Lightning strikes in the Arctic tripled from 2010 to 2020, a finding University of Washington researchers attribute to rising temperatures due to human-caused climate change. The results, researchers say, suggest Arctic residents in northern Russia, Canada, Europe and Alaska need to prepare for the danger of more frequent lightning strikes. The study, published March 22 in […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, toured and spoke at three of Alaska’s military installations, expounding on the Alaska National Guard’s role in Arctic Strategy, Mar. 23 – 25. “We are an arctic nation because of Alaska,” said Saxe, addressing the Airmen of Clear Air […]
JUNEAU, Alaska — The Seattle-based Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) arrived in Juneau, Friday, for a logistics stop as the crew nears the end of their months-long Arctic deployment conducting scientific research and protecting the nation’s maritime sovereignty and security throughout the polar region. In addition to Polar Star’s strategic national security objectives, the nation’s sole […]
Bowhead whales are true northern creatures, swimming only in cold oceans off Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Svalbard and Russia. These bus-size whales have the largest mouths in the animal kingdom, can live for 200 years and can go without eating for more than a year due to their remarkable fat reserves. Bowheads are also a rare […]
January 20, 2021 (Juneau, AK) – Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a statement on today’s decision of incoming President Joe Biden to halt oil and gas activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The decision follows the historic lease sale held on January 6, 2021. Today’s announcement to shut down development in the Arctic […]
Washington — Today, as part of a flurry of Executive Actions that include rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and stopping the Keystone XL Pipeline, President-elect Joe Biden will take immediate action to protect the sacred lands of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by placing a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing activities on its […]
Fairbanks, Alaska — The Gwich’in Steering Committee condemns the Trump administration’s issuance of leases of sacred lands in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a violation of their human rights and Indigenous ways of life. “This administration’s decision to hand sacred lands to exploiters shows its commitment to continuing its cowardly […]
A bearded seal rests on ice in the Bering Sea. NOAA/Cameron NOAA Fisheries is proposing to designate critical habitat in U.S. waters off the coast of Alaska for Arctic ringed seals and the Beringia distinct population of bearded seals. Both species are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The ESA requires that NOAA […]
Lame duck administration takes next step in a rushed process to open one of the nation’s most iconic and sacred landscapes to oil drilling Washington — The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority emerged as the apparent high bidder in the Trump administration’s illegal oil and gas lease sale as part of its Coastal […]