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North Slope oil rule now covers accidental polar bear deaths the agency doesn't expect
North Slope oil companies can seek five more years of polar bear and walrus coverage, now including an accidental death the government says it doesn't expect.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago4 min read
AIDEA takes over governor's energy conference with up to $400,000
Gov. Dunleavy leaves office in December. The energy conference he founded stays on: AIDEA's board approved up to $400,000 to run it in Anchorage in 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Trump claims permanent Greenland security control in Leif Erikson Day message
Trump says a security deal with Denmark and Greenland gives the U.S. permanent control over Greenland's defense, but Greenland says it retains approval rights over new U.S. military areas.
by Alaska News1w ago1 min read
Alaska Communications presses FCC to block or condition GCI-Quintillion sale
Alaska Communications asked the FCC to block or restrict GCI's $310 million purchase of Quintillion unless rivals get guaranteed access to the undersea fiber network at regulated prices.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago5 min read
Seoul protested U.S. Alaska LNG announcement, says investment remains under review
White House officials and Alaska leaders announced $50 billion-plus in Korean money for Alaska LNG. Seoul says it agreed only to review it, and protested.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago4 min read
Conservation groups appeal state's Ambler road easement in Anchorage Superior Court
Seven conservation groups asked a judge to overturn DNR's easement for the Ambler road. Both sides cite the state Supreme Court's Donlin ruling.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago5 min read
State raises minimum bids to $35 an acre in annual North Slope and Beaufort Sea oil and gas lease sales
The state's yearly North Slope lease sale is back with a pricier entry fee: minimum bids rise from $25 to $35 an acre. Results come out Nov. 18.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
Federal board gives subsistence hunters 10 more days to hunt moose in the Tetlin refuge area
Rural subsistence hunters near Northway get 10 more days to hunt moose in the Tetlin refuge area, after warmer falls made moose harder to get, the board said.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Park Service hires Everts Air Fuel to keep avgas at two remote Alaska park units through 2030
Two of Alaska's roadless park units run on small planes, and small planes run on avgas. The Park Service is paying Everts Air Fuel $54,506 to keep it coming.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Global refinery disruptions widened fuel margins in 2026, and rural Alaska's barge fuel cost more
Galena's utility paid 29% more per gallon for this year's barge fuel, and St. Paul paid about $7.55. Summer's dip in oil prices came after the fuel was bought.
by Cale Green3w ago4 min read
The Greenland defense deal cites Golden Dome, the missile shield already anchored in Alaska
The U.S.-Greenland defense deal cites Golden Dome, a missile shield Congress funded but can't get spending details on. Its Senate sponsor is Dan Sullivan.
by Melinda Communities.News3w ago2 min read
State denies Florida company's bid to expand oil unit on the Arctic refuge border
A Florida company wanted three more leases added to its oil unit on the Arctic refuge border. The state says the leases had expired and showed no oil or gas.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Subsistence fishing reopens on the upper Yukon, village by village
Subsistence fishing reopens on the upper Yukon in stages from Sept. 26 to Oct. 6, timed so Canadian-bound fall chum pass each stretch of river first.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
AIDEA's board takes six major projects into executive session in Kotzebue
AIDEA's board meets in Kotzebue with Ambler, Red Dog, ANWR and West Susitna on the closed agenda — listed by name, with nothing said about what's up.
