Within sight of almost half of all Alaskans lies a little known tidal estuary. Perched along Turnagain Arm on the northwestern Kenai Peninsula, the 27,000-acre Chickaloon Flats is the only part of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge that touches marine waters. It represents 7% of the total estuarine area in Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound, the two water bodies that form the peninsula. As such, it’s a small but important part of the Pacific Flyway for migratory shorebirds and waterfowl.
Read on for a full summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly of this year’s wildlife regulation changes in the Interior and the Western Arctic.
Comment by May 6th to secure enhanced protections for wildlife!
Catch our latest podcast interview on critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales!
Our Kenai Peninsula Coordinator, Teresa Becher, was just awarded a 2023 'Partners in the Spotlight Award' from NOAA fisheries! These national awards recognize partners who have expanded and enhanced recovery of the country's most imperiled marine species.
This January, the Alaska Board of Game (BOG) will deliberate on nearly 200 proposals impacting wildlife, including Proposal 75, which was submitted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). ADFG has proposed sweeping aerial gunning on wolves and bears on the west side of Cook Inlet, between Denali National Park and Lake Clark National Park.
The Board of Game Proposals for the Central and Southwest Region have been released and AWA is carefully combing through them so that we can best represent the needs of Alaska’s wildlife at the Wasilla BOG meeting in January. The public comment period is open until December 27, and we could use your voice to help safeguard Alaskan wildlife.
Within sight of almost half of all Alaskans lies a little known tidal estuary. Perched along Turnagain Arm on the northwestern Kenai Peninsula, the 27,000-acre Chickaloon Flats is the only part of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge that touches marine waters. It represents 7% of the total estuarine area in Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound, the two water bodies that form the peninsula. As such, it’s a small but important part of the Pacific Flyway for migratory shorebirds and waterfowl.
In June, NPS unveiled their new sport hunting regulations which restored some of the original 2015 wildlife protections; namely, banning bear baiting in National Preserves. While we are celebrating the bear baiting ban, AWA is disappointed that the rule didn't ban other sport hunting practices such as hunting bears and cubs with artificial lights at den sites, killing wolves, coyotes, and their pups at den sites, killing swimming caribou, and predator control practices.
Johnson Tract Mine is a polymetallic mine located 125 miles southwest of Anchorage, near Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. The mine is seeking easements through Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. In June 2024, AWA and our partners wrote a letter to the Lake Clark Superintendent as a voice for wildlife in this process.
A huge congratulations are in order for AWA’s Vice President, John Morton. John was recently awarded the Olaus Murie Award for Outstanding Professional Contributions by the Alaska Conservation Fund.
You can make a difference. Help save Alaska's wildlife by lending your voice to one of our campaigns or by donating to support AWA conservation efforts.
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