Unalaska, AK – The state's version of the Izembek land swap bill passed the state's House of Representatives Wednesday night and will now go on to the governor. The bill passed through the Senate earlier this week. The bill gives the Department of Natural Resources the authority to trade 43,000 acres of state land to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in exchange for the 206 acres needed to build a one lane road corridor through the wilderness area to connect King Cove with the airport in Cold Bay.
Unalaska, AK – The Unalaska Department of Public Safety searched a home on Biorka Drive on Thursday evening and arrested two individuals for possession of controlled substances.
According to court documents, Public Safety developed information about the illegal sale and use of Oxycontin from the residence on John Bruce Jr. and obtained a search warrant for the house, his room, and the occupants of the house. Upon arrival, the officers detained the occupants, including Bruce, his brother Ryan Bruce, and Kiefer Fredricks. Bruce admitted that he had pills of oxycontin in the bathroom. The police found 24 pills that were identified as that drug and in the search they also seized $2,200, two electronic weighing scales, and two pill cutting devices
Unalaska, AK – The national mail participation rate for the U.S. Census - which tells how many people have already turned in their information - is 67 percent. The rate for Alaska is 57 percent. For Unalaska, it's 39 percent, the 12th lowest rate in the state. The highest return rate for Alaska, 79 percent, is from Saxman City in southeast Alaska. The 2000 census said their population was 431.
Unalaska, AK – New research shows that bottom trawl gear does kill some of the crabs it comes into contact with, but simple gear modifications can reduce the mortality rates. KUCB's Anne Hillman learned about the study.
Unalaska, AK – The Bering Sea snow crab season is drawing to a close. The fleet of 68 boats has already caught 97 percent of the 43.2 million pound total allowable catch. The TAC is down 8.5 million pounds from last year because of the crab stock rebuilding plan. So far into the season the catch per unit effort is also down slightly. Last year fishermen were pulling up 279 crabs per pot on average, but this year they are only getting 238. Each crab is weighing about the ten-year average - 1.3 pounds.
Unalaska, AK – In the 1960s and 70s the U.S. government tested three nuclear warheads on Amchitka Island, one of which was the largest underground nuclear testing in U.S. history. In 2011, the Department of Energy is going back to the island to see if residual nuclear contaminants are affecting the plants and animals that live at or near the test sites. The Department of Energy did some tests in 2006, but Aleutian Pribilof Island Association Community Environment and Safety Program Manager Karen Pletnikoff said they didn't gather enough data to fully understand what is happening there under normal conditions and how it might affect things like food resources.
