Tim Sands, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game area management biologist, said he is hopeful the strong run throughout Bristol Bay will continue next year.

Westfall thanked his training with the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association to help him maximize his odds for survival.

Dry spring conditions and strong winds are allowing a burn at the dump to grow near Pilot Point. Fire crews are dropping suppressant and 12 smokejumpers worry working the fire estimated at 250 acres as of Monday night.

Young gray whale found dead on the beach.

Biologists believe the 18- to 20-foot whale may be sick or injured. It’s unclear if it will be able to swim out during high tide.

"Within a week we saw thousands of shearwaters along the beaches, and witnessed hundreds dead. They would sit on the tideline unable to walk, foraging on dead fish that had washed ashore and trying to feed on the fish in the nets of the set net sites as well."

As of July 21, fishermen in Bristol Bay’s five districts had harvested just more than 42 million salmon.

The Bristol Bay Times - Serving Dillingham, Naknek, King Salmon and Southwest villages

Strange tracks between Pilot Point and Ugashik, found near the river may belong to an Alaska hare (Lepus othus)

After a very slow beginning to their season, fishermen in Ugashik Bay saw millions of sockeye salmon return in a little over a week in mid-July.

Pacific Walrus haulout at Cape Greig.

Large shearwater die-off at a Pilot Point beach.

The notoriously difficult-to-study Pacific walrus population decreased by about half between 1981 and 1999, likely due to hunting and changes to sea-ice habitat, according to a new USGS study that is considered the most up-to-date and comprehensive so far. The Pacific walrus is being considered for Endangered Species Act protections.

A small black fuzzy caterpillar seen in the NPS administrative building in King Salmon, Alaska

There were lightning strike-caused fires at Paul's Creek and Coffee Creek north of King Salmon, AK.

11-29-14 Mollusks in moose gut - Egegik, Alaska, USA

4-27-14 Geometridae moth - Naknek, Alaska, USA

Unknown caterpillar observed

6-6-13 Bald eagle with facial abnormality. King Salmon, Alaska, USA

On a rising tide, a line of bubbles from the mud under the water of Ugashik Bay can be observed rising forcefully to the surface.