The Native Village of Kaktovik is speaking out against the Biden administration, claiming their tribe wasn’t consulted about an agreement President Biden made with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding protections of the porcupine caribou herd in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Subsistence
Bethel tribe protests 15-day comment period for Donlin Gold water permits
The state granted Donlin Gold 12 water right permits after giving the public 15 days to comment. Some Y-K Delta residents claim that wasn’t enough time, especially with villages locked down to fight the pandemic.
Students in New Stuyahok practice subsistence skills in the classroom
When New Stuyahok shifted to a mix of in-person and distance learning as a safety precaution, the school took the opportunity to incorporate subsistence into the classroom.
Alaska’s regional subsistence councils hamstrung by stalled appointments
A large number of unfilled seats on the councils that manage Alaska’s subsistence hunting and fishing has left advocates worried their voices won’t be heard and confused about the process of filling those seats.
State predicts commercial herring harvest will fall short of annual limit
The annual fishery didn’t happen at all in 2019 and 2020. Most of the herring were young and too small to meet international market demands, and the pandemic posed other challenges in 2020.
Federal and state officials sign right-of-way permit for controversial Ambler Road
The road would stretch 211 miles from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District east of Kotzebue and would cross Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.
Once again, Arctic Report Card shows the abnormal is now normal
This year was the second warmest on record in the Arctic, with impacts to sea ice, erosion and marine ecosystems.
Relief and disappointment as Bristol Bay reacts to Army Corps’ Pebble permit denial
For opponents of the project, the Army Corps’ decision released a wave of relief. For those who backed the project, the decision comes as a harsh blow.
After low salmon year, supporters rally to get Yukon River mushers dog food for winter
Donated dog food is making its way to some Yukon River communities where poor salmon runs have left mushers without fish to feed their teams.
Federal judge overrules Dunleavy administration’s objections to Kake’s COVID-19 hunt
In an order issued Wednesday, Judge Sharon L. Gleason wrote that federal officials had taken both conservation and public safety concerns into account when it approved Kake’s out-of-season hunt. She also noted that when federal officials reached out to state wildlife managers, they didn’t respond.