Word: pribilofs
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...peak in the 1980s, the oil pipeline from the North Slope carried 2 million bbl. a day. The flow is now about a third of that, and supplies are projected to dwindle further. Alaska has seen these boom-and-bust cycles before. The "seal mines" of the Pribilof Islands, the salmon canneries, the Klondike gold rush--all these short-lived booms appealed to what New Deal--era Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes once derided as Alaska's "gambling spirit." Palin is now rolling the dice on the national stage with a political persona based in part on her willingness...
...natural bounty on which the culture is built is at risk. At Point Hope, a bowhead-whaling village that dates from 600 B.C., flooding seawater threatens the airport runway and a seven-mile evacuation road. "During storms, people begin to panic," says town official Rex Rock. In the Pribilof Islands, villagers blame global warming along with industrial contaminants for the decline of 20 species, ranging from kelp to sea lion. In Barrow, capital of the oil-rich North Slope Borough, sandbags and dredging haven't protected $500 million in infrastructure. "We are at a crossroads," says Mayor Edith Vorderstrasse...
...Fall down and you're history," says veterinarian Terry Springer as we crawl out on a rickety catwalk over a beach in Alaska's Pribilof Islands. Below us, thousands of fur seals flop around in a frenzy. The 600-lb. bulls herd their harems to protect them from rival males emerging from the brisk waters of the Bering Sea. As the big males toss the 110-lb. females around like beach toys, my first thought is that male fur seals have not yet embraced feminism. Springer, though, has no time for such anthropomorphic musing. The Colorado State University scientist...
...plastic is taking a heavy toll on marine life, particularly on seals, sea lions, turtles and seabirds. By one estimate, as many as 50,000 northern fur seals in the Pribilof Islands die each year after becoming enshrouded in netting. "Young seals get their heads or flippers caught in it," says Laist. "Then they either become exhausted from toting it or their ability to catch food is restricted...
...negotiating a new conservation treaty with Japan. But last week a second power was moving into the fishing grounds-and one with which negotiations are considerably more difficult. As U.S. Navy planes kept a 24-hour watch, a Russian fishing fleet of 64 boats cruised off Alaska's Pribilof Islands. "Research into fish migrations," explained the Soviets. The Alaskans see another purpose: they think that the Russians are lying in wait for the thick schools of salmon just beginning their annual spawning...