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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Week of Sep 28
Registration permits open Friday for Chugach mountain goats after drawing hunt falls short of quota
Chugach goat hunters who struck out in the drawing get another shot: Unit 14A registration permits open Friday after drawing hunters took just 7 of 12 goats.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Pollock trawlers shut out of central Bering Sea area after hitting herring bycatch limit
Pollock fleet hit its herring bycatch cap, so part of the central Bering Sea closes to pollock trawling until March 1. Last year it closed five days earlier.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
State gets new federal grant to oversee monitoring at Amchitka nuclear test site
The state has a new federal grant to keep watch over Amchitka, where the U.S. set off its biggest underground nuclear test. So far, it's $41,000 for five years.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Mountain goat hunt south of Port Valdez closes Thursday night after hitting harvest limit
Hunters south of Port Valdez have until Thursday night to finish the RG245 goat hunt. Four goats already hit the limit, and more hunters are still out there.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Bristol Bay's smaller sockeye run pays 21 percent above average
Bristol Bay caught fewer sockeye than usual but got paid far more for them: $264 million, 21% above average. Togiak and Nushagak kings came up short.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Two Ninilchik men charged in alleged illegal bull moose harvest on Brody Road trails
Troopers say two Ninilchik men took a bull moose off the Brody Road trails during a motorized closure. Now they face eight misdemeanors between them.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Registration opens Oct. 1 for women's wilderness first aid class in Fairbanks
Fairbanks women can learn to handle backcountry injuries when help is far away. Sign-ups for the $125 wilderness first aid class open Oct. 1.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Trail camera shows first fawns from deer moved to the southern Kenai Peninsula
A collared doe with two fawns is the first sign that deer moved to the southern Kenai Peninsula are having babies. Hunters, keep waiting: there's no season.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
More from Nature & Outdoors
Court-ordered review models what a large Donlin Gold dam failure would do downstream
A court-ordered review modeled what a Donlin Gold dam failure would do downstream. The Corps calls any failure extremely unlikely; the worst cases are severe.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min readFrom 
Chignik District red sea cucumber divers get first fishing period Sept. 30 to Oct. 7
Chignik District red sea cucumber divers get their first week of the season starting Wednesday, under a 15,000-pound cap for the whole season.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Lake George mountain goat hunt closes early Tuesday after hunters reach harvest limit
The Lake George goat hunt closes Tuesday night, two weeks early. Hunters have already used up every point the state set aside, and some are still out there.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readPrince William Sound fall herring fishery opens Thursday with 749-ton cap
Prince William Sound's fall herring fishery opens Thursday with a 749-ton harvest cap, less than half last year's limit due to a weak spring spawn.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Trawl meeting in Anchorage Oct. 16 will take no remote testimony
Fishery managers will spend a day in Anchorage on trawl nets touching the seafloor. No votes, no remote testimony, and written comments close Oct. 9.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
McCarthy meeting to take up Copper River proposals on salmon eligibility and dip net limits
A local subsistence panel meets Oct. 9 in McCarthy on proposals to add McCarthy Road residents to a salmon fishery and ban dip nets near Copper River streams.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Markey blocks Sullivan's attempt to fast-track bycatch bill through the Senate
Sullivan tried to pass his bycatch bill without a vote. One Democrat, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, said not so fast. Peltola called it performative.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Week of Sep 21
Troopers say Eagle River hunter used a $5 license he did not qualify for
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited an Eagle River hunter for falsely claiming low-income status to buy a $5 duck license instead of the $45 resident license.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo 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
Tok's 40-Mile Air gets $45,000 contract for helicopter flights to track Yukon-Charley wolves
The Park Service is paying a Tok air service $45,000 for on-call helicopter time to keep tabs on Yukon-Charley's wolves. The wolves were not consulted.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Yakutat set gillnetters get another opening, but still can't keep king salmon
Yakutat set gillnetters get another opening starting Sunday. Other salmon are fair game. Kings still aren't, in any size, whether for sale or for dinner.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Aleutian groundfish boats barred from selling 'other rockfish' for the rest of 2026
Aleutian groundfish boats hit their "other rockfish" limit again, so the catch-all rockfish can't be sold until January. It's practically a fall tradition.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Copper River commercial salmon season closes Oct. 13 after weak sockeye and strong coho runs
