Environment

The Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, or AK CASC, is so far spared from closures coming to a third of such climate science centers across the country, as first reported by The Washington Post. 

In other regions of the U.S., some centers are expected to run out of money soon because the federal government has stalled funding and essential agreements with universities that the U.S. Geological Survey needs to manage the centers.

But Alaska’s center is safe for now.

Kristin Timm, AK CASC’s university co-director at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said the center’s funding through next summer has already been disbursed. 

“But of course, we’re worried about how long our funding will continue to last,” she said.

The center’s budget is roughly $2.2 million dollars per year. AK CASC signed an agreement with the University of Alaska in 2023 that maintains their partnership through July of 2028, which should ensure the center’s existence until then.

Timm said that about 25 university employees receive a significant portion of their salary through the CASC.

But she said that two grants through the USGS are on hold. One would have funded communications interns and the other would have funded a study on how climate change could affect a caribou herd that’s important to subsistence hunters. 

She said the center does projects that Alaskan communities and decision makers have asked for. 

“If we don’t get funded, you know, one of the major projects that would really affect Alaskans is the work around the glacier outburst flood and Suicide Basin,” Timm said.

The center funded the interactive website that helped inform Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley residents about the threat to their homes during August’s flood. The center has also funded research around improving wildfire forecasts and how climate change is affecting salmon in the Yukon River Basin.

Oh, lorge. It’s the Fat Bear Week Finals and two of the biggest boars of Brooks River are here to conceptually duke it out. It’s a packed house (around 150K voters each day!) and this one’s a real claw-biter. 

Interesting play by the voters yesterday, stomping out 602 Flotato! If nothing else, he is certainly a People’s Choice Award kind of bear. Fat, happy, fat: truly a triple threat. Had it been Favorite Bear Week he might have had a better chance. Same with 128 Grazer, whose airtight brand of fierce motherhood has a stout and devout following. Still, she came up short against “Daddy Long Legs” 856. 

And so, dear readers, amid a bracket of broad babes and lover boars it’s come down to the two bad boy antiheroes. 

856 is tearing through Fat Bear Week, 3-0. Despite his king-sized history, he has never come this close to the finish line. He, like all the bears, does not know about Fat Bear Week, or care, but I do in general think he wants it more. He has always wanted it more. He got known for his explosive plays when he was only 10. He threw everything he had at this and rose to fame, gaining a reputation as a super dominant, extremely aggressive bear. He was kingpin of the River for over a decade. 

Meanwhile, starting last year, 32 Chunk the Hunk had had enough. We don’t know what switch went off the previous winter, but Chunk came out of hibernation chomping at the bit, the butts, everyone. He was gonna be the next big thing and he wanted all the bears to know. He was dark and broody and on an actual tear. Then, the thing happened: he killed 128 Grazer’s cub, Smalls. 

Many thought this was unforgivable. But, for the record, 856 also killed multiple cubs during his reign.

So how did two semi-villains make it to the finals? Complexity! Depth! Conflict! 

32 Chunk shows up this season and he’s injured. His mouth is falling out of his mouth. At first we didn’t know if he could eat / survive. To top it off, he was born with these narrow-set eyes that make him look worried basically all the time. It was vulnerable. It was high stakes. It was drama. 

Best moment? When my boy 503 — aka Cubadult, aka the Prince of Katmai — invites him to play. 32 Chunk used to get down all the time as a little boar but in his rise to serious adulting he stopped messing around. 503 (also an adult, but younger than Chunk) was like “Come on bro, loosen up, have some fun,” and then they — *holds back tears* — did. They splashed and pawed and gnawed, gently and tenderly, at each other’s faces. 503 went easy on Chunk’s jaw. 32 Chunk let his guard down. 

32 Chunk is not the only one exposing his soft spot. 856 is moving at senior speed, now yielding to younger and smaller bears. And, we were witness to what many describe as his grief. (Trigger warning for the next paragraph). 856 was on-again-off-again lovers with a female bear named 402. So 856 was also known as 402’s husband. Last fall, 402 was killed by a completely different boar, 469 Patches. I won’t get into the hows and potential whys. But after 856’s wife was killed, 856 went to her. He went to her body, went to the site where she died. He spent a long time there — pacing, gazing, sniffing — and he returned every day for a week. Animals experience emotions. Many, including me, believe the once powerful 856 was in mourning. 

