Nature & Outdoors

Frosty Fuels seeks state renewal of its Cold Bay oil spill plan; comments open Friday

Aleut Ventures wants the state to renew the oil spill plan for its Frosty Fuels plant in Cold Bay, which holds up to 568,000 gallons. Comment runs to Dec. 1.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

EPA moves to let Alaska permit carbon storage wells, leaving out a pore-space provision

EPA proposed letting Alaska permit wells that bury CO2 underground. Its plan skips the state rule on folding in unwilling owners' pore space.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fish board adds eight Upper Cook Inlet king stocks and Little Susitna coho to concern list

The fish board added eight Upper Cook Inlet king runs and Little Susitna coho to its worry list, bringing the inlet's troubled king stocks to 13.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

NOAA approves marine mammal permit for Petro Marine's Juneau fuel dock rebuild

Petro Marine says maintenance can't keep up with its 1971 Juneau fuel dock. NOAA just approved the noisy pile driving to replace it, seals and all.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Federal board opens a late-fall subsistence moose hunt on the eastern Kenai Peninsula

The Federal Subsistence Board opened a late-fall Unit 7 moose hunt by email poll, since the rule putting it into effect didn't arrive until a week in.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 15

State proposes giving North Slope Borough 320 acres in the Brooks Range foothills

The state proposed giving the North Slope Borough 320 acres in the Brooks foothills, a week after proposing it get 583 acres in the Kuparuk oil field.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Chignik tribal coalition sues the state months after its Area M salmon rule was voided

The Chignik Intertribal Coalition sued the state in Dillingham. The record doesn't say why, but the state voided the coalition's Area M salmon rule in May.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Fish and Game closes two Southeast sea cucumber areas and raises the weekly limit

Divers took about all the sea cucumbers allowed off Gravina Island and in Zimovia Strait, so Fish and Game closed both and raised the weekly limit elsewhere.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Follows: Gravina Island sea cucumber divers get two hours as the area's cap nearly runs out

Southeast Alaska's commercial Dungeness crab season ends Saturday, a month early

Southeast's Dungeness crab fleet stops fishing Saturday after a fall season cut in half, capping a year with the weakest summer harvest estimate in 25 years.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Boats of any size can fish Chignik's last 229,000 pounds of state-waters cod from Oct. 31

Chignik pot boats caught nearly all of a cod limit the state raised by nearly half this year. The last 229,000 pounds opens to boats of any size Oct. 31.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Group asks Alaska to close Western Arctic caribou hunting if herd falls to 75,000

A Western Arctic caribou group asks the state to close its hunting season if the herd, counted at 121,000, falls to 75,000. The Board of Game meets in January.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago5 min read

Park Service corrects wording of new Alaska harvest rule's "subsistence uses" change

The Park Service fixed one instruction in its new Alaska harvest rule so the terms under "subsistence uses" stay put. The rule still starts Nov. 18.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Four Kodiak mountain goat hunts open Nov. 1; four stay closed after high hunter success

Four Kodiak Island mountain goat hunts open to Alaska residents Nov. 1. Four others stay shut because hunters already hit the harvest goal in the drawing hunts.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Kodiak Assembly to vote on overnight landfill bear hazing and a garbage rate increase

Kodiak Assembly votes Nov 5 on hiring a contractor to haze bears from the landfill overnight. • Assembly also votes on a 5 year trash contract raising rates, commercial bins up 20%. • Comes after state warned borough could be fined over bears getting into the landfill.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Follows: Kodiak Assembly to weigh $300,000 for landfill fence after state says bears are getting in

NOAA clarifies fields on Europe's new seafood export health certificates

NOAA clarified how to fill out Europe's new seafood health certificates. A few fields are optional now, and batch lists get a lot more room.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Geoduck divers get two more days near Ketchikan under a smaller Southeast harvest target

Geoduck divers get two more days near Ketchikan this week. Southeast's harvest target is about 40% below last year's, and two areas are still closed.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Bristol Bay fishermen get a guide to making their case for federal fuel relief

Bristol Bay's drift fleet is being told to send USDA its fuel receipts now. There are no payment rules yet, but early numbers may shape them.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fish board to weigh how Ninilchik River's kings are counted and caught

Six fish board proposals target Ninilchik kings. Some want anglers keeping more hatchery fish; one wants hatchery hens spawning and only big fish counted.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Follows: Board of Fisheries to weigh closing Homer Spit waters to commercial fishing

Forest Service adds Kake hearing on how roadless repeal could affect subsistence

The Forest Service added a Nov. 4 hearing in Kake on how lifting the Roadless Rule's limits on roads and logging could affect subsistence in Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Housing agency has no set plans for proposed state land transfers, CEO tells senators