Copper River's commercial salmon season ends Oct. 13. Sockeye came in at a third of forecast, kings hit an eight-year low, and coho decided to make up for it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Eight of nine Alaska tribes get smaller military cleanup agreements in latest Defense Department round
Nine Alaska tribes signed new Defense Department agreements to clean up old military contamination. The money has shrunk every year since 2023.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Juneau kelp farm study suggests minimal influence on fish and invertebrates
A federal study of two kelp farms near Juneau found minimal impact on fish and invertebrates, though a missed sampling trip prevented statistical confirmation.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
State extends Unit 9B resident moose season to Sept. 30 after bad weather limited hunting
Wind, rain and high water kept Iliamna-area moose hunters off the water. The state is adding five days, so the Unit 9B hunt now runs through Sept. 30.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Federal board gives subsistence hunters 10 more days to hunt moose in the Tetlin refuge area
Rural subsistence hunters near Northway get 10 more days to hunt moose in the Tetlin refuge area, after warmer falls made moose harder to get, the board said.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Fish and Game proposes flagging struggling salmon runs a year earlier so the public can weigh in
Alaskans often get the state's plan for a struggling salmon run too late to weigh in. Fish and Game wants to flag troubled runs a year earlier instead.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Board of Game proposals would cut Western Arctic caribou limits further as the herd declines
The Western Arctic Caribou Herd is down to about 121,000. Proposals to cut harvest further go before the Board of Game in Kotzebue, and comments are due Jan. 9.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
NOAA weighs 77 Gulf of Alaska sites for future kelp and shellfish farms
Seventy-seven spots along the Gulf of Alaska coast could someday grow kelp and oysters. NOAA is still studying them, and no farm is approved yet.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
FAA hires Calista-owned firm for next round of decades-old Cold Bay fuel cleanup
The FAA has been cleaning up leaked fuel at its Cold Bay station since the '90s. A Calista-owned Anchorage firm just got $471,000 for the next chapter.
by Alaska News1mo ago3 min read
The Kenai's coho limit stays at two through November
The Kenai's coho limit stays at two instead of stepping up to three. The state is being careful, though the river is still producing limits.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Bering River moose hunt closes after hunters reach 15-bull cap
The Bering River moose hunt closes Friday at its 15-bull cap. The herd behind it is estimated at 213 animals, against an objective of 300 to 350.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska closed its Bering Sea scallop grounds after the two-boat fleet hit the cap
Alaska's whole commercial scallop fishery is two boats. An emergency order just closed the Bering Sea grounds to them for the rest of the season.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Kodiak's salmon fishery opens for 54 hours starting Thursday at noon
Kodiak gets 54 hours of salmon fishing starting Thursday at noon. The Karluk River saw 93 kings reach spawning grounds against a goal of 3,000.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Federal subsistence permits and harvest reports move online in new Alaska portal
Rural Alaskans can now file federal subsistence permit applications and harvest reports online, though mail and phone filing remain available.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
EPA proposes $21,618 penalty over Red Dog Mine spill into Red Dog Creek
EPA proposed a $21,618 penalty against Teck Alaska Inc. for a May 2025 leak of process water into Red Dog Creek near Kotzebue after a pump failure at the mine.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Halibut commission staff propose letting AI read half of the fish earbones behind catch limits
The halibut commission wants a neural network to read half its fish earbones. It's cheaper by a factor of ten, and it thinks old fish are young.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Fishery managers will meet on trawl seafloor contact, with no power to recommend
The Board of Fisheries took 51 seconds on three trawl proposals. Its follow-up meeting can't recommend anything and won't take testimony by phone.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom 
Unalaska renewed the seafood waste line easement for another decade
If the seafood waste line under Unalaska's roads ever breaks, Westward Seafoods cleans it up. The city rents it the ground for $2,250 a year.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
EPA Rule Would Drop Discharge Permits for 65 Alaska Trawlers
EPA wants to delete six words from a rule. If it does, 65 Alaska factory trawlers lose the permit that keeps their fish waste away from sea lions.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom 
The Lake Clark subsistence commission meets Oct. 3 to review federal wildlife rules
Sockeye is more than 60 percent of everything Port Alsworth and Nondalton take. The commission that advises on those rules meets on Oct. 3.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A Kodiak crab quota lease would guarantee boats Unalaska-level prices
Kodiak's fisheries association would lease its crab processing quota to Royal Aleutian, on the condition that Kodiak boats get paid Unalaska prices.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
