Nature & Outdoors

Federal managers bar keeping shortraker rockfish in the central Gulf for the rest of 2026

Feds banned most Central Gulf trawl boats from keeping shortraker rockfish after hitting the 2026 catch limit. The ban runs through Dec. 31, with co-op and hook-and-line boats exempt.

by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Three Northwest Alaska advisory committees elect members, weigh caribou cuts

Show up and you can help pick who speaks for your region on caribou, moose and wolf rules before the Board of Game meets in Kotzebue in January.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Board of Game proposals would cut Western Arctic caribou limits further as the herd declines

BLM pushes White Mountains winter season to Nov. 1 for lack of snow

BLM delayed the switch to winter snowmobile-only rules in the White Mountains and Steese to Nov. 1, citing low snow. Wheeled OHVs stay legal 17 extra days.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Many boats in the central Gulf must throw back Pacific ocean perch through December

Many central Gulf boats must throw back any Pacific ocean perch they catch through December. The 2,800 tons set aside for incidental catch is about used up.

by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Fish and Game opens registration Nov. 12 for $25 Trapping 101 class in Fairbanks

Fish and Game will teach you to trap for $25, which happens to be what a resident trapping license costs. Registration for the Fairbanks class opens Nov. 12.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Senate committee votes to subpoena DNR commissioner over AIDEA land transfers

One invitation declined, another still pending. Senate Resources voted to subpoena DNR Commissioner John Crowther for Oct. 26 over free land transfers to AIDEA.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read

Follows: Giessel says governor kept DNR commissioner from legislative hearing on AIDEA land transfers

Fish and Game lets tenders into Kodiak's herring B season with less than two weeks left

Kodiak's summer-to-fall herring season is finally letting tenders in, with less than two weeks to go. The B season opened July 1 and closes Oct. 25.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Federal board declined to start Unit 13 moose closure early as rule stays unpublished

A federal board voted in April to reserve some Unit 13 BLM land for subsistence moose hunters. The closure still isn't in effect, and an early start was denied.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State commission again proposes letting Cook Inlet setnetters fish beach seines

The Board of Fisheries put Cook Inlet setnetters on beach seines. Their permits don't cover seines. The state's permit commission is trying to change that.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: East side Cook Inlet setnetters must prove recent fishing to stay in the fishery

Petro Marine seeks state water quality sign-off to rebuild its Ketchikan fuel dock

Ketchikan's only fuel supplier, by its own account, wants to rebuild its aging Tongass Narrows dock. First it needs DEC to sign off on water quality.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readFrom Oct 7

State proposes logging about 950 acres near Fairbanks, including along the Chena River

The state wants to log about 950 acres near Fairbanks, including clearcuts along the Chena River. The sales have names like Chili Bean Mixed and Birchnanza.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Oct 8

Healy shooters likely to lose gravel pit range to state road work next summer

Healy shooters are losing their gravel pit range to state road crews. Now residents are talking about a sportsman's club and a real range instead.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State approves Seward timber sale with a logging road along a recreation trail

The state will sell 55 acres of Seward spruce, hauled out on a road along a year-round trail the Forest Service says wasn't built for log trucks.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Board of Game moves Ambler Road hunting closure up to a Nov. 20 web conference

The Board of Game shelved the Ambler Road hunting closure until its January meeting in Kotzebue. Now it's Nov. 20, online, with no testimony taken.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

House District 36 candidates back trawling limits at Tanana Chiefs forum

Rep. Rebecca Schwanke and challenger Crystal Jones both called for limits on trawling at a Tanana Chiefs Conference forum, and laid out ways to cut rural costs.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Rules for a 45,000-fish Western Alaska chum bycatch cap are expected by the end of 2026

A 45,000-fish cap on Western Alaska chum caught by the pollock fleet could be proposed as federal rules by the end of 2026. It would start in 2028.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State closes Unit 14A Chugach goat registration hunts Tuesday night, weeks early

Fish and Game is closing Chugach goat registration hunts in Unit 14A at 11:59pm Tuesday, cutting short a season set to run through Oct. 31.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fish and Game offers women's concealed carry course in Fairbanks Oct. 24-25

Fish and Game's Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program holds a concealed carry course Oct. 24-25 in Fairbanks for $215.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Registration opens Oct. 1 for women's wilderness first aid class in Fairbanks

