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Category: Alaska News
A section of the Harding Icefield is seen on Aug. 5, 2018, from the top of a mountain trail in Kenai Fjords National Park. It is one of the largest icefields in the United States. As it shrinks, new vegetation zones emerge, changing the landscape for pollinators. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
On a still June morning in Interior Alaska, a bumblebee clings to a wild rose petal, waiting for the sun to warm the air enough for flight. These moments — quiet, delicate, and easily overlooked — reveal just how finely tuned Alaska’s native bees are to the rhythms of the North. But those rhythms are changing, and with them, the future of Alaska’s pollinators.
Alaska’s bees have survived ice ages, volcanic eruptions and dramatic climate swings. Yet today, they face a combination of pressures that are accelerating faster than ever before. Habitat loss, invasive species, pesticides and rapid climate change are reshaping the landscapes bees depend on. Even small disruptions can ripple through entire ecosystems.
Habitat loss and fragmentation
Although Alaska is vast, bee habitat is surprisingly fragile. Many species rely on specific nesting conditions — loose soil warmed by the sun, mossy tundra hummocks, hollow stems or abandoned rodent burrows. Development, road construction and land clearing can eliminate these microhabitats in an instant.
Even small disturbances matter. A patch of soil compacted by heavy equipment may no longer support ground‑nesting bees. A roadside sprayed with herbicide may lose the wildflowers bees rely on. In a state with a short growing season, losing even a few weeks of bloom can affect an entire generation of pollinators.
Invasive plants
Non‑native plants such as white sweetclover and bird vetch are spreading across Alaska’s roadways, riverbanks and disturbed soils. These species grow aggressively, forming dense stands that crowd out native flowers. While bees may visit invasive plants, the nutritional quality of their pollen and nectar is often lower than that of native species.
Over time, invasive plants can reshape entire plant communities, reducing the diversity of flowers bees depend on. This loss of diversity can weaken bee populations and make them more vulnerable to other stressors.
Pesticides and herbicides
Even low levels of pesticides can harm bees. Insecticides may affect navigation, foraging behavior, or reproduction. Herbicides, while not directly toxic to bees, can eliminate the flowering plants they rely on.
In Alaska’s short summer, any reduction in forage can have outsized effects. A single poorly timed herbicide application can remove weeks of nectar and pollen sources.
Climate change
Climate change is reshaping Alaska faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. Warmer temperatures, earlier springs, shifting snowpack and altered precipitation patterns are affecting both bees and the plants they pollinate.
One of the most concerning impacts is phenological mismatch — when flowers bloom earlier than bees emerge. If bees wake too late, they miss critical early‑season forage. If they wake too early, cold snaps can kill them.
Climate change also affects:
- overwintering survival,
- nesting conditions,
- competition among species,
- the spread of invasive plants and
- the timing and abundance of seasonal blooms.
These changes are already being documented in parts of Alaska.
Disease and parasites
Pathogens can spread from managed honeybees to native species. While Alaska has fewer honeybee colonies than most states, disease transmission remains a concern. As temperatures warm, parasites and pathogens may expand their range northward.
Why these threats matter
Bees are more than pollinators — they are indicators of environmental health. When bee populations decline, it often signals broader ecological stress. Because Alaska’s ecosystems are tightly interconnected, changes in bee populations can affect berry production, wildlife forage and even rural food security.
Yet there is reason for hope. Alaska still has vast intact landscapes, and many native bee species remain resilient. With careful monitoring, habitat protection and community involvement, Alaska can safeguard its pollinators before declines become irreversible.
In the quiet buzz of a bee moving through a patch of wildflowers, there is a reminder: the health of Alaska’s landscapes depends on the smallest of its inhabitants.
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A Chinook salmon, also known as king salmon. (Photo by Michael Humling/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
The intense marine heat wave conditions that began roiling the Bering Sea in about 2016 resulted in the lowest winter sea ice extent measured in 150 years, widespread bird and marine mammal die-offs, a drastic shift in fish populations and a crash of snow crab stocks.
Now new research is tying the marine heat wave to the recent collapse of Yukon River Chinook salmon.
A study published in April, written by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center and University of Alaska Fairbanks, showed the correlation between the extreme heat wave conditions and the nosedive in Yukon River Chinook stocks. The heat wave was accompanied by a dramatic increase in deaths of older juvenile and adult Chinook that, had they survived, would have returned from the ocean to freshwater spawning grounds, the study found.
The study was published in the journal Ecological Applications.
The Yukon River’s runs of Chinook, also called king salmon, have been in a long-term decline since their past heyday, when they numbered in the hundreds of thousands and the river was one of the biggest sources of that salmon species.
The sharp downturn in recent years resulted in a 2022 return that was the lowest on record. Widespread fishery closures have been in effect for years along the Yukon River system in both Alaska and Canada.
The study evaluated four general reasons for the sharp decline: poor juvenile “recruitment” into the ocean, which refers to the successful migration of surviving juvenile fish from freshwater; deaths of fish in the marine environment at the start of their migration back to freshwater; harvests that target the salmon; and bycatch, the unintentional harvest of salmon by commercial fishing vessels targeting other species, such as pollock.
