Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Set-netter Ken Coleman said he's never seen his fishery close, completely, this early.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game tracks reported moose deaths related to vehicle collisions. In the last two weeks alone, the Kenai Peninsula saw more than 20 moose killed on peninsula roads.

Despite small improvements in clam abundance, beaches in Clam Gulch and Ninilchik will be closed to clammers for the ninth year in a row next summer.

Firefighters, wildlife troopers and biologists worked to help the moose out of the basement, where it ended up after falling into a window well.

The tall, flightless birds are a surprising source of meat, categorized as poultry. An Anchor Point man named Pike Ainsworth worked for three years to add emus to the state's so-called Clean List of legal live game.

The Cooper Landing Safe Trails Committee has been working for years to pass regulations that limit accidental trapping encounters. They expect an uphill battle as they put their proposals to the Board of Game this spring.

The Challenger Learning Center of Alaska is hosting a series of workshops — funded by a grant from NASA — focused on gardening, wild harvesting and food preservation.

The plan lays out 22 goals, created through interviews with stakeholders across the state, meant to guide the organization for the next five years.

The high count is partially due to lower harvest from commercial fishermen — including set-netters, whose fishery was closed for most of the season.

The late run has already met the lower end of Fish and Game's sustainable escapement goal of 44,000 to 85,000 fish. As of Monday, the department counted 47,644 sockeye at the weir on Lower Russian Lake.