AFN alarmed by proposed review of Alaska’s system of subsistence hunting and fishing

image from: https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/afn-alarmed-by-proposed-review-of-alaskas-system-of-subsistence-hunting-and-fishing/

The U.S. Department of the Interior is considering whether to change Alaska’s unique system of hunting and fishing, which gives rural residents priority on federal land in Alaska.

According to a notice published Dec. 15 in the Federal Register, the Interior Department is conducting “a targeted review” of the program mandated by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

While no specific changes were identified in the notice, it prompted the Alaska Federation of Natives to react with concern.

In a message to members, it called the new proposal “a serious threat and a major step backward” in fish and game management within Alaska, according to a report Tuesday by the Anchorage Daily News.

(READ MORE - alaskabeacon.com)

From Juneau to Fairbanks, Alaska saw record-breaking snow and cold to start winter

from: https://alaskapublic.org/news/environment/2026-01-06/from-juneau-to-fairbanks-alaska-saw-record-breaking-snow-and-cold-to-start-winter

Alaska had a cold, and in some parts of the state very snowy, end to 2025.

December in Southeast Alaska was one for the record books, with historic snow and cold. Juneau had its snowiest-ever December and its coldest 30-day stretch in over 40 years.

Known for cold as much as Juneau is known for snow, Fairbanks just saw its chilliest 30-day stretch in a half-century.

National Weather Service climate researcher Brian Brettschneider — back for another Ask a Climatologist segment — says the early part of the season in Alaska has been characteristically wintry across the state.

(READ MORE - alaskapublic.org)