by Melinda Communities.News3w ago2 min read
Interior proposes dropping the Arctic relief rig rule and a whaling check
Interior's proposed Arctic drilling rule would drop the standby relief rig and a whaling-ground discharge check, with subsistence losses scored at zero.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago5 min read
Sullivan bill would have Congress ratify ANWR Coastal Plain permits
Sullivan's bill would have Congress ratify the ANWR leasing permits — a move that would largely put them beyond challenge in federal court.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Arctic's warmest summer since 1950 included the rain that flooded the Susitna Valley
The July rain that flooded the Susitna Valley is now logged as an extreme event of the warmest Arctic summer since 1950, according to a new climate review.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Federal board extends FM1106 subsistence moose hunt by two days
Federal officials added two days to a Copper Basin moose hunt and closed 1,300 square miles of Interior river corridors to outside hunters. One group objects.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
High surf advisory holds until 10 p.m. Saturday as Utqiaġvik logs record September rain
A storm brought high surf to Alaska's Arctic coast and set a September rainfall record in Utqiagvik, the wettest day there in records going back to 1920.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The Yukon's fall chum run could support a fishery, none has opened
The Yukon's fall chum run is big enough to allow a commercial fishery for the first time since 2019. The state hasn't opened one or said why.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska closes another zone of the Fortymile caribou hunt
Alaska closed another zone of its Fortymile caribou hunt Friday, expecting the 100-bull limit met. Two of four state zones remain open.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Two Arctic climate-data sources lose federal funding, kept alive by others
Two Arctic climate-data sources Alaska relies on lost their federal funding this past year. Both are now kept alive by universities and private groups.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
High wind warnings for the northwest coast as Arctic logs warmest summer since 1950
The Arctic had its warmest summer since 1950, and the water off Alaska's northwest coast still ran cold. That coast now gets gusts to 65 mph.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Storm to raise water up to 5 feet above the tide line, Golovin to Wainwright
Coastal flooding could push water 2 to 5 feet above the high tide line along much of western and northern Alaska this week, across several tide cycles.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Kaktovik leaders back 1002 Area development and press AIDEA to weigh local knowledge
Kaktovik leaders told AIDEA board members that oil and gas decisions in the Arctic refuge's 1002 Area must include local residents and traditional knowledge, not just outside voices.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
He fought the fire that destroyed his Kaktovik school. Now he's helping to rebuild it.
Kaktovik crane operator Roy Robert Fischer-Akootchook, who fought the 2020 school fire, now operates equipment on its rebuild, with the new gym open since December 2025.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Chukchi coastal waters expected to become ice free within days, NWS says
Chukchi Sea navigational waters off Alaska will become ice free within days, the National Weather Service said Monday, though Arctic-wide sea ice remains near record lows for this time of year.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A fight over whether North Slope oil money stays local or goes to the whole state
Alaska's bigger cut of North Slope oil revenue has set off a fight over whether it stays with the communities nearest the drilling or goes to the whole state.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago7 min read
AIDEA's board will sign off on refreshing its due diligence fund
AIDEA's board took back authority over a $4.5 million planning fund. The same meeting ran about four hours in executive session on ANWR and Ambler.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sullivan and Peltola clash in a combative first forum, previewing a bitter Senate race
Sullivan and Peltola clashed sharply in their first post-primary forum, trading shots over Willow, their records and who's really on Alaska's side.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read
Sea ice loss has swamped El Niño's grip on Arctic autumns
El Niño used to cool Arctic autumns, but sea ice loss has swamped that signal — just as forecasters expect a possibly record-strong El Niño this fall.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
The Fortymile road hunt lasted 48 hours, exactly as predicted
The road-accessible Fortymile caribou hunt opened Aug. 20 and closed 48 hours later, exactly as the state biologist predicted before it began.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Snow expected tonight at Atigun Pass, the high point of the Dalton Highway
Snow is expected at Atigun Pass tonight, 1 to 3 inches, with 3 to 6 inches on the peaks. BLM says storms drop snow there even in June and July.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Moose in Gates of the Arctic are up 48 percent, and researchers point to shrubs
Moose in the Gates of the Arctic survey area are up about 48 percent since 2015. Researchers tie the Arctic's moose expansion to taller shrubs.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Park Service urges hard-sided bear containers in the Arrigetch Peaks
A brown bear took food from a soft-sided bear-resistant container in the Arrigetch Peaks on August 13. The Park Service now strongly recommends hard-sided containers, which backpackers can check out at the Bettles Ranger Station.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A storm could raise water 4 to 6 feet at low-lying Norton Sound villages
Water will rise 4 to 6 feet above normal high tide at Koyuk and Elim Monday through Tuesday, with beach erosion and property damage possible, the National Weather Service said.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska's development authority again takes ANWR and Ambler to closed session
Alaska's development authority will again discuss two divisive projects — ANWR oil drilling and the Ambler mining road — in closed session this week.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
The fate of the EPA veto blocking Pebble Mine is now in a federal judge's hands
A federal judge is deciding whether the EPA veto blocking Pebble Mine survives, a fight over Bristol Bay salmon with Alaska Native parties on both sides.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Heat advisory warns of 80 degrees near Umiat Sunday afternoon
National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the area near Umiat forecasting 80 degrees Sunday afternoon, though no North Slope villages fall within the warning zone.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
UAF will study the landslides thawing under Alaska's pipeline
A UAF researcher will study why landslides start deep in thawing permafrost, aiming to protect Alaska's infrastructure — including the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
