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Alaska To Make Drone Assisted Hunting Illegal

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Photo Credit: ubergizmo.comDrones perform spectacularly as the proverbial eye in the sky, but the Alaska Board of Game doesn’t want drones giving hunters an unfair advantage over their UAV-less counterparts.

At its recent meeting, the 7 member Alaska Board of Game unanimously voted in favor of a measure to stop hunters from spotting game through drones, or other similar gadgets.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers believe that this practise isn’t widespread, but with drone technology becoming cheaper, its only a matter of time before hunters start investing in drones.

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Alaskan Police Fatally Shoot Man who Discovered the Body of ‘Into the Wild’ Wanderer

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Photo Credit: APA man fatally shot by authorities in Alaska over the weekend was a moose hunter who found the body of a young wanderer whose story was featured in the movie “Into the Wild,” his nephew said Friday.

Gordon Samel was shot Sunday night after he backed his pickup toward a Wasilla police officer north of Anchorage, Alaska State Troopers said. An investigative report will be provided to the state Department of Law to determine if deadly force was justified by a trooper and a Wasilla police officer, according to troopers.

Samel, 52, was among three hunters who discovered the body of Christopher McCandless in an abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail near the interior Alaska town of Healy in 1992. McCandless was made famous by the book by Jon Krakauer and subsequent film directed by Sean Penn.

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FBI: Alaska Killer Likely Not Tied to Missing Man

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Photo Credit: Anchorage Police / APThe FBI says it’s highly unlikely confessed Alaska serial killer Israel Keyes was connected to the unsolved disappearance of a man in Washington state.

A special episode of Investigation Discovery’s “Dark Minds” TV series airing April 2 says Gilbert Gilman was a potential victim of Keyes, who had been in the region. Gilman disappeared from Olympic National Park in 2006.

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Alaska Sues U.S. Over Its Rejection of Oil Exploration Plan

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Photo Credit: Paxson Woelber/flickrAlaska sued the Obama administration over its rejection of an oil and gas exploration plan for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as the state seeks to determine the extent of energy resources in the area.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell said exploration for the coastal plain of the wildlife area was mandated by a federal Alaska land conservation act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refused to review the plan, citing a legal opinion by the Interior Department issued in 1987 claiming provisions of the law had expired, Parnell said in a complaint filed in federal court in Anchorage, Alaska.

“It is both disappointing and disturbing that the Obama administration, which claims that it is pursuing an ‘all of the above’ energy policy, is afraid to let the people of the United States learn more about ANWR’s oil and gas resources,” Parnell, a Republican, said in a statement. “The modern technology that we are seeking to use is responsibly utilized all across the North Slope with extremely limited environmental impact, and would dramatically improve our understanding of ANWR’s resources.”

The state is proposing to study a portion of the reserve known as Area 1002, which Alaska officials said covers 3,000 square miles (4,800 square kilometers) and is less than a tenth of the entire Arctic reserve. Estimates from 30 years ago put the median volume of oil in the refuge at 10.4 billion barrels, according to the state of Alaska.

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Dallas Seavey Pushes Through Windstorm to Win Iditarod (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob HallinenNOME — Dallas Seavey came from behind to capture his second Iditarod championship in three years early Tuesday morning, mushing his team of seven dogs through a windstorm that knocked Jeff King out of the race and prompted Aliy Zirkle to hole up in Safety for more than two hours.

Seavey, 26, jogged beside his sled down Nome’s Front Street to help his dogs. At one point, he glanced over his shoulder, thinking his dad, defending champion Mitch Seavey, was gaining on him.

After crossing the finish line in record time at 4:04 a.m., Seavey sat on the back of his sled and leaned his head on his handlebar, exhausted.

“Dallas, did you think you could do this?” an Iditarod Insider videographer asked.

“What exactly did I do?”

“You just won the Iditarod, 2014.”

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Bush Pilots Keep Alaska Moving

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Photo Credit: Chip Porter/Getty Photo, Getty ImagesWithin moments of entering the plane, I smelled the rich aroma of freshly ground coffee. The java, however, wasn’t being brewed by a flight attendant in the galley, because neither existed on this four-seater floatplane. The coffee was cargo. More on that in a minute.

