Alaska

Legislation allowing geoduck farming to expand north and west is moving in the state Senate.

The measure would allow the large, valuable clams to be grown north of their natural realm. That ends around Juneau.

The House Resources Committee has approved a scaled-back measure aimed at increasing sea otter harvests. It’s a significant change for the resolution authored by Wrangell Representative Peggy Wilson.

Anthropologists, linguists and elders will gather in Sitka this spring for a conference of Tlingit tribes and clans. It coincides with the 100-year anniversary of Alaska Native Brotherhood, the state’s oldest indigenous-rights association.

A key Southeast Native leader is asking the Legislature to not lower oil taxes. Tlingit-Haida Central Council President Ed Thomas says Alaska needs the revenue. He also says oil companies are already making huge profits.

A Western Alaska lawmaker says place-based education is working.

Representative Reggie Joule, a Kotzebue Democrat, told Juneau’s Native Issues Forum today (Feb. 8) that the approach makes sense.

Several Alaska Native organizations oppose a legislative effort to increase sea otter harvests.