Alaska Beat

AK Beat: Decline in Canada caribou herds threatens subsistence hunts

Canadian caribou herds decline, threatening subsistence hunt: A sharp decline among caribou herds in the Canadian Arctic will mean difficult choices for First Nations who rely on the animals for subsistence, reports the Northern Journal. Caribou populations in the Bathurst and Bluenose herds have declined steeply in recent years, prompting discussions among First nations about limiting hunting or curtailing it altogether: "We have a choice between limited hunting and no hunting," Yellowknives Chief Edward Sangris told Northern Journal. "That's something that still needs to be discussed with our members." Some limits have already been in place, but Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources Michael Miltenberger said a voluntary program to limit hunting on the Bluenose-East herd was unsuccessful. Causes of the aren't clear, though climate change and the development of mines in the region -- which have made the heard more accessible by newly built roads -- are thought to play a role, and a dispute is underway over whether meat wastage is having an impact. The circumstances to some extent mirror the decline of the Northwest Arctic Caribou herd, which has also witnessed sharp decline in recent years, and whose range also faces a proposed new road. The Porcupine caribou herd on the other hand, has seen its highest numbers since biologists began keeping track.

Troopers: Nikiski man charged with endangering after DUI with three children in car: A 25-year-old Nikiski man faces multiple criminal charges after allegedly drunk driving a vehicle occupied by three children into a ditch along the Kenai Spur Highway. Alaska State Troopers reported the September 11 crash on Monday. Last Thursday, troopers and Nikiski Fire Department personnel responded a report of a man "passed out in a vehicle that had been driven into the ditch near Mile 30" of the Kenai Spur, according to a trooper dispatch posted online. An investigation resulted in the arrest of Phillip Evans Jr. for DUI and three counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Troopers' spokesperson Megan Peters said three children were in the backseat of the vehicle. None were injured, she said. Evans was taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility in Kenai on $2,000 bail, and his vehicle was impounded at the scene, troopers say. The three children, all younger than 3, were released to a relative.

Alaska fat bike craze sweeping the world: What hath the Iditarod Trail wrought? Long-distance sled dog racing never really caught on in a big way, but it appears clear now that the fat bikes refined in the Iditarod Trail Invitational and other races on snow-packed Alaska trails are an international craze. "Those hoping that fat bikes were a fad that would quickly fade away will despair, while riders who have embraced BBWs (big, beautiful, wheels) will rejoice at the overwhelming number of fat bikes that were on display at Interbike 2014," the England-based website Bikeradar.com reported Monday. Interbike, North America's largest bicycle tradeshow, is now underway in Las Vegas. Alaska manufacturers Fatback and 9:Zero:7 are both there, but where they used to have the fat field pretty much to themselves, they are today facing competition from just about every bike brand in the world. Some manufacturers are predicting fat biking is poised to become the new mountain biking. The Orange County Register reported fat bike sales up "216 percent so far this year alone'' in a story headlined "Fat bikes, big business.''

UN's shipping agency will regulate the Northern Sea Route: The United Nations International Maritime Organization will make a set of mandatory safety and environmental rules for the Northern Sea Route, according to a report from Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun (via The Japan News). The report said the IMO would create the new regulations -- expected by 2016 -- by making revisions to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. The move comes as more ships are using the Arctic Ocean routes and amid concern that Russia might unilaterally impose its own regulations.

Poll numbers guru: Alaska polls consistently err in favor of Democrats: It's long been known that Alaska presents problems for political pollsters -- though exactly how much of a problem remains in question. Numbers guru Nate Silver, from FiveThirtyEight, weighed in on Sunday. looking at historical poll numbers and the actual outcomes of the races they aimed to predict. Among his most interest findings, was that errors consistently skewed in a single direction. "In every single race, the polls have shown a Democratic bias," he writes. "On average since 1998, polls of Alaska have had a 7-point bias toward Democrats." Perhaps not surprisingly then, when his models adjust for what FiveThirtyEight calls "state fundamentals" -- "factors like fundraising and state partisanship" -- a one-point lead for GOP Senate candidate Dan Sullivan over incumbent Democrat mark Begich grows to an 8- or 9-point lead. "That gap of about seven points is right in line with the historical Democratic bias in Alaska polls," Silver writes.

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