Polar bear encounter reported in Arctic Village, many miles south of normal range
Polar bear researcher Eric Regehr says that in individual cases like this, it’s very difficult to attribute cause to why a bear wandered so far from its typical area.
Democrats demand Trump administration stop offshore oil leasing work during shutdown
It was spurred by Interior's decision last week to bring in 40 employees to work on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's national offshore oil leasing plan. That plan, as initially drafted, would open up far more of Alaska's federal waters to oil development.
Native corporations maintaining Alaska forests find a carbon credit buyer: oil company BP
BP Alaska is one of the biggest oil companies in the state. To help address climate change, it's paying to keep forests standing on land managed by two Alaska Native corporations.
Revenue commissioner outlines a new direction for Alaska’s gas pipeline project
That direction looks a lot like a previous version of the project: one that was led by the oil companies on the North Slope.
The state’s new budget director is a well-known fiscal hawk
Donna Arduin has worked on cutting spending for governors in six other states. She’s expected to propose deep cuts to address the $1.6 billion hole in the state’s budget.
After struggling for years to clean up its air, Fairbanks still faces contentious wood smoke problem
For years, Fairbanks and neighboring city North Pole have had some of the worst air quality in the United States. The area has been failing to meet a federal air quality standard since 2009 — now it's reached the deadline.
Interior delays public comment deadline for ANWR oil leasing
The Interior department is giving the public an additional month to weigh in on its controversial plans to allow oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
‘Life is going to spring back to us’: the sun returns to Utqiaġvik
“Life is going to spring back to us,” said Robin Mongoyak. “Spring is coming, summer is around the corner. Birds when they come in big flocks, it’s like thousands of people coming to greet us.”
Nonprofit raises questions over recent Donlin state permits
A Montana-based nonprofit group that participates in mine permitting across the U.S. thinks the company has room to improve the mine plans that were recently approved by the state.
Forest Service reschedules meeting on Southeast Alaska timber sales
The agency worked on the project during the partial government shutdown, which drew sharp criticism from environmental groups.
Interior Dept. kicks off new round of meetings on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Some people at the meeting expressed concern about the process. Lisa Baraff with the Northern Alaska Environmental Center said that the timeline BLM has been using for their environmental review is too short.
Credit rating agencies watch as Alaska pivots toward a new budget
Right now, there’s a plan in place that kept the state’s credit outlook stable. But there a new governor, and his administration has a new plan for the state’s budget.
As the Bering Sea warms, this skipper is chasing pollock to new places
“Across the board, everybody has a story about something that they haven’t seen before,” said Dan Martin, a 53-year-old captain of a Bering Sea pollock trawler. We took a fishing trip with Martin to find out what he’s experiencing as the Bering Sea heats up.
Alaska GOP Gov. Dunleavy seeks to oust Democratic chair of oil and gas watchdog agency
A two-page letter from Dunleavy last month charges French with “neglect of duty and misconduct,” and levies five charges to justify the governor’s bid to remove French from chairmainship of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Alaska’s latest climate policy is still offline. So these students made a delivery to the governor.
Shortly after Gov. Michael Dunleavy was sworn into office, the website with the state’s latest plan to address climate change went down. It was created with months of planning by a team appointed by former Gov. Bill Walker.
Don’t count on oil to bail out Alaska’s budget soon, says unpublished state tax memo
The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska is a hot area for oil development right now. But don’t count on new production there to bail out the state budget any time soon. That’s the takeaway from a previously unpublished, two-month-old analysis drafted by former independent Gov. Bill Walker’s administration.
Y-K Delta tribes appeal Donlin state permits
Thirteen tribes are appealing two key state permits for the proposed Donlin gold mine.
With spring whaling around the corner, sinew thread makers are hard at work
“Everything just falls into place,” says Nancy Leavitt of the hard work involved in sinew thread making. “The problems, the stress, the thoughts you have. Most of them just disappear.”
Hearing concludes regarding French’s fate at head of state oil and gas watchdog agency
A three-day public hearing ended Friday regarding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s bid to remove Hollis French from his position as chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Of 140,000 comments, most favor keeping the Tongass Forest Roadless Rule
Back in August, the U.S. Forest Service said it would consider the state’s ask for an exemption that would make it easier to build new roads through the federal land.