Two Kasilof dipnetters were cited 12 minutes apart for the same slip: not recording their sockeye in ink — the most common dipnet ticket there is. Write it down.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Peltola tours the Interior on fish and costs — into a contested field
Peltola toured Interior Alaska on salmon and cost-of-living — but it's a campaign swing, not a coronation: Sullivan works the same ground and the same bycatch issue.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
In Juneau, the shellfish rules just moved in opposite directions
Juneau's shellfish rules split around July 1: personal-use king crab reopens for residents, but shrimping in Section 11-A and Tenakee Inlet stays closed with no date set.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska's fall hunt is coming, and hunters still don't know the rules
Fall hunts are almost here, but Alaska's season rules are stuck in legal review with no end date, and harvest tickets are delayed. Last year's rules apply for now.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Bring it back whole: a catch rule for Craig and Klawock anglers
Fishing out of Craig or Klawock? Certain fish have to come back whole — so the dock crews counting them can do the sampling that keeps the fishery healthy.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Dipnetting the Kasilof? Record and clip before you stash your fish
Record and clip each salmon before it goes in your cooler, or risk a summons like the Wasilla man cited at Kasilof on June 27.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Bristol Bay's sockeye season opens as Nushagak kings raise concern
Bristol Bay's sockeye season is open and the fish are pouring in — a roughly 45-million run. The shadow: depleted Nushagak kings swim the same waters as the nets.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska Native groups take the salmon crisis to a national tribal stage
Four Alaska Native groups took the salmon crisis to the national tribal stage, pressing for a bigger Native role in managing runs that have collapsed on the Yukon and Kuskokwim.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
A fin whale's death near Seward reopens Alaska's vessel-speed debate
A pregnant fin whale that died of a vessel strike was found on a Royal Caribbean ship's bow near Seward. Investigators haven't said which vessel struck it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Federal migratory bird subsistence rules take effect across Alaska
Alaska's spring subsistence bird harvest is older than the U.S. — and a 1916 treaty effectively banned it until 1997. This week's update continues a hunt Native communities never gave up.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
How Kodiak lives safely among the world's biggest bears
Kodiak shares its island with the biggest bears on Earth — up to 1,300 pounds — and a free Saturday Q&A teaches the skills that keep maulings remarkably rare.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A new cruise terminal could rise in a humpback whale feeding ground near Juneau
The feds want comment on a Douglas Island cruise terminal whose two years of pile driving could "harass" 10 marine mammal species in a humpback feeding ground.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Borough weighs tax on recreational harvest
Kodiak Borough is exploring a flat fee on fish boxes and game containers from recreational harvests, modeled on Sitka's $10 per box tax, and could adopt it by ordinance without a public vote.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
ADF&G opens comment on three federal fishery disaster spend plans
Alaska Fish and Game is taking public comment on how to spend three federal fishery disaster grants, but hasn't yet posted listening session dates or details on the total money involved.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
NSRAA shuts Southeast Cove, Crawfish Inlet to common-property chum all season
NSRAA closed Southeast Cove and Crawfish Inlet to common-property chum fishing all season, cutting purse seine access at two northern Southeast harvest areas.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
North Pacific Fisheries Management Council limit golden king crab catch limits
We're you planning on eating all that crab on your plate? No no, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be pushy or anything, I was just curious.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A quiet change to how Alaska's bird seasons get set
The feds are slowing how often they rewrite migratory bird hunting rules — a wonky change that lands hardest in Alaska, the only state with a legal subsistence spring hunt.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
On Admiralty Island, undoing the clearcuts at Cube Cove
The Forest Service closed part of Admiralty Island while crews blast out logging-era debris at Cube Cove — undoing old clearcut damage to give the salmon their streams back.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Interior loses its salmon fishing — pike it is
The Tanana drainage just lost king and chum fishing entirely, leaving Interior anglers chasing pike scattered across a flooded Minto Flats — work for it, with big flashy spoons.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Sullivan and Peltola, fighting over the same salmon
Sullivan introduced a bycatch bill he calls the most sweeping ever; Peltola, who's owned the salmon issue for years, counters with a tougher plan. The science is contested.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Aleutian Islands golden king crab quota rises 13% for 2026/27
One crab goes up, the other crab goes down.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
NPFMC sets Alaska weathervane scallop harvest limits for 2026
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council set 2026 catch limits for Alaska's weathervane scallop fishery, a four-boat operation where each vessel's annual revenue hinges on the council's decision.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak seiners back Kreiss-Tomkins for governor
A Kodiak seiners' group endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins for governor on a fisheries platform — though "restore balance to the Board of Fish" means very different things to different fishermen.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
In Prince William Sound, the one-king summer is the new normal
Prince William Sound's one-king limit isn't a new emergency — it's the rule now, the same restriction as last year, as wild kings stay thin and only hatchery zones stay generous.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cod fishing is excellent in Resurrection Bay — and walkable from Seward
Pacific cod fishing in Resurrection Bay is excellent right now — and the hot spots are a walk from downtown Seward. No boat, no problem. Halibut inside? Less so.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Seward gives its kids more time to catch a king
Kings are scarce across Alaska, but Seward's kids just got bonus weeks at a lagoon stocked just for them — fish raised to be caught, by anglers under 16 only.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Why Alaska is giving out-of-staters more kings as the runs falter
Alaska just doubled out-of-staters' king limit in Southeast even as kings struggle elsewhere — because these are treaty-quota ocean fish, and visitors foot much of the state's fishing-budget bill.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Sullivan's Bycatch Bill Wades Into Alaska's Hardest Fish Fight
Sullivan's sweeping bycatch bill targets trawl salmon catch — a real and raw grievance, even as federal science pins Alaska's river collapses mostly on a warming ocean.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
New EU rules could jam up Alaska fish headed to Europe this summer
July 10: the EU stops taking the old, easy catch certificate. Alaska fish bound for Europe needs the detailed new one — and NOAA says the deadline isn't budging.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Washington Man Cited for Keeping Snagged Sockeye on Russian River
A Washington angler got cited for keeping a snagged sockeye on the Russian — where "hooked in the mouth or it's poaching" isn't fussiness, it's how Alaska keeps the run honest.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Strangers on the Water Free a Tangled Humpback
A young humpback got snared in crab-pot lines near Juneau — and a relay of passing boat crews kept watch until rescuers could cut it loose.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read