BOTHELL, Wash. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the McKinley Fire burning in Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough. FEMA Region 10 Administrator Mike O’Hare determined that the fire threatened to cause such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. He approved the state of […]
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) chaired an Interior Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to examine the Fiscal Year 2020 budget request for the U.S. Forest Service. At the hearing, Senator Murkowski questioned U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen on the spruce beetle epidemic occurring in Southcentral Alaska, wildfire suppression and response training initiatives, […]
Bacteria play a major role in cleaning up oil spills and mitigating its environmental impacts. A new review examines the major limiting factors for microbial degradation in Arctic environments. New economic developments in the Arctic, such as trans-Arctic shipping and oil exploitation, will bring along unprecedented risks of marine oil spills. The world is therefore […]
A new multiagency report outlines how the U.S. could become better prepared for near-Earth objects—asteroids and comets whose orbits come within 30 million miles of Earth—otherwise known as NEOs. While no known NEOs currently pose significant risks of impact, the report is a key step to addressing a nationwide response to any future risks. NASA, […]