"Pribilofs"

On remote St. Paul Island, federal rules have restricted subsistence hunting for years, forcing residents to buy expensive groceries. New rules could take effect soon, but opponents worry about a declining local seal population.

For many Alaskans, subsistence is all about salmon. In St. Paul, that isn’t the case. Fur seals and seabirds are the primary subsistence foods in the Pribilof Island community, but the tribal council thinks enhancing a small salmon run on the island could provide food and a lot more.

Nineteen-year-old Dallas Roberts grew up in St. Paul attending Bering Sea Days. After a year at college, he’s back in the Pribilofs teaching kids about the island’s greenhouse.

Understanding how northern fur seals respond to changes in the distribution and abundance of fish could explain the mysterious decline of fur seals in the Pribilof Islands.

For the first time, scientists have pinpointed the date — 5,600 years ago — and a likely cause of extinction. They believe the environmental changes that killed the animals mirror today’s climate changes.

Youth Conservation Corps introduces high school students to a stretch of protected land they’ve grown up near, but may not even know exists — all in the hopes that someday these young Alaskans will become its next stewards.

The Northern fur seals that breed on the Pribilof islands have been on the decline for decades, but a smaller colony just 200 miles away is thriving. A new study of these colonies is challenging scientists’ assumptions about what marine animals need from their environment — and how they get it.