Poor juvenile recruitment emerged as an important factor, which was to be expected, the study said.
“Not surprisingly, we found evidence to suggest that impacts operating in the early life stages have likely contributed to declines in run sizes over the past two decades, which is consistent with previous research,” NOAA Fisheries researcher Lukas DeFilippo, the lead author, said in a statement.
But the information about spiking mortality among adults and older juveniles was new, the NOAA scientists said. That new trend represents “an apparent shift in the critical life history stages and processes” for Yukon River Chinook, and a potential bottleneck limiting population recovery, the study said.
Exactly how the heat wave conditions caused deaths of salmon at sea is yet to be determined, the study said. It listed several factors that could have worked in combination, including lack of suitable prey, infections by the parasite Ichthyophonus and other diseases, as well as increased energy demands brought on by warmer temperatures.
Harvests, either intentional or as bycatch, did not emerge as important factors in the recent Yukon Chinook declines, the study found.
The study contained some warnings.
Even though the marine heat wave conditions have eased, the abundance of prey that salmon need in the ocean has not returned to normal, it noted. And mortality rates in those later life stages continue to be higher than they were prior to the latest heat wave.
And the heat problems for older salmon are likely to become more common in years to come, the study said.
“Given that marine heatwaves are expected to become more frequent and severe with continued warming . . . similar rises in mortality—and concomitant limitation of productivity and recovery potential—as described here could become increasingly common in the future,” the study said.
An earlier study by NOAA Fisheries and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game tied successive heatwaves in both the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska to sharp declines in chum salmon stocks. That 2023 study also pointed to higher mortality out in the ocean.
The Alaska State Capitol is seen on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have reimposed limits on the amount of money that individual people can donate to political candidates.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Alaska’s prior limits in 2021, and the Dunleavy administration declined to appeal the decision. Alaska has been without limits on political contributions since then.
At the time of the court decision, Dunleavy said he was opposed to campaign finance limits, and in a veto message Thursday, he expressly stated that he opposed capping the amount of money that someone can give a political candidate.
Counterintuitively, some proponents of limits on campaign cash said they were pleased with the governor’s veto of House Bill 16.
A ballot measure identical to the vetoed bill is slated for statewide vote in the Aug. 18 primary election. Ballots for that election have already been printed and are being sent this week to military voters overseas.
Under the Alaska Constitution, if lawmakers enact a substantially similar law to a ballot measure scheduled for a vote, the ballot measure vote is canceled.
“If the bill had passed, any votes for or against the measure would not have been counted,” said Stephen Kirch, a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Elections.
Now, the measure will go forward and those votes will be counted.
In addition, the governor’s veto fixes a problem with the start date of HB 16. As written, the bill would have taken effect after the 2026 election.
But under the Alaska Constitution, a bill automatically takes effect 90 days after enactment unless a supermajority of lawmakers vote for something different.
When HB 16 passed the House, opponents of the bill voted against the so-called “effective date” clause. As a result, had the bill become law, it would have taken effect in the middle of this fall’s elections, instead of after them.
The Alaska Public Offices Commission, which would have been in charge of implementing the new limits, held an emergency closed-door conference with its attorneys last month to discuss the problem.
“What was concerning was the dilemma that I think APOC and most importantly candidates would have been facing … in trying to implement it somewhere between the primary and the general elections,” said former Alaska Attorney General Bruce Botelho, a supporter of both HB 16 and the identical ballot measure.
Rep. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, sponsored both the ballot measure and HB 16. By text message, he said he was disappointed by the governor’s veto.
“Fortunately, the ultimate power in Alaska doesn’t rest in the governor’s office; it rests with the people. This issue will be on the ballot this August, and I look forward to Alaskans expressing their will at the polls,” he said.
Supporters of the campaign finance ballot measure are confident it will pass muster at the polls. In 2006, 73% of participating voters approved a prior measure; the limits that measure imposed were the ones canceled by the 9th Circuit in 2021.
The Alaska Legislature attempted and failed to pass new limits in 2022 and 2024 before passing HB 16 on the last day of the 2026 regular session.
If voters approve the new-limit ballot measure in August, individuals would be limited to giving $2,000 per donor per candidate in each two-year election cycle.
For the governor’s race, where a lieutenant governor candidate and governor candidate run together on a single ticket, the limit would be $4,000. The limit for donations from one person to a political party or group would be $5,000.
If a group wants to donate to a candidate, the limit is $4,000 per candidate, or $8,000 for the governor’s race.
Those limits would be adjusted for inflation every 10 years.
In his veto message, Dunleavy said he believes the limits would give an advantage to wealthy candidates who can fund their own campaigns.
“It restricts ordinary political participation while leaving personal wealth as a preferred path to political influence. This bill, if it became law, would radically tilt in the favor of the wealthy when it comes to elected office,” the governor said of HB 16.
“Free speech and participation in elections should not depend on personal wealth. Alaska should not make it harder for citizens to support candidates while preserving a built-in advantage for those who can self-fund.”
By text, Schrage said limits are important for protecting the integrity of candidates and elected officials while fighting corruption.
“All Alaskans deserve a government that answers to them, not to well-funded special interests,” he said.
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