Murky water in Unalaska Lake is evidence of a runoff problem that may be harming salmon. (Annie Ropeik/KUCB)

Unalaska Lake and the Iliuliuk River run through the heart of Unalaska. The watershed used to be habitat for thousands of salmon. But after decades of development and little consideration for containing runoff, that fish population seems to be on the decline.

On Tuesday, after months of public debate, city council is voting on taking its first look at a million dollars of mitigation projects. As KUCB’s Annie Ropeik reports, residents hope it’s the first step down a path to recovery.

NOAA suggested that a "smaller area or a network of smaller areas" in southwest Alaska could be a better candidate for protection. (Courtesy of Rick Steiner/PEER)

The federal government has turned down a request to create a vast marine reserve around the Aleutian Islands. 

On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the Aleutians won’t advance in the process to become a national marine sanctuary -- mostly due to a lack of local support.

Adak, King Cove, Akutan, and the Aleutians East Borough all came out against the nomination. Environmentalists and research groups had been seeking permanent limits on oil and gas leasing and commercial fishing in federal waters around the Chain.

Researcher Abhijit Ghosh with one of his seismometers last summer. (Courtesy: University of California Riverside)

Earthquakes are an almost hourly occurrence in the Aleutian Islands. But most are too tiny to feel, and even the bigger ones are usually over in seconds. Just last week, a 4.7M quake went all but unnoticed in Unalaska.

But there’s another type of earthquake that runs deeper than those daily events: a slow earthquake. That's what scientists are now looking for underneath the Aleutians.

Containment boom is laid out in front of the tanker Al-Amerat shortly after the spill. (Credit: USFWS)

Aleut Enterprise will pay more than $1 million to settle a court case and cover damages from a fuel spill at their facility on Adak.

The spill took place back in January 2010. The tanker Al-Amerat was unloading fuel at Adak Petroleum when the receiving tank and a secondary containment system overflowed. 

About 70,000 gallons of diesel fuel leaked into nearby Helmet Creek. From there, it entered Sweeper Cove -- and Adak’s small boat harbor.

The proposed sanctuary would cover more than 730,000 square miles of federal waters. (Courtesy of Rick Steiner)

The waters around the Aleutian Islands support a dizzying range of wildlife -- and major industries right along with it. Right now, the government’s job is to help find a balance.

But as KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, there’s a new campaign to permanently tip the scales toward conservation in the Aleutian Chain.

Downtown Unalaska got a light dusting on Monday. (Credit: KUCB)

Winter usually has a different feel in the Aleutian Islands compared to the rest of the state. The days aren’t as short, and the temperatures are nowhere near as cold.

But as Alaska faces yet another year of below-average snowfall, the Aleutians are beginning to look a lot less exceptional. KUCB's Lauren Rosenthal has more.

The Selendang Ayu split in two halves off Unalaska's coastline in early December 2004. (Credit: Lauren Adams/KUCB)

This week marks 10 years since the bulk carrier Selendang Ayu ran aground off Unalaska Island.

The ship lost power and broke in half against the shore, spilling oil and its soybean cargo, and leaving six crew members dead.

It was the biggest shipping disaster in the Aleutians’ recent history -- and as KUCB's Annie Ropeik reports, its impacts are still evolving today.

The National Marine Fisheries Service will re-open fisheries in the Western Aleutian Islands that have been restricted for years to protect a population of Steller sea lions.

The new federal rules were issued Tuesday. They say some fishing, spread out over more space and time, won’t deplete the sea lions’ food source too much.

Steller sea lions eat Atka mackerel, Pacific cod and pollock. Those fisheries were shuttered in the region in 2011, when NMFS ruled that fishing posed a threat to the endangered mammals.

A look into Shishaldin's crater this past August. /Credit: Cyrus Read/AVO

Another volcano in the Eastern Aleutian Islands has woken up, a week after a burst of activity at Pavlof Volcano.

Shishaldin Volcano is about 100 miles west of Pavlof, near False Pass. Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory started seeing stronger tremors and hotter temperatures at the volcano early Monday morning.

But the AVO didn’t increase Shishaldin’s alert status -- since it’s already on watch. Geophysicist Chris Waythomas says Shishaldin has been restless all year.