Legislation proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy would allow the state to sell subsurface gas-only leases in part of Kachemak Bay so companies could drill into undersea reservoirs from miles away.
Oceans
Feds designate critical whale habitat areas in Alaska and the West Coast
The federal ruling affects the eastern Aleutians, Kodiak and Prince Williams Sound as well as the coastlines of Washington, Oregon and California.
A decade after Fukushima nuclear disaster, Alaska expands seafood monitoring
State environmental regulators announced Monday they’re expanding radiation testing of commercially harvested Alaska seafood, including crab.
Pacific heat wave had lasting impacts on Gulf of Alaska marine species
Some fish, like certain populations of herring, are rebounding more rapidly. But taken altogether, the data paints the picture of an ecosystem still reeling from a warming ocean.
Low Stikine sockeye forecast could mean early subsistence closure
Federal managers are warning that there may not be enough sockeye salmon to allow a full season of subsistence fishing on the Stikine River.
NOAA awards contract for Ketchikan facility, paving way for research vessel to tie up at home port
While the Fairweather spends much of its time at sea mapping the seafloor, studying fisheries and searching for shipwrecks in Alaska, the research vessel hasn’t had a home in the state since at least 2008.