Day: May 6, 2026

An Alaska Superior Court judge in Anchorage has given the state of Alaska permission to shoot bears in Southwest Alaska as part of a plan to boost a local caribou herd.

In a 22-page order, Judge Adolf Zeman said a cull planned for this month may take place while attorneys proceed with arguments about the constitutionality of the state’s action.

With the order, Zeman declined to issue a preliminary injunction requested by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance shortly before the cull was expected to start. The Alliance has filed suit against the state and sought to stop the cull.

“We’re happy with the ruling. We’re happy that science prevails, and we can continue the program,” said Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.

May is calving season for caribou in the area, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is planning to kill bears before they can kill caribou calves.

Alaska’s predator control program, which involves killing specific animals in order to boost the number of prey animals like caribou and moose, has been controversial for decades. 

The decision to extend the program from wolves to bears, an act the state says is needed to protect the Mulchatna Caribou herd, prompted a lengthy series of legal challenges starting in 2023, a year after the state killed 180 black bears in the area.

Opponents said the culls violated the Alaska Constitution and did not follow scientific principles. Before Wednesday, two other Superior Court judges had ruled in favor of opponents, halting the program and keeping it halted despite two revisions of a plan authored by the Board of Game and Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 

Now, after a third rewrite last year, the state appears to have the permission it needs to resume the cull.

“Our program is based on more than a decade of research that identifies bear predation on calves during calving season as the most significant factor inhibiting the recovery of the caribou herd,” Lang said in a prepared statement.

“Our bear control program is designed to improve calf survival while not impacting the sustainability of the bears. The program has demonstrated significant success through the highest calf-to-cow ratios since 1999 and a population growth of 30% since bear removal began in 2023. Our program is supported by the Alaska Federation of Natives and many locals in the 48 communities who have depended on caribou for generations. We stand by our science.”

In his order, Judge Zeman said a plan by the Board of Game, known as Proposition 1, may eventually be ruled unconstitutional, but “the court is not in the position, nor does it have the authority, to make that determination at this point in the proceedings. The court simply does not possess the technical and specialized skills to do so.”

The Alaska Constitution states that natural resources are supposed to be managed for “sustained yield,” a principle of management for long-term health. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance had argued that the cull violated that principle.

But Zeman, echoing arguments made by a state attorney, said the principle was “designed to be flexible,” and opponents were viewing it as more strict than intended.

Zeman cited a 3-2 decision by the Alaska Supreme Court in 2022, saying that decision “precludes the court from instructing the state on how it satisfies the constitutional mandate.”

Nicole Schmitt, executive director of Alaska Wildlife Alliance, said her organization is “deeply disappointed by the court’s decision to allow the gunning program to move forward today.”

“The state already killed close to 200 bears under a program which was later found unlawful,” she wrote by email. “We can’t undo the slaughter of those bears, which includes dozens of cubs, and I fear history will repeat itself until these issues can be resolved, again, in court.”

Yereth Rosen contributed reporting for this article from Anchorage.

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Kudos to the Southeast Road Builders’ fire brigade along with the all the others who responded to the fiery demise of my beloved SueBeeSue#6 along the highway just south of Klukwan. Thanks to the unknown driver of the blue pickup who I flagged down and dispatched to alert the SERB crew nearby. Thus, all the onboard fire extinguishers carried by SERB vehicles were promptly emptied topped off by the magical powers of Matty and his big hose knocking the flames down before the gas tank blew. Extra shout out to queen of the day, Helena Muench, who possessed the uncanny ability to drop her stop sign, enter the only phone booth south of the border clad as a fluorescent north-end flagger and appear on the other side donned in full fire turn-out gear driving a fire engine! 

Appreciation for the arrival of both fire departments who then followed with mop up, Dakota Strong for the ride home, and all the others who radio relayed and helped with the efforts. It’s always heartwarming to see neighbors taking care of neighbors and this response could not have had a better ending. Many thanks to you all.

Robin Beaudry

The post Thank you to those who helped extinguish car fire on the highway appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Wednesday, April 22

A caller in Haines reported a scam on social media. They were given the information for the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. 

A driver on Beach Road was given a verbal warning for not meeting requirements to display a license plate. 

An officer put a 72-hour notice on an abandoned vehicle on Beach Road. 

A caller in the 100 block of Dalton Street reported a suspicious phone call. An officer responded and performed a welfare check. 

An officer checked a license plate during a vehicle stop. 

Thursday, April 23

A caller reported a moose on Fifth Avenue. A Nixle alert was sent out. 

An officer issued a trespass notice in the 800 block of Spruce Grove Road. 

Friday, April 24

A caller reported a parking violation on Main Street. An officer contacted the vehicle’s owner. 

A caller in Klukwan reported a vehicle fire. The Haines Volunteer Fire Department and state park ranger responded and extinguished the fire. 

A caller reported a boulder obstructing traffic on Lutak Road. The state’s Department of Transportation and an officer responded. A Nixle alert was sent out. 

A caller on Small Tracts Road was given a verbal warning for not meeting taillight requirements. 

An officer was advised of an abandoned trailer on the side of Mud Bay Road.

Saturday, April 25

A caller reported a person driving a motorcycle on the mud flats near Pyramid Island. An officer took the call. 

Officers were advised of a disabled vehicle on the side of Raven Road. It was not obstructing traffic and the vehicle was later retrieved by the owner. 

A caller reported the door of a public building in the 600 block of the Haines Highway was open after hours. Officers responded. 

Officers performed a tag check on an abandoned vehicle on Second Avenue. 

There were three 911 hangup calls, one canine call, nine EMS calls, and 38 burn permits issued during the April 20-24 reporting period reporting period. 

The post Blotter: April 22 – April 25 appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

After four years of effort, the Alaska Legislature has passed a bill offering additional support for the underfunded organization that offers free legal help to Alaskans facing civil lawsuits.

“We’re so excited,” said Maggie Humm, executive director of the Alaska Legal Services Corporation. 

ALSC is the state’s largest provider of free legal assistance for survivors of domestic violence and abuse. It generally supports Alaskans who are unable to afford an attorney on their own.

Under state law, Alaska must provide criminal defendants with a defense attorney. No such mandate exists in civil cases, so the work falls to the ALSC, a nonprofit that lacks the budget to take on every request for help.

On Wednesday, the state Senate voted 17-3 to pass House Bill 48 and give the corporation 25% of all state court filing fees, up from 10%. The change is worth an extra $400,000 to the corporation.

The change does not affect funding for the Alaska Court System; the fees are otherwise used for general purposes, not the courts specifically.

Humm said earlier this year that ALSC provided legal help to roughly 6,200 Alaskans in 2024. By email on Wednesday, she said she expects another 800-850 people will be helped by the additional money.

Because the House passed HB 48 on a 27-13 vote in February, the Senate’s action on Wednesday will send the bill to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for final approval or veto.

Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, proposed an identical bill in 2023, and while that bill passed the Senate, it never received a vote in the House before the 33rd Alaska Legislature expired in 2024.

That left Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, to reintroduce the bill last year and restart the legislative process. 

By email, Humm said that if signed into law, the bill “helps to ensure that more low-income Alaskans facing issues such as domestic violence, elder fraud, and access to earned benefits receive the legal help they need to protect their safety, stability, and dignity. Investing in legal services benefits all Alaskans by helping resolve problems early, before they become more serious and costly challenges for both individuals and our communities.”

ALSC has been trying since 2011 to pass a bill that reserves 25% of the state’s court fees for the corporation. In 2018, the Legislature passed a measure allocating 10%. 

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