So you see; these fat bears are — wait for it — well-rounded. In many ways, some of the greatest fun of Fat Bear Week is the characterization of the contenders. We know that the bears demonstrate individuality — that is, they have distinct traits, preferences and behaviors. Even though they are mostly solitary, they remember and regard each other; they have sustained, elaborate webs of relationships that are constantly being negotiated in a collectively understood hierarchy. So, it is natural to acknowledge them not just as unique numbers, but as unique, complex stories. 

Past Fat Bear Week winners have represented enormity, yes, but also generosity, patience, protectiveness and more. Today we see a finals match that goes beyond size; it captures vulnerability, pain and resilience. 32 Chunk and 856 are not just big; they’re tremendous. They remind us how wild and complicated it is to be a bear, to be human, and to be alive.

I can’t choose. But you can; you will. I’ll be back tomorrow with the results. 

May the fattest bear win. Voting is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. AKST at fatbearweek.org.

Good morning, fat bear fanatics! Here we are at the semifinals of Fat Bear Week and everybody’s fired up. Who’s with me??

Let’s recap last week’s matches: Regrettably, neither Beady sister (909 and 910) could land their paunches against 128 Grazer and 856. Despite being truly, deeply, unfathomably fat, each sow separately lost their spot on the line. They weren’t necessarily upsets though we (me and about 23,000 voters) were a little upset. Come on! 910 might not have a large following, but she is a generous bear and she is shaped like a post office. I thought she had a chance! She did not.

We’re down to the final four, and it’s any bear’s game. Note that Fat Bear Week thus far has been landslide wins for each victor; we’re now looking at a set of bears that dominate on and off the bracket. There’s so many pounds we could unpack here — including the very real life conflicts between these bears over the years at Brooks River. It’s like Real World: Katmai National Park, and these are not just main characters of the season; these are series regulars.  

We started Fat Bear Week with a sow advantage (7 of the 12 bears were female), and we’re down to one: 128 Grazer. Grazer’s known for her strong defense, which is basically an offense. She fights the power, she’s a mom icon, and she eats like a champ. However, she’s also already taken home the title for two years running, and Fat Bear Week voters have been known to want to pass the trophy around. 

Will they pass it to 32 Chunk the hunk, who has teetered close to the title but has never sealed the deal? Broken jaw 32 Chunk kept his head low this summer, quite literally, and it paid off. Not only did he adapt, he put on the fat. Will voters look past his (somewhat shady) past? 

And 856, who long ruled the Katmai kingdom with a sharp fist, is finally getting some good press. Our tall boy started this season on a gaunt foot, and we think he knew that. Unpretentious, he’s been living a quieter life. Turns out, he doesn’t need to be boss bear to bulk up. Retirement looks good on 856. Are we ready to throw him a party? 

But the guy to watch, in my opinion, is the fourth bear, Fat Bear Week rookie: 602 Flotato. He embodies the 2025 season better than anyone. It was a summer marked with a historically high salmon run. The water was so dense with fish, the color of the river changed. Everyone was rolling in it, literally. In this incredible season of abundance, we saw a cultural shift: the bears leaned into joy. 

Dance parties, slow wrestling, gentle bitey-face — it was a spectacular display of pleasure and play. There were sticks to discover and mud to roll in and naps on naps on naps. It was a vibe, and 602 Flotato was a top influencer. 602 has always loved the water (his first nickname was Snorkel Bear). But this year he lavished deeply; it was a regular occurrence to see him lounging in his own spa. There’s a photo of him, on his back, with a dead salmon laying on his face like an eye pillow; it’s peak Flotato. His delight may not be the key to the championship, but it’s the key to something bigger and we’re here for it. 

Weigh your choices carefully! 

May the fattest bear win. Voting is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. AKST at fatbearweek.org!

A U.S. District Court judge in Anchorage has ruled against the state of Alaska in an 11-year-old legal dispute that has significant implications for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and state finances.