AHFC has no firm plans yet for over 400 acres of free state land DNR proposes giving it for housing. Legislature's lawyers say such giveaways are likely unconstitutional.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Fish and Game closes eastern Afognak elk hunt Wednesday as harvest nears objective

Hunters reported 15 elk on eastern Afognak against a harvest objective of 16, so Fish and Game is closing the late registration hunt there Wednesday night.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Unit 13 moose closure on BLM land takes effect Tuesday, six months after the vote

A closure of Unit 13 BLM land to moose hunters who aren't federally qualified takes effect Tuesday, six months after the vote and after this year's hunt.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Federal board declined to start Unit 13 moose closure early as rule stays unpublished

Scientists back a 2.5% lower 2027 ceiling for Bering Sea, Aleutian northern rockfish

Scientists want next year's northern rockfish ceiling cut 2.5%. Boats fish well under it, but have already topped what scientists projected for all of 2026.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

NOAA Fisheries moves 475 tons of unused Bering Sea trawl cod, mostly to small boats

The feds say Bering Sea trawlers won't catch all their cod, so 475 tons are moving, mostly to boats under 60 feet. Their share has more than doubled this year.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Feds shift 1,000 tons of Pacific cod from trawlers to small boats and pot fleets

Tree cutting along Kenai Peninsula salmon streams falls to fewest since 2018

Tree cutting along Kenai Peninsula salmon streams is down to 391 so far this year from 2,772 in 2022, and restoration credit requests hit 32, the borough says.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fish and Game closes Kodiak's Ugak and Kiliuda herring waters a day before B season's end

Fish and Game shut Kodiak's Ugak and Kiliuda herring waters Saturday, a day before the B season's end, with about 30% of the season's harvest level caught.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Nome council votes Monday on asking Congress to restore harbor dredging money

Nome wants Congress to find 2027 money for dredging its harbor channel. Kawerak, meanwhile, wants the council's support for a seabed mining moratorium.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fairbanks advisory committee to elect seven, with Ambler no-hunting corridor on agenda

Fairbanks' fish and game advisory committee elects seven members Nov. 11, then turns to the Ambler Road no-hunting corridor it already voted 13-0 against.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Western Gulf pot boats' cod season ends for 2026, two days after they got more fish

Feds gave Western Gulf pot cod boats 600 more tons this month. On Friday, two days after the last top-up, NOAA shut their directed cod fishery for 2026.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Feds move more Western Gulf cod from trawlers to pot boats, second time this month

Southeast charter halibut limit could shrink to 32 inches or less under 2027 options

Southeast charter anglers could keep halibut up to 34 inches this year. Regulators are now studying 32 or smaller for 2027. One operator calls 34 "rock bottom."

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

USDA will back loans of up to $175 million for seafood plants in $5 billion program

USDA says seafood plants can apply for federally backed loans of up to $175 million starting Tuesday. Its own program page still says the money is pending.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min read

Fish and Game and Forest Service to hear public Nov. 2 on Prince of Wales wolf trapping

Fish and Game and the Forest Service want to hear from Prince of Wales residents Nov. 2 before this fall's wolf trapping season. Last year got 31 days.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

NOAA invites tribes to weigh in on Norton Sound red king crab limits

NOAA invited tribes to consult on next year's Norton Sound red king crab limits, after this year's catch ceiling was cut by about a third from 2025.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

December rockfish opening set for Southeast inside waters as outer coast stays closed

Southeast fishermen get a December shot at yelloweye and other bottom rockfish in inside waters. The outer coast stays closed for the rest of the year.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Park Service will again hold local hearings before Alaska park hunting closures

The Park Service will again hold local hearings and use newspapers, radio and post offices before closing Alaska park lands to hunting, fishing or trapping.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFrom Oct 19

Park Service drops permit for subsistence users gathering antlers and bones for crafts

Rural subsistence users won't need a permit to collect antlers and bones for handicrafts in Alaska park areas after Nov. 18, dropping a 2017 requirement.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFrom Oct 19

Listening sessions tell AFN tribes want real authority over fish, wildlife and land

At 13 AFN listening sessions, participants said tribes need real authority over fish, wildlife and land. AFN presents the findings at its convention Friday.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min readFrom Oct 16

Feds close Central Gulf Pacific cod to most trawl catcher vessels for rest of 2026

NMFS closed Central Gulf Pacific cod trawling to most catcher vessels through Dec. 31 to keep them under their 7,782-ton 2026 allocation.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

State opens leftover South Alaska Peninsula cod to pot boats as jig catch falls short

Jig boats left 387,000 pounds of South Alaska Peninsula cod in the water, so the state is opening it to pot boats too Friday, then loosening the rules Oct. 31.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Whittier takes first federal money toward tearing down parts of the empty Buckner Building

Whittier took the first $600,000 to tear down parts of the Buckner Building, its long-empty former Army building. First comes paperwork, then maybe demolition.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read