A number of sick and / or dying songbirds were reported in McCarthy including pine grosbeaks and red polls. A sickly golden eagle was reported ten days earlier. "It flew up to a tree top but appeared weak and a bit awkward."

The National Park Service said a 22-year-old Ohio man was salvaging moose meat when he was killed in the national park’s first recorded fatal bear mauling.

Diplodia galls are caused by a fungus that causes the tree to overproduce in certain areas. This generally will not kill the tree, but does make the tree more prone to breakage in areas where galls are found.

Rain caused mudslides are affecting roads in the southeastern Interior. The Alaska Department of Transportation reports that the McCarthy Road was shut down by a slide last night. Listen now

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued an emergency order Wednesday closing the personal-use and sport fishing for Copper River sockeye around Chitina until further notice. It goes into effect on Monday, June 18th.

Biologists blame the Blob of warm water in the Gulf of Alaska for poor sockeye returns that also led to the second lowest commercial harvest in 50 years.

The McCarthy Road was closed between Mile 0 and 1 in Chitina on Monday, June 3, 2024, after a portion of the road sank. The transportation department is still assessing the cause of the road settlement, Perreault said, but it is not river washout or a landslide.