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Photo by Diana Haecker TOO CLOSE— A herd of musk oxen cozied up on a tundra hump close to the East end of Nome, on Monday, June 9. Experts say the ungulates are pushed closer to town to escape pred- ators such as bears and wolves. C VOLUME CXIV NO. 24 June 12, 2014 Federal, state fishery managers focus on Chinook crisis By Laurie McNicholas Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Unalakleet River in Norton Sound K Chinook run projections for 2014, nook in the subdistricts has been Chinook (king) salmon stocks are which manages salmon fisheries in and the Yukon River fell below min- ADF&G has severely restricted sub- conducted for years. at all-time lows in the Arctic-Yukon- state waters, and for federal fishery imum spawning escapement goals sistence fishing and banned sport The department states in a June 6 Kuskokwim area that includes Nor- managers charged with minimizing set by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and fishing for Chinook in the area. press release that it will conserve ton Sound, the Yukon River, the bycatch of Chinook salmon and Game to sustain Chinook runs. On June 9, the department closed Chinook salmon for escapement Kuskokwim Bay and the Kuskok- chum salmon in the Bering Sea pol- A high proportion of Chinook all marine and fresh waters to sub- needs and refocus harvest pressure wim River. lock fishery to the extent practicable. salmon bycatch in the pollock fish- sistence salmon fishing in Norton on more numerous chum and pink A decade-long decline in the Salmon are prohibited species in ery is of Yukon River origin. The Sound subdistricts 5 and 6 (Shaktoo- salmon. area’s Chinook stocks has acceler- the directed pollock fishery, but they Kuskokwim River Chinook returns lik and Unalakleet). Measures to conserve Chinook ated in recent years. are incidentally taken as bycatch in met 2013 escapement goals, but the Sport fishing for Chinook is salmon can involve restricted oppor- The dire condition of Chinook trawl nets by vessels targeting pol- run was so poor that little remained closed in all waters from Rocky tunities to harvest chum salmon. salmon stocks in western Alaska wa- lock. for a subsistence harvest. Point to Point Romanoff until Aug. continued on page 5 ters are priority concerns for both the In 2013, Chinook returns to the In response to similarly poor A-Y- 16. No commercial fishery for Chi- Muskox gores King’s former lead dog Bernard By Sandra L. Medearis getting into the story. “‘He’s the Bernard retired in spring 2008 as a most pleasurable dog I’ve ever leader of five-time Iditarod champ driven as a lead dog,’ is what Jeff Jeff King’s sled dog team. From then said. on, Bernard made his home with “Bernard was an excellent Laura and Gary Samuelson in leader,” Gary Samuelson went on. Nome. “This guy was an absolute gem, Laura Samuelson announced the trained by one of the best mushers in winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog the world. Race for many years. She and her “For us to get him was like win- husband knew King well. ning the dog mushing lottery,” Gary Bernard was five years old when Samuelson said Monday. it became time for him to retire. Bernard joined the Samuelsons’ King was looking for a special home other sled dogs that now include for one of the best sled dogs ever. Bradford, Ida, Amber, Freedom and After the All Alaska Sweepstakes Jafet Lindeberg. in 2008, Jeff said to me, “Laura! Boy Perth passed away from old age do I have the dog for you guys,” recently. Laura Samuelson said Monday. The Laura Samuelson smiled as she dog was Bernard. Gary Samuelson leaned forward, continued on page 4 Photo by Diana Haecker ON BY— Stroke-’n-Croak participant Phil Hofstetter runs by a browsing muskox on Sunday, June 8. The event combines swimming, running and biking. See story on page 12. Kawerak’s museum Gold Grabber applies for permit funding falls flat By Sandra L. Medearis Until then, the contractor will per- to mine gold at Grantley Harbor The Nome Common Council has form preconstruction work under a By Diana Haecker ocean and Port Clarence from fresh- The Gold Grabber given the contract for general con- limited notice to proceed from A mining outfit called Gold Grab- water at Imuruk Basin and its The Gold Grabber is a mechani- tractor and construction manager for Bahnke. ber LLC has submitted a mining per- streams and rivers. cal gold dredge – an excavator the Richard Foster Building to The construction phase would mit application to mine for gold One of those rivers leads to one of mounted on a barge-like platform. ASRC SKW Eskimos. begin following Council approval, inside