If or when? Russian President Vladimir Putin might find his army bogged down in a messy and wasteful war in Ukraine, but he appears to be winning the battle against nature’s long, […]
Growing threat
All the risks
None of the rewards Russian President Vladimir Putin, the wannabe King of the Arctic, is falling short on his vision of turning his country’s Northern Sea Route into a legitimate alternative to […]
A business in crisis
Alaska salmon processors paint a grim picture After years of choking on record runs of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon and near-record runs of heavily farmed, low-value pink salmon, the Alaska fishing industry […]
Economic consequences
Russian fish replacing Alaska’s in China (This story was updated on May 29, 2023 to reflect that Russia plans to make the ice-choked Northern Sea Route a year-round shipping corridor starting […]
Ukrainian fallout
Russian oil tankers taking to Northern Sea Route Coming soon to the Bering Sea near Alaska, ever more Russian oil tankers with the inherent danger of oil spills. While Alaskans talk […]
Pink tide rising
Both Russia and Alaska expect big pink salmon numbers this year A humpy swarm is again forming the North Pacific Ocean if fishery managers in Russia and the U.S. are to […]
Canada’s loss
UPDATE: This story has been revised from the original to reflect the similar declines in wild Southeast Alaska chum masked by an increase in hatchery chum production. As Southeast Alaska catches of […]
Ukraine fallout
As war rages a world away from Alaska in Ukraine, the environmental threat to the 49th state associated with that war continues to grow almost unnoticed. With Western nations boycotting Russian gas […]
World wanderers
Long before Europeans began the invasion of North America with the 10th-century arrival of the Vikings in what is now Canada, it appears Alaska Natives had begun invading Asia. This new and […]
Old neighbors
If the work of archeologists sifting the soils of the Grotte Mandrin cave in France are to be believed, it would appear Neanderthals didn’t just fade away after the arrival of modern […]
