A years-long effort to bring geothermal power to Unalaska may be on its last legs.

The city government is draining its accounts for exploring Makushin Volcano, saying the project is too expensive and risky to pursue any further.

The private trust that owns the resource disagrees -- but as KUCB’s Annie Ropeik reports, they’re stymied without local support.

Protesters can occupy this stretch of Elliott Bay through June 15. (Credit: USCG 13th District External Affairs)

When Shell’s Arctic drill rigs arrive in Seattle next month, they’ll have company.

The Coast Guard has approved a 2-million-square-foot "First Amendment Area" that protestors can legally occupy in the water next to Terminal 5. That’s the dock where Shell’s rigs will tie up under a new lease with Seattle's port commission.

Environmentalists were outraged by that agreement. Now, a coalition called S-Hell No is recruiting kayakers and rowers to paddle out to the port and show their opposition to drilling.

The project would replace pilings and fill in gaps in the dock to serve larger vessels. (Courtesy: City of Unalaska)

With state funding set to be tight in coming years, Unalaska is turning to the federal government for help financing a $44 million overhaul at the Unalaska Marine Center.

Ports director Peggy McLaughlin told city councilors Tuesday night that she’s planning to apply for a competitive Department of Transportation grant called TIGER.

The program is offering rural communities $100 million in funding this year.

Unalaska is asking for a big piece of that pie -- $27.3 million. That’s a little over half of what it will cost to replace pilings and fill in gaps at the city dock to serve larger vessels.

The city hopes federal funds will help pay for a proposed dock expansion. (Courtesy: City of Unalaska)

Port officials will try to move forward with plans to upgrade the Unalaska Marine Center at tonight’s city council meeting.

That’s after councilors narrowly voted down an open bidding process to find new shipping partners last month.

Tonight, they’ll talk about applying for federal funds to help expand the port. The Department of Transportation’s infrastructure grants program is known as TIGER.

The city has to apply in the next few weeks if it wants a share of $500 million in funding that’s available across the country.

The Bering Sea pollock fleet is about to face tougher restrictions when it comes to salmon. This weekend, federal regulators agreed to tie the cap on Chinook bycatch to the health of Western Alaska’s runs.

Credit: Vincenzo Floramo / Greenpeace

Shell's attorneys appeared in federal court Friday afternoon to argue for a restraining order against Greenpeace.

The environmental group sent a half-dozen activists to camp out on one of Shell's Arctic rigs as it's towed across the Pacific Ocean. If Shell gets its way, the group would have to surrender to the master of the Blue Marlin effective immediately.

This week, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has been looking at ways to cut back on the number of salmon that get scooped up by commercial trawl boats in the Bering Sea.

The goal is to send more chums and Chinook back to subsistence users around the state. But getting there won’t be easy.

This week, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council will decide whether to mount a new crackdown on salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea's biggest fishery.

The pollock fleet could be asked to fish earlier in the year to avoid salmon. And they may face tighter limits on the number of salmon they can take without shutting down their season.

For the last four years, the hard limit on Chinook salmon has been 60,000 fish. The council is considering a plan to lower that cap by 25 to 60 percent in years when the Chinook aren't doing well.

Credit: Vincenzo Floramo / Greenpeace

Update, 5 p.m. Tuesday: Royal Dutch Shell is seeking a court injunction to remove Greenpeace activists who boarded a vessel carrying a Shell oil drilling rig across the Pacific.

The company asked a U.S. District Court judge in Anchorage to order protesters to disembark immediately, according to a Tuesday email from a Shell USA spokesperson.

On Monday, six activists from Greenpeace boarded the Polar Pioneer rig as it traversed the Pacific Ocean.