Environment

In keeping with a pattern that repeats a handful of times every year, Cleveland Volcano is building pressure and will likely erupt soon. Scientists at the AVO say that it could be a matter of days or months.

During POWER survey that began in late July, two right whales were heard, then spotted, allowing researchers to photograph and take biopsy sample of critically endangered species.

The village of Newtok in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is moving to Mertarvik to escape rising water. The ribbon cutting for the new village site was held August 10.

This summer animals gorged themselves on caterpillars while the caterpillars gorged themselves on alder and willow. That resulted in fat gulls, trout and bears and in defoliated vegetation.

At their July meeting, the Marine Environmental Protection Committee, a committee of the United Nations agency that regulates international shipping, adopted a proposal to address environmental risks heavy fuel oil could pose in the Arctic. Heavy fuel oil is already banned in Antarctic waters.

A new walrus haulout site between Ugashik and Egegik is more accessible to tourists than traditional Bristol Bay haulout sites. Pilots and lodges in the area are both trying to utilize and protect this opportunity.

About 2200 bears live in Katmai National Park and Preserve. The popular webcam, which attracts thousands of viewers daily, gives people a close look at bears' behavior.