“In the past three decades, the Mulchatna caribou herd of southwestern Alaska has gone from nearly 200,000 to 12,000. Last year, the state wildlife agency’s Board of Game started to explore ways to help the struggling population. It landed on a controversial solution called "intensive management," also called predator control, which directs wildlife officials to indiscriminately kill predators. It was the first time the state included bears in the hunt, a decision that had no public process and was conducted without bear population estimates.”
Alaska Wildlife News for July 2022
Alaska Wildlife News for June 2022
Alaska Wildlife News for May 2022
In the News: Feds urged to save beluga whales in Alaska
Read more to learn about Alaska Wildlife Alliance’s involvement in assisting to file a legal petition to induce the National Marine Fisheries Service to explore whether allowing a certain number of incidental deaths of critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales in connection to oil and gas development in the region should be tolerated.
In the News: It’s time for the Board of Game to address trapping on trails in the Mat-Su
Check out this op ed that our very own Executive Director, Nicole Schmitt, wrote for the Alaska Landmine. Nicole wrote on our proposal to establish 50-yard trap setbacks on over 200 trails in the Mat-Su Valley in an effort to help reduce conflict between user groups on multi-use trails.
In the News: Environmentalists and Alaska villages continue court challenge of permits for Ambler Road project
In the News: Volunteers make over 200 beluga observations in rivers this spring
Alaska Wildlife Alliance’s Kenai coordinator, Teresa Becher, made another great appearance in the news for monitoring of critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales as part of the Alaska Beluga Monitoring Partnership! Read on to learn more about this past spring’s observations of belugas and how you can help these whales this fall.
In the News: Refuge Notebook, Paddling Tustumena
The Peninsula Clarion published a fun read written by one of our board members, John Morton. John is our current board Vice President and is a former Supervisory Biologist at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (KNWR), and he knows a lot about where to explore! Read more about the public use cabins in the KNWR where you can see glaciers, wildlife, lakes, and historical sites… you may just be reserving one after this!
In the News: Anchorage Dog Dies in Trap on Glenn Highway, Reigniting Debate About Regulation
It's not fun to talk about, but it's important to know. An article published by Alaska Public Media discusses the story of a family who lost their dog to a Conibear trap located near a trailhead parking lot this past February. Read more about Alaska Wildlife Alliance’s (AWA’s) efforts to understand this issue and provide solutions.
Winter newsletter: Victories!
In the media: Kenai Conversation on Refuge Regulation Changes
Alaska Beluga Monitoring Project Wraps up Fall Season!
AWA in the News! KTVA: Vetoes could impact Alaska's wildlife programs
Gov. Mike Dunleavy will soon announce whether he will accept the Legislature's $1,600 Permanent Fund dividend or veto it. The PFD is part of a larger budget bill aimed at restoring some of his $400 million-plus vetoes. Some of those cuts have wildlife advocates (AWA) worried about the possible impact to Alaska's wildlife programs.