Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

A subadult brown bear sniffs the air as it walks across the tundra in Katmai National Park and Preserve on Aug. 10, 2023. Critics of the state's predator-control program say officials failed to adequately analyze impacts to bear populations, including animals that roam in Katmai.

Restraining order on Alaska bear cull to be in place until state fixes identified legal flaws

Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin, in an order issued May 19, said the department’s decision to shoot bears earlier this month in violation of a previous court ruling justified her decision to keep the temporary restraining order in place beyond the 10 days that is standard in Alaska law.

A brown bear walks on the tundra in Katmai National Park and Preserve on Aug. 11, 2023. Critics of the state's bear-culling program, which is aimed at boosting Mulchatna Caribou Herd numbers, say Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials have failed to adequately analyze impacts to bear populations, including impacts to bears that roam in Katmai.

Politics

Judge says Alaska bear-killing program remains void, despite emergency authorization

Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

An emergency declaration by the Alaska Board of Game does not change the fact that the program is unconstitutional and the state failed to do required fixes, the judge ruled.

An abandoned house, seen on Aug. 2, 2022, teeters on the edge of a cliff that has eroded away because of permafrost thaw.

Science and Environment

Cost estimates rising for permafrost-related damage to Alaska roads and buildings

Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

Better knowledge and mapping of existing infrastructure is leading to a new estimate of future thaw costs under varying climate scenarios.

A walrus mother and calf rest on an ice floe in Alaska's Chukchi Sea in 2010. Other resting walruses are in the background. Sea ice extent is tracked by the National Snow and Ice Data Center, a Colorado-based facility that uses data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Politics

Trump administration stopping NOAA data service used to monitor sea ice off Alaska

Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

Scientists worry as services that provided detailed and historic information about sea ice, snowpack, glaciers, and other Arctic conditions are being discontinued.

Wind turbines spin in Nome on Sept. 30, 2020. Renewable energy has been embraced in much of rural Alaska as an alternative to expensive diesel-fueled power.

Politics

Sen. Murkowski makes pitch for renewable energy’s value in Alaska communities

Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

While the Trump administration emphasizes fossil fuel extraction and pauses funding for renewable projects, the Alaska senator describes renewables as key to energy independence.

A brown bear wades through river water in Katmai National Park and Preserve on Aug. 12, 2023. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance is seeking a restraining order and injunction to prevent the state from carrying out a third bear-killing season in its program to reduce predators in the area of the state used by the Mulchatna Caribou Herd.

Politics

Environmental group asks Alaska court to halt this year’s bear-killing program

Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

If the state Department of Fish and Game predator control takes place, it would be the third year of a program that has so far killed 180 bears and 19 wolves.

A young adult brown bear walks in front of a forested area in Katmai National Park and Preserve on June 16, 2018. The Alaska Board of Game approved an emergency regulation allowing the Department of Fish and Game to conduct a third season of predator control to kill bears in the area of Western Alaska used by the ailing Mulchatna Caribou Herd. Critics of the program believe it puts Katmai bears at risk.

Hunting & Fishing

Alaska Board of Game approves petition for emergency predator control

Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

The board’s action allows the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to continue killing bears and wolves for a third season in the range of the shrunken Mulchatna caribou herd.

A subadult brown bear stands on June 8, 2018, on the shore of Naknek Lake in Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Politics

Alaska officials seek emergency rule to continue bear-killing program, despite court ruling

Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

A predator-control program in Western Alaska, recently ruled unconstitutional, is needed to boost the ailing Mulchatna caribou herd, state game managers say.

Salmon dries on a traditional rack on the beach in the Seward Peninsula village of Teller on Sept. 2, 2021. Salmon is a dietary staple for Indigenous residents of Western Alaska, and poor runs have created hardship.

Politics

Bill would change the makeup of the Alaska Board of Fisheries

Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

The bill would require designated seats on the seven-member board to represent commercial, sport, and subsistence sectors, along with one representing scientists.