State and federal game managers set a 30-day hunting and trapping season that closed Dec. 15.
Wildlife
Groups prod federal government to act on plan to save Cook Inlet beluga whales
Cook Inlet belugas have been listed as endangered since 2008. NOAA estimates that 279 individuals remain.
Coming soon: Everything you wanted to know about Juneau’s most popular humpbacks
There’s about to be a new resource to educate locals, tour guides and visitors about the humpback whales of Southeast Alaska.
Skagway’s blue mussels were nearly wiped out last year
The Skagway Traditional Council is asking harvesters to avoid blue mussels until the population rebounds.
Hot dam: Beavers have gnawed their way into the Arctic, speeding permafrost thaw
Beavers are moving to the Arctic as the Alaska tundra heats up and the beaver population rebounds after centuries of trapping. A study published in December shows the small, industrious mammal is accelerating climate change in the north.
When extreme rainfall goes up, economic growth goes down, new research finds
The research, published Wednesday in Nature, found that concentrated bursts of daily rainfall decreases economic growth, especially in wealthier and industrialized countries.