In rural Alaska, school districts deal with a legacy of unaddressed contamination
Typically, when a contaminated site is discovered it’s up to the landowner — or the person responsible for making the mess — to clean it up. But there are dozens of sites where this process has broken down.
Feds take public comment on Hilcorp’s offshore Liberty project
Shell may have given up on drilling off Alaska's coast, but federal regulators are now taking public comment on another -- though very different -- offshore drilling proposal.
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ConocoPhillips’ next big oil project in Alaska takes another step forward
The company hopes to construct a new oil processing facility, up to five drill sites, about 40 miles of permanent roads, a gravel mine and hundreds of miles of pipelines and seasonal ice roads.
Renewable Energy Fund, casualty of budget crunch, may get new lifeline
Since 2008, Alaska's Renewable Energy Fund has supported scores of projects around the state. But so far, it has not been included in this year's budget. Download Audio
Alaskan appointed to help manage national fisheries
An Alaskan has been appointed to help manage fisheries nationwide. Listen now
Dunleavy selects Corri Feige as natural resources commissioner
Corri Feige is not new to the agency she will now lead — she was previously the head of DNR’s Division of Oil and Gas under Gov. Bill Walker.
Climate change hits Alaska’s rural water and sewer systems
For decades, Alaska has struggled to get running water and sewer systems to its rural communities. An estimated 3,000 households — or about 10,000 people — still lack both. Now, that job may be getting harder, as climate change exacerbates old problems and creates new ones. Listen now
Using data as a carrot, Alaska hopes to entice interest in oil lease sale
The state of Alaska is offering oil companies a sneak preview on three North Slope areas it’s putting up for bid at this year’s oil and gas lease sale. Listen now
What does the Dunleavy administration mean for the proposed Pebble Mine?
Officially, Gov. Mike Dunleavy is not taking a position on the mine, unlike his predecessor, Gov. Bill Walker, who opposed it. But the new governor is already making moves that have encouraged the mine’s backers and worried its opponents.
Trump admin sets crosshairs on Park Service predator rule
The Trump administration is trying to erase another part of President Obama's environmental legacy in Alaska: It wants to roll back a National Park Service ban on several controversial methods of killing bears and wolves. Listen now
Court hears arguments in case that could curtail Arctic Ocean oil drilling
The U.S. District Court in Anchorage heard arguments in a case that could determine whether millions of acres of Arctic waters should be closed to oil development. Listen now
Former military leaders fight on the side of lease sales in the Arctic
More than a dozen former military leaders jumped into a fight over offshore drilling in the Arctic yesterday, asking the Department of the Interior to allow lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic. Download Audio
Investigation shows BP Alaska reckoning with multiple accidents and leaks
BP isn't disputing that the incidents took place. The company has already taken extreme steps to address the issue. Listen now
Will a Texan-Australian partnership bring the ‘shale revolution’ to the North Slope?
Amid a wave of new oil discoveries in Alaska, other companies are hoping to get lucky, too. And in pursuit of the next billion-barrel find, two companies from Texas and Australia are trying something a little different. Listen now
Diving for answers: Will blue king crab come back in the Pribilofs?
In the Pribilof Islands, no one’s gotten an accurate count of blue king crab since the population crashed hard in the 1980s. This summer, a marine biologist is trying to change that, with the species’ first in-depth study in more than 30 years. His ultimate goal: determine if blue crab can make a comeback — or if it’s gone for good. Listen now
Wolves and logging both cut into Prince of Wales deer
This deer season has been the worst in recent memory for a lot of hunters on Prince of Wales Island. Large-scale industrial logging has damaged important winter habitat, and some locals believe a rapidly growing wolf population is also devouring the deer. Listen now
Major oil development planned in NPR-A to get ‘streamlined’ environmental review
The Bureau of Land Management has kicked off the environmental review process for what could be one of Alaska's biggest future oil developments, in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The Trump administration wants to make that process go faster. But environmental groups worry a faster review won't do enough to protect the Arctic wilderness. Listen now
State one step closer to gas pipeline, but not the one the Walker administration wants
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has put out a draft of the final environmental review of the in-state gas pipeline project. Listen now
Sealaska Corporation announces multimillion dollar deal to keep trees in the ground
Southeast’s regional Native corporation is using some of its lands for carbon sequestration. It’s the first carbon bank in the state to be approved for the California cap-and-trade market. Listen now
Rising seas, peat may have caused Ice Age extinction event
A research paper published yesterday says large ice age mammals may have gone extinct in northern Alaska when grassland turned to peat and rising sea levels covered the Bering Land Bridge.
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