9-13-12 Unusual skate on Arctic beach - Barrow, Alaska, USA

9-1-12 Heat lightning - Kiska Island, Alaska, USA

Potential problem for local trees, berry bushes and other plants.

At Moses Point, Northeast of Elim, we found a dead beluga whale.

8-24-12 Lynx in high Arctic - Barrow, Alaska, USA

Our concern has to do with the impact and number of dead whales that might have on our subsistence lifestyle. It is unusual to find so many dead whales.

This summer has been one of the rainiest Ulaanbaatar has ever experienced, leaving behind puddles of water that result in cracked and deteriorated roads.

There has been an outbreak in Fairbanks of the amber-marked birch leaf miner (Profenusa thomsoni), an insect that came to North America in the early 1900s and arrived in Fairbanks by about 2002.

Several sightings of dead baby belugas were reported on the shores of the community and in the area over the past few days.

A normal daily river level here is about 46', so we are nearly eight (8') feet above normal.

Extremely high water on the Noatak

It has been raining nonstop the entire month of August

The number of rufous hummingbirds visiting southern Vancouver Island over the summer is dropping and the cause may be climate change, says a local bird expert.

Update: Aug. 16. Mainstream Canada has announced that the Millar Channel fish farm is now empty. The fish, infected with the IHN virus,were taken to a rendering facility. Mainstream Canada is developing a plan for cleaning and disinfecting the farm site, as per the requirements of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. “This is an unfortunate incident, but we are pleased with how smoothly the depopulation procedure went considering the situation,” said Fernando Villarroel, Mainstream Canada’s managing director.

Fisheries Minister Gail Shea is crowing about the opportunities with the 2010 return of sockeye to the Fraser river, calling it a  banner year for Fraser River sockeye salmon. This year's return is currently set at just over 25 million fish, one of the highest returns in the last hundred years. Several fishery openings for Fraser River sockeye have already occurred in 2010 and more are planned, she said.

8-7-12 Dead grey whale - Nome, Alaska, USA

Melting permafrost causing tundra to slip below sea level in northern Alaska.

So far approximately 340 bison have died from an anthrax outbreak in the Fort Providence area of the N.W.T.

Two dead marine mammals--a fur seal and a whale.

First time seeing a sucker fish in the Lower Yukon River.