Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
May 2023

Salmon Shark Sightings

By Riley Woodford

If you see or catch a salmon shark, Sabrina Garcia wants to hear from you.

Garcia is a marine research biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). In summer you’ll find her on ships in the Bering Sea studying juvenile salmon, documenting their abundance, distribution, and diet. Typically, each summer a few salmon sharks are caught in surface trawls during salmon surveys and released unharmed. Garcia is making the most of these opportunities to add to our understanding ...   Salmon Sharks Article Continued

Keeping Nelson Island Muskox Population on Target

By Keane Richards

Managing a population of muskox on an island in Western Alaska has not always been easy. Sometimes there’s been too much of a good thing.

Muskox were introduced to Nelson Island in 1967 and 1968, when a total of 23 animals were transferred from nearby Nunivak Island. Those Nunivak Island muskox were the first muskox re-introduced to the wild in Alaska (in the 1930s) after their extirpation decades earlier, and they were thriving. Nelson Island, about 25 miles northwest and similar ...   Nelson Island Muskox Article Continued

Golden-crowned Sparrow
More to this songbird than meets the eye

By Sanaa Siddiqi

Alaska springtime is marked by many signs, but my favorite is picking out the melodies of different songbirds. Their music is a welcome harbinger of new growth and renewal, marking that transition from dark days into longer and lighter ones. Springtime arrivals take many forms; there is the emergence of queen bumblebees as they seek out suitable nest sites, awakening bears, and arrival of Golden-crowned Sparrows.

The Blueberry Knoll Trail in the Government Peak Recreation Area in Palmer ...   Golden-crowned Sparr Article Continued