On Wednesday, Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that laws and regulations setting the western border of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are “ambiguous,” but federal regulators made a reasonable decision when they declared the border to be the western bank of the North Slope’s Staines River, rather than on the western bank of the Canning River.

There are 20,000 acres of potentially oil-rich land between the two waterways, and the state of Alaska had sought ownership of the area — sited just to the east of the Prudhoe Bay oil field — for oil and gas drilling.

While the federal government is now advancing plans for oil and gas leasing in the disputed area, the decision to keep it under federal control means that if oil and gas are discovered there, the state of Alaska would receive far less revenue than it would if it were state-owned land.

“The state of Alaska is disappointed that the court failed to recognize the state’s ownership of this disputed area on the border of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” said Patty Sullivan, communications director for the Alaska Department of Law, which brought the case against the federal government.

“This land may hold significant resource potential for the future of energy for Alaska and the United States and would likely be thoroughly explored and developed under state management. We will evaluate our options and are glad to, at least, have a federal administration currently in place that recognizes the importance of responsible resource development in this area,” she said.

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice did not return messages seeking comment.

The state’s dispute with the federal government revolves around whether federal mapmakers viewed the Staines River as a separate river from the Canning, or simply a “distributary,” a different channel of the same river, in 1957.

The Bureau of Land Management used the boundary drawn that year to create the Arctic National Wildlife Range in 1960, and it became the refuge in 1980. Maps published at that time show the border running along the Staines River.

As Gleason explained in her 74-page order, “If the Staines River was considered to be part of the Canning, then the extreme west bank would follow the west bank of the Staines distributary of the Canning River. But if the Staines and the Canning were considered to be two separate rivers, then the boundary would follow the west bank of western-most channel of the main Canning River.”

The dispute also included a marker designating the northwest, seaward boundary of the refuge, but the main issue was about the river-defined border.

In 2014, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources requested ownership “of certain lands west of” the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The Alaska Statehood Act, which remains partially unfulfilled more than 65 years after statehood, allows the state to select more than 100 million acres of federal land for state ownership.

In 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management responded to the state’s request, saying the state had already selected all available land in the area. The state protested, saying that federal officials were drawing ANWR’s border west of where it should have been because they were relying on the Staines River, not the Canning.

The state appealed to the U.S. Interior Board of Land Appeals, which ruled in favor of the BLM. The state sued over the issue in 2022 and won an early victory when Judge Gleason ruled the following year that the land appeals board failed to consider a 1951 map that showed the Staines as a separate river from the Canning.

But in 2024, the land appeals board again ruled against the state, which promptly renewed its case in the U.S. District Court and requested summary judgment, a request that was answered Wednesday.

Explaining her order, Gleason noted a 1906 U.S. Geological Survey dictionary that labeled the Staines and the Canning as the same river, but “on the other hand, some contemporaneous maps label the two rivers separately, indicating that the Staines and the Canning may have been considered to be two separate rivers. And yet other contemporaneous maps do not label the Staines or do not separately label the Canning River at the mouth,” she wrote.

While that might have favored the state’s position, Gleason concluded that the land appeals board’s interpretation of the border was reasonable, not arbitrary, was supported by substantial evidence and wasn’t contrary to law, meaning that the state doesn’t have grounds to overturn it.

Gleason concluded, “the court upholds the IBLA’s finding that the northwest boundary of the refuge follows the Staines River, a distributary of the Canning River.”

If the state chooses to appeal Gleason’s decision, it will have 30 days after final judgment.

Hurricane-force winds are expected to hit central and southern Southeast Alaska late Thursday into Friday with gusts up to 80 miles per hour. Seas along the outer coast in the Gulf of Alaska could reach 35 feet.

Jeff Garmon is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau. He said residents in the region should prepare.

“These winds, making landfall, they will do damage, they will push trees over, and we could see some damage to structures,” Garmon said. “Especially for folks from Sitka South, really ought to be paying very close attention to this.”

The storm is supposed to make landfall along southern Baranof Island and Prince of Wales Island Thursday night and then get stronger early Friday. Garmon said residents in other areas should also stay alert.

“Those winds extend well out to the east, well to the north, well to the south and west of where that center of circulation comes in,” he said. “So, this is not just an immediate coastal threat for wind. Those winds will eventually move inland and the Inside Passage needs to be watching.”

