Morning update — Monday, Feb. 26, 2018

In this newscast:

  • Forest Service official says fighting Lower 48 wildfires is cutting into Alaska forest services: U.S. Forest Service Associate Deputy Chief Chris French told Southeast Alaska leaders his agency is spending more and more money on firefighting. French said firefighting is expected use up about 60 percent of the Forest Service budget within a few years. That’s three to four times what it was 15 years ago.
  • Scientists discover mysterious uranium particle above Aleutian Islands: During the flight from Anchorage to Hawaii, Dan Murphy collected thousands of particles and it wasn’t until he was analyzing the samples back on the ground that he realized what he had. The mystery particle is enriched uranium — the type of uranium associated with nuclear fuel or bombs, but Murphy says people of the Aleutians do not need to be worried about one atmospheric particle of uranium.

In other news:

There’s a winter weather advisory in effect until noon Monday. The National Weather Service is forecasting about 3 to 5 inches of snow.


Legislature faces another struggle over long-term budget plan

The Legislature is faced with the same dilemma it’s had for the past three years: how to pay for the state budget when oil and gas revenue can no longer cover the costs.

Legislative Finance Director David Teal presents an overview Feb. 22, 2016 comparing three different bills in the House Finance Committee (HB 224, 245, 305) that would affect the Permanent Fund and its dividends. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
Legislative Finance Director David Teal presents an overview Feb. 22, 2016 comparing three different bills in the House Finance Committee (HB 224, 245, 305) that would affect the Permanent Fund and its dividends. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)

The biggest focus is on a plan that would draw from Alaska Permanent Fund earnings.


Wrangell requests residents limit water usage due to lack of rainfall

Wrangell faces water shortages more often than it would like. The current  treatment plant cannot process water fast enough to meet peak demands, especially in the summer. In response, the city is considering a new $9 million treatment plan.

The city saw its water reservoir levels drop drastically in the past three weeks. The upper reservoir is low by 9 feet.


Archaeology in northern Alaska: a race against the clock

Until recently, northern Alaska was one of the places that archaeologists weren’t exactly in a hurry to dig. The permafrost functioned kind of like a big freezer where artifacts could stay well-preserved until researchers got around to excavating them.

A photograph of the Walakpa archaeological site south of Utqiaġvik following a storm in 2014. The storm caused several meters of coastline to collapse and wash away in certain places, along with archaeological artifacts contained in those sections of the coast. Archaeologists are in a race to preserve artifacts threatened in northern Alaska due to permafrost thaw and coastal erosion. (Photo Courtesy of Anne Jensen).

Of course, that’s changing. Permafrost thaw and coastal erosion mean that more sites are at risk of being lost, or are already gone. And Alaskan archaeologists are joining a national conversation about how to confront these sorts of changes


You can hear these stories and more at www.ktoo.org/listen.

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