News Releases

The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to announce the selection of Siikauraq Whiting as the new superintendent for Western Arctic National Parklands, which administers Kobuk Valley National Park, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, and Noatak National Preserve.

The National Park Service will hold the fall Subsistence Resource Commission meetings for Kobuk Valley National Park and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, October 7-10, 2024.

The Superintendent of Western Arctic National Parklands announces that the seasons for the Federal Subsistence Dall’s Sheep hunts within portions of Game Management Units (GMUs) 23 and 26A will remain closed for the regulatory year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending on June 30, 2025.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The National Park Service (NPS) today announced a final rule that amends its 2020 regulation for sport hunting and trapping in Alaska national preserves. The new rule, which applies only to sport hunting, prohibits bear baiting due to significant public safety concerns. The final rule reflects extensive engagement with stakeholders, Alaska Native Tribes and Corporations, local and state leaders, and the public

Noatak, AK The National Park Service (NPS) office in Kotzebue, Alaska, is pleased to announce a new annual award, the Eileen DeVinney Award. For the inaugural Eileen DeVinney Award, NPS staff traveled to the Native Village of Noatak to thank the Noatak Placenames project 2023 field team: Hilda Booth, Thurston Booth, Ricky Ashby, and James Adams.

The National Park Service and the Chair of the Kobuk Valley Subsistence Resource Commision have decided to cancel the Spring SRC meeting.

Applications for Secretarial Appointments to the Cape Krusenstern and Kobuk Valley Subsistence Resource Commissions is now open on the Federal Register. Interested individuals, residing in the NANA region, can find more information at the Federal Registry.

A Kasilof couple were charged with multiple federal regulation violations related to alleged illegal commercial transportation of game hunters in Alaska following a multi-year investigation by National Park Service (NPS) rangers.

Fall subsistence Resource Commission meetings in Kotzebue, AK -- Kobuk Valley SRC and Cape Krusenstern SRC dates announced. Kobuk Valley Subsistence Resource Commission to Meet October 30-31, 2023 Cape Krusenstern Subsistence Resource Commission to Meet November 1-2, 2023

The National Park Service at the Western Arctic National Parklands is recruiting for a Subsistence Liaison.

Caribou and reindeer are the same species and share the same scientific name, Rangifer tarandus. Caribou are what the species is called in North America and reindeer are what they are called in Eurasia.

This issue includes: * Economics of Wilderness * Using Ethics Arguments to Preserve Naturalness * Busing Through the Wilderness: "Near-Wilderness" Experiences in Denali ... and more!

The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to announce the selection of Siikauraq Whiting as the new superintendent for Western Arctic National Parklands, which administers Kobuk Valley National Park, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, and Noatak National Preserve.

Read a summary and get the link to a published paper that describes how caribou decide where to spend the winter based on previous experience. Gurarie, E., C. Beaupré, O. Couriot, M. D. Cameron, W. F. Fagan, and K. Joly. 2024. Evidence for an adaptive, large-scale range shift in a long-distance terrestrial migrant. Global Change Biology 30 (11): e17589.

The Onion Portage Archeological District National Historic Landmark is on the Kobuk River in the Kobuk Valley National Park. For 8000 years, people camped, made tools, prepared game, and eventually settled at Onion Portage.

The National Park Service will improve salmon habitat in the Yukon-Kuskokwim watershed by detecting invasive plants. Staff will survey high-priority rivers and lakes for invasive Elodea.

The National Park Service will hold the fall Subsistence Resource Commission meetings for Kobuk Valley National Park and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, October 7-10, 2024.

In the pristine Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska, streams are turning bright orange and fish are disappearing, threatening the well-being of local communities. A recent scientific paper reveals why.

The National Park Service will enhance climate change resilience and food security in rural Alaskan communities. The project prioritizes goals of building Tribal-NPS co-stewardship relationships that support Tribes’ ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions and associated food security challenges. Activities include improving harvest reporting strategies and conducting community harvest assessments. This project has additional goals to develop adaptive approaches.

The rugged beauty of Alaska has been the homelands of Alaska Native people for thousands of generations. Today the relentless march of climate change threatens a range of cultural resources from archeological sites to historic cemeteries. Now the National Park Service is in a race to document heritage across the parklands in Alaska.

The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to announce the selection of Siikauraq Whiting as the new superintendent for Western Arctic National Parklands, which administers Kobuk Valley National Park, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, and Noatak National Preserve.

Read a summary and abstract for a published paper on the visitor safety risks in parks due to bear baiting. Lafferty, D. J. R., S. M. Trujillo, G. V. Hilderbrand, A. Sears, P. Christian, D. Payer, and M. Hake. 2024. Bear baiting risks and mitigations: An assessment using expert opinion analyses. PLOS ONE 19(11): e0312192.

The National Park service reports that 3.3 million visitors to national parks in Alaska spent $1.5 billion in the state in 2023. That spending resulted in 21,274 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $2.3 billion

Salmon are the lifeblood of much of Alaska. Extensive river and lake systems protected in Alaska national parks provide significant habitat for all five species of Pacific salmon. As the climate warms, rising temperatures may threaten these important salmon resources. This project, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), will describe reference conditions and potential targets for ecosystem recovery due to climate change, wildfires, oil spills, and other events.

Alaska has one of the most productive salmon fisheries in the world but an invasive plant threatens the quality of lakes for salmon spawning. Funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) have energized early detection efforts to find and prevent the spread of non-native Elodea to freshwater salmon habitat.

Alaska has a long history of mining that continues today. Often, mining sites are far from roads and accumulate debris such as trash, fuel barrels, and contaminated mining waste that is difficult to remove. This debris can be harmful to nearby waterways and communities. This project will clean up non-historic and unsightly refuse that poses a potential threat to the environment.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The National Park Service (NPS) today announced a final rule that amends its 2020 regulation for sport hunting and trapping in Alaska national preserves. The new rule, which applies only to sport hunting, prohibits bear baiting due to significant public safety concerns. The final rule reflects extensive engagement with stakeholders, Alaska Native Tribes and Corporations, local and state leaders, and the public

SKAGWAY, AK— Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is announcing today that the Chilkoot Trail on the U.S. side of the border will be open to mile 4.0 for the 2024 season. Work completed by the park last year and this spring will extend the amount of trail that will be open to the public this summer.

Fall subsistence Resource Commission meetings in Kotzebue, AK -- Kobuk Valley SRC and Cape Krusenstern SRC dates announced. Kobuk Valley Subsistence Resource Commission to Meet October 30-31, 2023 Cape Krusenstern Subsistence Resource Commission to Meet November 1-2, 2023

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 2,023,881 visitors to national parks in Alaska spent $1,160,600,000 in the state in 2022. That spending resulted in 16,450 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $1,785,800,000.