Alaska

Mary Catharine Martin

Twenty Juneau hikers, skiers, berry-pickers and outdoor lovers commenting Thursday on a proposal for all-terrain vehicle summer tours in the Eaglecrest Ski Area spoke overwhelmingly against motorized tours.

Many, however, said they weren't against other kinds of tours in the area.

Rindi White

WASILLA -- City leaders are weighing whether they can maintain Wasilla's image of offering trail access from city doorsteps while the town, and traffic through it, continue to grow.

The debate is over riding all-terrain vehicles in the city.

Zaz Hollander

WASILLA -- Look out Juneau.

Wasilla could become Alaska's third-largest city under the most sweeping of several annexation proposals before city officials.

Under the broadest, the city would more than double to 16,000-plus residents, and expand from a little more than 13 square miles to 31, according to city estimates.

The "new" city would encompass a diverse area from Seward-Meridian Parkway -- including dense subdivisions around Bogard Road -- to about five miles up booming Knik-Goose Bay Road, north to Seldon Road and south to the rural farmlands of Fairview Loop Road.

Joseph Robertia

A homemade device for snuffing out the sounds of a engine led to the wildland fire that burned 10.9 acres near the Kenai Municipal Airport on Monday evening.

"Basically, the situation involved a gentleman doing wildlife photography who made a silencer for his four-wheeler," said Eric Wilcox, fire marshal at the Kenai Fire Department.

Gregory Nilsson has been one of the most vocal opponents to ATV use in this area.

Gregory," nothing has changed in those four years, more traffic in this creek now than there was then."

Nilsson lives nearby and the noise keeps him up at night. He's documented what he says are the off-roaders' blatant public safety hazards and complete disregard for the sanctity of wildlife in this area.

KENAI, Alaska - The city of Kenai is working to chain off environmentally sensitive dunes before the Kenai River dipnet fishery opens Friday.

Kenai's Parks and Recreation employees have been working since early May to install 500 10-foot long fence posts to support nearly 2 miles of linked chain. In past years, dunes and dune grass have been damaged by the big crowds packing the beach near the mouth of the river.