A bearded seal rests on ice in the Bering Sea. NOAA/Cameron NOAA Fisheries is proposing to designate critical habitat in U.S. waters off the coast of Alaska for Arctic ringed seals and the Beringia distinct population of bearded seals. Both species are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The ESA requires that NOAA […]
Scientists partnered with tech industry experts to develop the first machine learning application for acoustic monitoring of Alaskan beluga whales. An innovative machine learning application will help scientists collect information essential to protect and recover the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale population. In 1979, the Cook Inlet beluga population began a rapid decline. Despite being protected as an […]
Documents obtained via Freedom of Information Act detail close collaboration linking logging interests, Forest Service, and State of Alaska JUNEAU – Up to $1.3 million in U.S. Forest Service (USFS) dollars will wind up in the hands of the Alaska Forest Association – a timber industry group – for work that entails selecting old-growth […]
The regrowth of Amazonian forests following deforestation can happen much slower than previously thought, a new study shows. The findings could have significant impacts for climate change predictions as the ability of secondary forests to soak up carbon from the atmosphere may have been over-estimated. The study, which monitored forest regrowth over two decades, […]
HOMER—Local businesses, voters and property owners Tuesday responded to the Dunleavy Administration’s abrupt decision last week to unravel safeguards to Kachemak Bay. On November 19, ADFG staff notified its planning team the “governor’s office decided to repeal the PWC [Personal Watercraft] prohibition” for the Kachemak Bay Critical Habitat Area. The notice named right-wing radio personality […]
New bathymetric map of the western Gulf of Alaska. New seafloor maps show for the first time the course of ancient ice masses. They show how they shaped essential habitat for the western Gulf of Alaska’s abundant fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. Scientists wove together historical and modern data—from century-old hand-drawn charts to modern multibeam surveys. They created […]
Photograph of fin whale taken during Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers using electronic tags were able to monitor blue and fin whales off the coast of Southern California over multiple weeks, providing new insight into the feeding behaviors of the two largest whale species. The researchers also found evidence of […]
Alaska had been a state for one year in 1960 when its Department of Fish and Game conducted a wolf-planting experiment on Coronation Island in Southeast Alaska. At the time, the remote 45-square-mile island exposed to the open Pacific had a high density of blacktailed deer and no wolves. That summer, biologists from Fish […]
Leaders Assert Major Mine Permits are Illegal, Rushed, and Ignore Local Concerns Bethel, Alaska – Thursday a consortium of tribal governments from the Kuskokwim region led by Orutsararmiut Native Council (ONC) has filed an appeal of two permits recently issued by the State of Alaska to Donlin Gold, a mining project owned by Canadian based […]