Environment

All Alaska news stories about the environment, climate and weather. Could also include topics like animal die-offs related to the environment.

a mine

Kensington Gold Mine near Juneau reports 105,000-gallon tailings spill

Staff at the mine, about 45 miles north of Juneau, said the spill happened in late January after an underground pipeline leaked.
women

Project seeks to gather Alaska environmental knowledge embedded in Indigenous languages

Experts want to compile a glossary of Alaska Native words and phrases holding information that can help track climate change and other conditions.
a ship

New Coast Guard alert system aims to reduce the number of whales hit by vessels

The Coast Guard is stepping up to help improve one of the most used whale report apps, WRAS, which also forms the basis for Canada's alert system.
salmon

Environmental DNA offers scientists a look at salmon’s past and future

Scales and other genetic material can be collected from seawater up to two days after fish leave an area, according to a new paper.
A man carries a sled full of shovels in winter.

Anchorage is about a foot shy of breaking winter snowfall record

NWS climatologist Brian Brettschneider says the prospect of Anchorage having more than 134.5 inches of total snowfall this winter is “not looking good.”
A man on a ladder installs a piece of equipment on the upper part of a wall.

Alaska creates climate plan to reduce statewide emissions and fund a wide range of sustainable energy projects

The state identified almost a billion dollars in need for projects that would help lower energy costs for an EPA grant program. 
seaweed farming

Alaska aquaculture is growing quickly, but faces roadblocks

A new study's author says the growing industry has encountered a few “fundamental bottlenecks,” many of them involving Alaska logistics.
a building

Alaska development authority signs contracts with ex-Dunleavy aides, paying up to $295/hour

Rex Rock and John Moller, both former rural affairs advisors to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, were hired by AIDEA through a competitive procurement process.
a polar bear

Federal appeals court declines to ‘criminalize’ Beaufort Sea oil and gas work

A divided three-judge panel concluded that a federal agency failed to justify a regulation that allows some oil and gas work.
a man

Amid salmon crash, Alaska’s Yukon River residents say a new pact with Canada leaves them behind

In villages along the river, Tribal leaders say the state has cut them out of the process and they want federal oversight.
two people install a system near a pole outside

Technology that detects volcanoes and nuclear explosions will listen for avalanches in Juneau

Picking up infrasound could help Alaska Department of Transportation to track high mountain avalanches that often go undetected.
a map

U.S. Forest Service cuts back Southeast Alaska timber sale after public comments

After years of debate, the Thomas Bay timber sale has shrunk from an initial proposal of about 22 million board feet to 12.6 million board feet.
a whale

Study reveals 30% decline in Alaska humpbacks in last decade

The study found that almost 7,000 North Pacific humpbacks went missing between 2012 and 2021, during a marine heatwave known as “the blob.”
a woman

After the fires, a Maui community tries a novel approach to keep homes in local hands

As developers seek to scoop up burned properties in Lahaina, some locals are instead turning to a community land trust.
Spruce trees dot an otherwise tree-less tundra landscape.

Trees are expanding north in Alaska’s Arctic as a result of sea ice loss

Large areas of open ocean are driving heavy snowfall in the Arctic, which protects trees from harsh northern conditions. 
Napakiak

FEMA awards $2.4M to Napakiak as it retreats from Kuskokwim erosion

Erosion has been marching the Kuskokwim River's banks 25 to 30 feet per year toward the community’s well-water source and school building.
a parking lot

Drones assist in Alaska’s conservation efforts

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation flies many drones, some with thermal cameras and water sampling capabilities.
a map

Full cleanup of former military sites on Kodiak Island is still years away

Cleanup efforts for munitions at some sites, such as Kodiak's World War II-era Burma Road, can take decades according to U.S. Army officials.
a landslide

Final report filed on cause of Wrangell’s deadly landslide

State geologists say the Nov. 20 Wrangell landslide that killed six people was caused by excessive amounts of rain in a short period of time.
a riverbank

Alaska tribes accuse Canada of human rights violations, request international hearing on mining

The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission says upstream mining in Canada violates tribes' right to a healthy environment.