Wildlife

Four birds have died in the area and crews have set up additional containment booms around a nearby hatchery and the Valdez Duck Flats.

The COVID-19 pandemic will not prevent Alaskans from fishing this summer. But residents are being asked to take precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Trump administration last month proposed to narrow the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. That could have profound impacts on how industry players approach development in Alaska.

The case shows how it’s become common for polar bears to disrupt village life in Kaktovik, which sits on an island at the edge of the Beaufort Sea. As climate change melts sea ice and drives the bears ashore, residents say they’ve been under increasing stress.

In 2008, Cook Inlet beluga whales were listed as endangered. Their numbers still continue to drop: There are fewer than 300 today, and they’re steadily declining.

A warmer climate in the area is having an effect on permafrost and vegetation that caribou eat.

The first “Blob” decimated fisheries, caused a mass seabird die-off and spurred toxic algal blooms up and down the coast. As Alaska braced for the second heat wave, it disappeared — at least for now.

One researcher says now is a key time for studies on Arctic Ocean conditions, before hotter temperatures from climate change become the new normal.

Lichens are a critical food source for the caribou herd that lives on the Nushagak Peninsula. But as the caribou thrive, they are depleting the food they depend on.

For one Juneau-based guide, it’s a way to teach his guests about the importance of the Tongass National Forest at a crucial time.