Through headsets that thankfully muted the engine noise, pilot Paul Norden’s voice crackled, “All right, we’re out of here.” The plane began to race across a runway of water at the Lake Hood Seaplane Base, the largest such airport in the world, an aquatic version of New York’s JFK. A few seconds later, the Cessna 206 was airborne.

In most any other American tourist destination, I’d typically grab a cab. But these planes are the “cabs” of the Alaskan wilderness — and the limos and the supply trucks and the ambulances and vehicles for anything else that needs moving over this gorgeous, unforgiving land.

As the Anchorage skyline quickly disappeared behind us, Norden pointed out myriad lakes and rivers as he headed northwest. Flying only 700 feet above the ground, it was easy to spot an occasional moose — once the pilot pointed it out.

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Lindsey Graham Hopes ‘We Don’t Lose Alaska’

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Photo Credit: Getty ImagesFirst Ukraine, then the Bering Strait?

Sen. Lindsey Graham joked Monday that the U.S. might need to watch out for Russian President Vladimir Putin on our own turf if things continue.

“I just hope we don’t lose Alaska. The more [President Barack] Obama talks to Putin the worse we do,” the South Carolina Republican cracked on “Kilmeade and Friends” on Fox News Radio.

Appearing on the show with his frequent partner in foreign policy, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Graham said the situation in Ukraine is a “defining moment” for Obama and he needs to rally Europe to stand up to Putin.

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Alaska National Guard Members Face Accusations of Sexual Misconduct

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Photo Credit: The National Guard/flickrA dozen members of the Alaska National Guard face charges of sexual misconduct in what members of the guard call a severe problem in the ranks.

Five were members of the guard’s recruiting unit and are alleged to have committed the offenses against potential recruits, new recruits, subordinates and others.

Two of those recruiters also allegedly threatened the National Guard investigator and one was arrested last month after being accused of saying he was going to blow up a building on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.

The investigations come as current and former members of the Alaska National Guard, including chaplains, have said there is a serious sexual assault and harassment problem that needs to be dealt with.

The Alaska guard said it has a dozen sexual misconduct investigations, most of which are now complete. The investigations are followed by internal board hearings to weigh the evidence and decide whether the soldiers should be forced out of the service.

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Alaska: No Evidence Barbour Killed Here

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Photo Credit: WNEPAlaskan authorities say there’s no evidence to back up a 19-year-old Pennsylvania woman’s claim that one of the countless killings she carried out was in their state.

Miranda Barbour told a newspaper reporter over the weekend that she killed so many people across so many states in the last six years that she lost count. She told the Daily Item newspaper in Sunbury, Pa., that the killings spanned from Alaska to North Carolina.

However, Alaska State Troopers said Tuesday Barbour’s claims don’t bear out — at least in their state.

“At this time the Alaska State Troopers are not aware of any information — beyond Barbour’s comments quoted in the press — or evidence that would implicate Barbour with a homicide committed in Alaska,” a statement from the agency said.

The agency said it has been in contact with Pennsylvania authorities.

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Alaska-Based Paratroopers Head to Thailand for Cobra Gold

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Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jason Epperson Paratroopers from U.S. Army Alaska’s 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, are preparing to trade Alaska’s winter weather for the warmth of Thailand – for a few days at least – when they take part in exercise Cobra Gold 2014.

Cobra Gold officially kicked off Feb. 11, but the Spartan Brigade paratroopers will join in by flying nonstop this week on five Air Force and Air National Guard C-17 Globemaster III transports to complete a strategic airborne insertion at Lop Buri Airfield, Thailand, to assist with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief portions of the training.

Once on the ground, the soldiers will conduct combined ground operations with partner forces.

“What 4-25 brings to the table is unmatched throughout the Asia-Pacific region. We can quickly mass a large force to accomplish any mission that requires decisive action, from combat with a near-peer threat to humanitarian aid and disaster relief,” said Army Col. Matthew McFarlane, the brigade commander, who will jump into Thailand with his unit. “That this brigade can be wheels-up within mere hours to respond to a humanitarian crisis now versus later is a testament to the strategic reach that 4-25 gives to the [U.S. Pacific Command] commander.”

Cobra Gold is an annual multinational and multiservice exercise developed by the Thai and U.S. militaries. Cobra Gold 14 will consist of a command post exercise, humanitarian and civil assistance projects and a field training exercise. Now in its 33rd iteration, the exercise is designed to advance regional security by exercising a robust multinational force from nations sharing common goals and security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region.

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