Every year, thousands of people apply online for less than 200 winter permits to hunt muskox in Alaska. The truly devoted travel to Bethel to sign up in person.
Subsistence
Winter salmon trolling starts slow in Southeast Alaska
From October through the end of December, winter trollers had caught only around 5,500 king salmon. That’s almost 2,000 fewer kings than last winter’s catch during the same time period.
Japan whaling decision may have consequences for Alaska subsistence whalers
The chairman for the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission says the group will work with the United States and other International Whaling Commission countries to try to preserve Japan’s membership in the organization.
New Alaska wildlife managers could revive old fights over federal protections, bear- and wolf-killing
Dunleavy’s administration is likely to shift the complex dynamics between the different entities and interests involved in Alaska’s fish and wildlife politics – from the state and federal governments to tribes, hunting organizations and fishing groups.
Sitka Tribe of Alaska sues state, claiming mismanagement of herring fishery
“People don’t want trees in their freezer. It’s all about putting eggs in their freezers, not branches,” said STA Resource Protection Director Jeff Feldpausch. “This is looking grim. This is really grim.”
Reactions from Utqiaġvik on a whaling quota rule change: ‘We don’t have to beg anymore’
“I had hoped to see that happen during my lifeterm,” said Eugene Brower, former president of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association of the rule change. “I’m happy that we don’t have to beg anymore.”
Science and traditional knowledge converge in North Slope Borough’s bowhead whale program
Scientists have spent the past few decades catching up to traditional knowledge, documenting scientifically what whale hunters already knew. Like the fact that the whales can smell, and that they can travel under sea ice.
Fall whaling in Utqiaġvik: joy, excitement and this year, mourning too
Whaling Captain Crawford Patkotak says many in the community are still mourning the loss of two whalers in an accident this season, but the overarching dedication to continuing the tradition of whaling remains strong.
Two Utqiaġvik whaling crew members die in apparent whaling accident
North Slope Borough Mayor Harry K. Brower Jr. said that the Borough is not releasing details about the incident until all the facts are gathered and all family members have been notified.
The man who translates climate change data for Alaskans is retiring. Here’s a Q+A.
Alaska’s summer may have seemed cold. And it was, compared to the previous few. But it was actually still significantly warmer than the previous three decades. Rick Thoman, who’s retiring from his job as a federal climatologist, talks about how sometimes our brains can tell us different things than the data.