The windstorm is supposed to dissipate over the weekend, and Monday could see a few peeks of sun.

“Sunday, Monday looks a lot more benign, but we’re still going to have some weather around. We may get some breaks on Monday in the weather. So, let’s say the glass is half full for Monday.”

The National Weather Service in Juneau is posting weather updates to their social media accounts, and public radio stations in the region are also giving forecast updates on their airwaves.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the increased winds and seas predicted by the National Weather Service.

Welcome back to Fat Bear Week! It’s halftime and things are really heating up. In yesterday’s matches, 602 was a hot Flotato and Biggie (128jr) could barely touch him. 32 Chunk and his humongous hero journey had 901 punching above her weight. Both boy bears put an end to the ladies’ winning streaks. 

But hold on to your hats, adoring fans of flabulous, because defending Fat Bear Queen 128 Grazer competes today. 

Match 7: 909 vs 128 Grazer

Spicy 909 goes muzzle to muzzle with reining Fat Bear champ, 128 Grazer. Grazer is a seasoned veteran on the bracket, and FBW champion for two years running. She is an older, wider, deeply-respected bear. She is a blonde barrel and a very big deal. 

What I love about this match is the fierce femininity on both sides. Actually, if you couldn’t tell by their frequent knee jerk growls, 128 Grazer and 909 are related! These aren’t just any two broads — they’re some of the toughest and gruffest gals at the Falls, and fierce protectors of their family. 

909 is part of the 909/910 clan that became known as The Beady Bunch. They raised their kids together as a blended family and were out running these streams like a girl gang. 

There’s not much new I can say about the mighty nature of 128 Grazer, but it bears repeating that her reputation precedes her. You know you’re a legend when your name becomes a verb. e.g. “151 just got Grazered.”

One of the most assertive and powerful female bears in the Brooks River area, 128 Grazer has earned a high place on the hierarchy despite not being male. The respect is palpable. When Grazer walks by, she walks with confidence, and a path is parted for her. If a bear is smart, they try not to get on her bad side, or her good side, or any side – they leave a wide berth. “She is beauty, she is grace, she will bite you in the face,” is a common chorus amongst bear cam viewers. 

Match 8: 910 vs 856

Fat Bear Week respects our elders and 856 is cashing in on the love. “Respect to grandpa,” someone wrote in the YouTube chat. 856 has taken a wildly demure disposition in his retirement, a reflection of his wisdom more than his weakness. Although 856 still makes attempts to reclaim some dominance, he does so with discretion. Physical changes in his body, whether it be old age or illness, has made 856 slow down and become more aware of his capacity. His spring pics have him looking like a wheat thin but by late summer he was a bread loaf of a boar. 856’s fatness represents a shift in not just his 2025 season, but a season of life. His size represents a nobility in knowing his limits. 

856 faces 910: Daughter of 409 Beadnose, Niece of 408 Crooked Claw, Sister to 909, Mom to 910jr, Adopted mom/Auntie to 609, and I list all her relations because that’s how 910 would introduce herself. This, my friends, is your family girl. 

Judging from 909’s more feisty nature, I imagine it was 910’s idea to blend families and raise their kids together in 2022. When 909 kicked her daughter out of the house, 910 took her in. Note that adoptions in the bear community are extremely rare. Then, 910 could have emancipated her daughter and niece the following summer, but she kept them in tow for an extra year. Personal human opinion here, but I think she likes when everybody is together. Most adult bears are more solitary than social, but we see that preference on a spectrum. 910 definitely swings social. She is a loyal, nurturing bear. 

It was her first year as an empty nester after raising cubs for four straight years and 910 had herself a hot grrl summer. She danced her heart out at the beach, she played with her besties, she dated some big shots and she fished the lip with her sis. On the fatness scale, the pictures do more justice than my writing can. Words that have been used to describe 910 include “a rectangle” and a “cruise ship.” I call her a super-sized sweetheart, and she is pound for pound becoming one of my favorite bears. 

May the fattest bear win. Voting is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. AKST at fatbearweek.org!

Correction: Grazer has actually won the competition twice.