Grantley Harbor. The pro- only two red salmon spawning lakes The steel barge measures 82 feet in The panel awarded the bid for according to the resolution. posal is causing alarm to Teller sub- on the Seward Peninsula. length and 28 feet in width. Unlike $12,117,961 based on the bid team’s Getting to the final design may sistence hunters and fishermen. The communities of Brevig Mis- suction dredges, a Hitachi E-200 ex- scoring of technical merit and guar- have hit a rocky road, however, be- Through their traditional councils sion, Mary’s Igloo and Teller use the cavator reaches about 12 feet down anteed maximum price for the work. cause of a shortfall in funding for the they have made statements that gold area for subsistence fishing and into the submerged ground, exca- The Richard Foster Building Kawerak Inc. wing of the building. mining in the subsistence areas is hunting. “We don’t welcome mining vates the material and hauls it on would contain the Carrie M McLain At the first of the year, the Coun- not welcome. in our subsistence fishing and hunt- board where it is dumped onto a vi- Museum, the Kegoayah Kozga Li- cil had on the table an all-inclusive A variety of fish followed by ma- ing areas,” said Mary’s Igloo Tradi- brating screen plant and processed in brary and Kawerak, Inc.’s Beringia construction budget of $14,066,807 rine mammals pass through Grant- tional Council President Lucy a 30-ft sluice box. Also on board are Center for displays and education. and an overall budget of ley Harbor, which separates the Oquilluk. a 100-kw generator, an eight-inch With no dollars on the horizon, the &19,614,807—meaning a funding Teller Traditional Council Presi- water pump and a 900-gallon fuel Kawerak wing has yet to be funded. gap of $3.6 million. dent Wesley Okbaok also issued a tank with diesel. Contract documents laid out the The funding plan for Kawerak’s statement that strongly opposes the According to the DNR applica- general contractor’s work in two section of the building depended on On the Web: mining proposal. tion, the miners propose to use 15 phases: preconstruction and con- a $1.9 million grant from state Dept. www.nomenugget.net “These areas are highly important gallons of water for personal use a struction phases. The construction of CED’s Statewide Libraries Grant to fish and mining would have a day, with a 100-gallon water tank on phase will not get the go-ahead until Program and $1.3 million from the E-mail: detrimental effect on our subsistence board. The application states the completion of a final design and sub- Rasmuson Foundation. [email protected] resources,” Okbaok said. City of Nome as a water source. In mission of a lump sum price from The DCED declined the request According to Oquilluk, neither the mining plan, owner Richard the general contractor/construction for the $1.9 million in library money. the mining company nor the Dept. of Schimschat states the operation manager. Now bad news has come from Natural Resources, the state’s per- would be using 500 to 800 gallons The resolution passed by the Rasmuson Foundation: no money, mitting agency, has consulted with of saltwater to wash the material at Council authorizes City Manager no $1.3 million. the Traditional Councils of Teller or gold separation. Josie Bahnke to issue the notice of Melanie Bahnke, Kawerak’s pres- Mary’s Igloo. The vessel has a 26-foot camping award subject to receiving all paper- ident, was set to meet with City ad- work from ASRC SKW Eskimos. continued on page 20 continued on page 4 2 THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2014 THE NOME NUGGET EIS to begin for Ambler Mining District Industrial Access Road By Diana Haecker profit from the road development as hosted several meetings in Kobuk, able to work for a federal agency in designated website and it will be a In a May board of directors meet- it owns the rights to a copper claim Fairbanks and Anchorage but did not the NEPA process, because they federal responsibility to post meeting ing, the Alaska Industrial Develop- known as the Arctic deposit and has widely advertise them. Until last would be conflicted because they’re schedules. For now, however, this is ment and Export Authority board has interests in the NANA-owned Bor- week, information on the project was working for AIDEA, explained not the case and control over meet- approved going forward with plans nite project. Although the road is to not posted on AIDEA’s website, but Springsteen. ing participation seems to be the pre- to develop a road leading to the Am- be constructed not with public on its contractor’s DOWL HKM Asked where the public can find rogative of AIDEA.