kake

Alaskans spend nearly 60 percent more on energy than the national average, and in some rural communities, that number is much higher. The Kupreanof Island village of Kake is trying to bring down the high cost of energy by transitioning to renewables. They’ve looked at solar, wind, hydro and now biomass heating, an old technology with a new design.

An Alaska Native rights group is backing the federal subsistence board’s decision to allow a village in Southeast Alaska to hunt out of season during the pandemic. The Dunleavy administration has challenged that move, which will soon get its day in court.

Alaska Tribal governments and organizations are asking the State of Alaska to withdraw a lawsuit filed recently in federal court.

The State of Alaska is filing a lawsuit in federal court alleging the U.S. Office of Subsistence Management has overstepped its authority. 

The rainforest of Southeast Alaska might seem like an unlikely place to find solar energy taking off. But that’s exactly what’s happening in Kake, where high energy costs have spurred growing interest in renewable energy. While installing solar panels has allowed some people and organizations to cut their energy bills, the impact on the local grid is more complicated.

State lawmakers have endorsed an Alaska Native tribe’s effort to change the name of Saginaw Bay to Skanax Bay. The body of water off Kuiu Island was named for the U.S. warship that laid waste to three Tlingit villages near present-day Kake in 1869.

The U.S. Forest Service quietly hit another milestone in its ongoing efforts to consider building new roads in the Tongass National Forest. Last month, it received comments on an important document from cooperating groups.

The state has been providing feedback that could shape the outcome of the new rule, and so have Southeast Alaska tribes.