Alaska has $27 million to get PFAS and other contaminants out of drinking water

Alaska has $27 million in federal money to get PFAS out of drinking water. Most of the projects lined up for it are about a different problem: manganese.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

North Pacific fishery council will consider new proposals at only two meetings a year

The council that shapes Alaska's federal fishery rules will consider new proposals only twice a year, saying it's short on staff. One critic called it a muzzle.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State plans to allow logging on habitat and recreation lands in Haines State Forest

The state plans to allow logging on Haines State Forest habitat and recreation lands, despite objections from conservation groups and other commenters.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Oct 1

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

Two Board of Fisheries proposals would push commercial fishing back from the Homer Spit, by half a mile or a full mile. The board decides in Seward in December.

by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read

Bering Sea pollock fleet nears its 2026 limits as salmon bycatch debate continues

The Bering Sea pollock fleet nearly has its 2026 limits. Yukon tribes say salmon fishing stayed closed; a tribal group says bycatch rules are years off.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Y-K Delta hunters face lower white-fronted goose limits as the Pacific population declines

Y-K Delta hunters can now take six white-fronted geese a day, down from 10, as Alaska and three West Coast states try to reverse the birds' decline.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

State posts logging plan for 365-acre timber sale near Coffman Cove on Prince of Wales

The state posted a logging plan for a 365-acre timber sale near Coffman Cove on Prince of Wales Island. The plan and a comment deadline aren't public yet.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

USDA lifts quarantine on mum disease, sees little risk to Alaska's wild chrysanthemum

The USDA is lifting its quarantine on a disease that attacks mums. It says the only chrysanthemum native to the U.S., on Alaska's coast, won't be much affected.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kawerak backs moratorium on seabed mining off Alaska, sends resolution to AFN convention

Kawerak's board backs a moratorium on seabed mining off Alaska and will ask AFN to do the same. A federal lease sale could come as soon as December.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

East side Cook Inlet setnetters must prove recent fishing to stay in the fishery

East side Cook Inlet setnetters get their own permit area Jan. 1. Want in? Prove you fished there between 2020 and 2024 and apply by Dec. 31.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

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

Trawlers aren't expected to catch all their Pacific cod this year, so NMFS is handing 1,000 tons to small boats and pot fleets nearly out of quota.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

North Pacific council raises Tanner and Bristol Bay red king crab limits, keeps snow crab in rebuilding

North Pacific Fishery Management Council raised Tanner and Bristol Bay red king crab harvest limits for 2026-2027 while keeping snow crab in rebuilding.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Outside scientists find NOAA's Alaska fishing observer program sound, recommend no 2027 changes

Three outside scientists reviewed how NOAA decides which Alaska fishing boats carry observers or cameras. Verdict: sound methods, no changes needed for 2027.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Federal agency proposes marine mammal permit for Juneau's Seawalk extension

Juneau's Seawalk extension means a year of pile driving near whales, sea lions and seals. NMFS has proposed a permit covering the noise's effects.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State estimates $1.2 million to keep cleaning up Typhoon Halong fuel spills

Alaska's environmental agency estimates it needs about $1.2 million to keep cleaning up fuel spills in Western Alaska communities hit by Typhoon Halong.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Houston approves plastics recycler's permit as state reviews groundwater contamination at site

Houston approved a plastics recycler at a gravel pit where the owner's own consultant found petroleum in the groundwater. The state is still looking into it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Glacier Fish, SeaShare present halibut donation permit to council

Glacier Fish and SeaShare asked federal regulators to let the Northern Glacier donate up to 5,000 pounds of halibut it now discards, sending the fish to Western Alaska food banks if approved.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Advisory panel asks scientists to test four more sablefish models before December

New sablefish models would cut the catch ceiling up to 32%. Council advisers want four more options tested before December's catch decision.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Federal managers close Central Gulf Pacific cod fishing to pot boats for the rest of 2026

High cod prices helped pull new boats into the Central Gulf pot fishery. Federal managers say the fleet's share is caught or about to be, so it's done for 2026.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Trawl groups ask fishery council to shrink Steller sea lion closures; conservation groups object

Trawlers want the North Pacific council to shrink Steller sea lion fishing closures, citing fuel and safety. Conservation groups and a tribal commission object.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read