Environment

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski has some tips for collecting and drying seeds.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Friday relocated a family of black bears that had been frequenting downtown Juneau this summer.

Wildlife biologist Ryan Scott says the department had been looking for the sow and three yearlings for a couple months. He says they finally caught up with them just south on the Baranof Hotel on the hillside behind Gastineau Avenue.

“These guys have been extremely active in the South Franklin, Gastineau Avenue area. And they’ve been around for a long time, and they just didn’t seem to be getting any better,” says Scott. “And we had actually decided awhile ago to remove them, but as you can imagine, with four bears it’s a little bit complex and we were waiting for the right time, and the right place, and the right personnel and the whole nine yards, and it all came together.”

Scott says the bears were tranquilized and relocated off the road system. The sow was about 180 pounds, and the yearlings – all males – were between 80 and 90 pounds each. He says it’s unusual, but not unheard of for a female to hang onto her cubs for that long.

Scott says food in the form of human trash was probably attracting the bears to the area. He says this has been a pretty busy bear year.

“We have a lot of bears that seem to be in neighborhoods and urban settings. On top of that we have what appears to be a large crop of yearling bears, and again those are the ones that typically find themselves in weird predicaments. So, it’s definitely kept us busy,” Scott says.

He says most people do a good job of keeping their garbage in secure containers so as not to attract bears. But with a couple more months left before they go into hibernation, he says Friday’s trapping and relocation is a good reminder to everyone to be bear aware.

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski tells us about planting the seeds for future success by keeping a journal of our efforts.

A 60-year-old woman suffered a broken leg last Thursday when the tour boat she was on got too close to a calving glacier in Tracy Arm.

A video of the incident posted on the website LiveLeak.com on Sunday shows a large chunk of the glacier break off, sending waves and ice flying toward the vessel.

Passengers’ shouts of “Danger! Danger! Danger!” soon turn to concern as a group of people crowd around the woman lying in obvious pain on the deck of the boat.

The Coast Guard says the woman was aboard the 65-foot Captain Cook, operated by Adventure Bound Alaska. She apparently lost her balance and fell when the wave hit the boat. The vessel contacted Coast Guard Sector Juneau as soon as the accident occurred, but determined it would be faster and easier to return to town without waiting for a Coast Guard vessel to deploy. An ambulance met the woman upon her return to shore.

The Coast Guard is investigating the incident. A spokesperson for Adventure Bound Alaska was unavailable to comment.

A former congressional aide may spend as much as ten months in prison for a fishing violation while was a member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Arne Fuglvog submitted his resignation Sunday as fisheries aide to Senator Lisa Murkowski. In a statement, Murkowski thanked Fuglvog for his years of service and said he has cooperated fully with the authorities, taken responsibility for his actions and accepted the consequences.

On Monday, federal prosecutors filed a single charge of violating the Lacey Act against Fuglvog and announced a plea deal that had been in the works since last April.

Prosecutors say Fuglvog falsely reported locations of his sablefish catches between 2001 and 2006. From 2003 until he was hired by Senator Murkowski in 2006, Fuglvog also served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the panel that’s responsible for managing sablefish and other species in federal waters off Alaska.

Prosecutors single out the 2005 season in which Fuglvog allegedly caught twice his quota of sablefish in the Western Yakutat area. He allegedly covered up his illegal fishing by falsely claiming that the other half of the catch, about thirty-thousand pounds, was caught in the Central Gulf. The violations occurred when Fuglvog was owner and operator of the fishing vessel Kamilar.

Fuglvog was charged with violating the Lacey Act because the fish was valued at about $100,000 and transported as part of interstate commerce.

He’s expected to plead guilty during arraignment scheduled for August 9th in U.S. District Court in Anchorage. He declined to comment on Tuesday. Prosecutors have declined to comment until after next Tuesday’s court hearing.

As outlined in the plea agreement, the possible sentence includes a $50,000 fine in addition to ten months in prison. He must also pay $100,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for enhancing fish habitat along the Gulf of Alaska coast. He must also have an announcement acknowledging his wrongdoing published in National Fisherman Magazine.

Fuglvog grew up fishing in Petersburg and was named Highliner of the year by National Fisherman’s Magazine in 2003. He also worked as president of the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association and served on the North Pacific Council’s advisory panel for nine years before his appointment as a full member. He was also a candidate to head up the National Marine Fisheries Service, but he withdrew from consideration in 2009.

Southeast Alaska’s only ski area has a new manager. The Eaglecrest Board of Directors yesterday (Wednesday, July 27) announced the hire of Oregonian Ray Gardner for the job.

Eaglecrest is owned by the city and borough of Juneau, which held a lengthy hiring process earlier this month that resulted in Gardner’s selection.