Nunivak

Most musk oxen in Alaska are found in the coastal waters near Nunivak Island and Nelson Island.

Coast Guard searched Nunivak Island and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta coast for four days before calling off their search Oct.

In the 1930s, efforts began to re-introduce the species to its former range: juveniles captured in Greenland were transported by ship, rail and boat by way of Norway to Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea.

Coast Guard to designate new environmentally important “areas to be avoided” by ships traveling near Alaska’s St. Lawrence Island, Nunivak Island and King Island in the Bering Strait.

But the close call raised local concerns that an oil spill could have devastated local resources, Albert Williams, president of the Native village of Mekoryuk on Nunivak, said in a letter to the Obama administration.