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NOAA pulled the plug on its 20-year Arctic climate record — and Alaska's scientists are scrambling to save it
NOAA cut its 20-year Arctic warming record, written largely by Alaskans — and UAF scientists are now scrambling to publish the 2026 edition themselves.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
Heat advisory brings 80 degrees to the Arctic plains near Umiat
The Arctic plains near Umiat could hit 80 degrees Thursday under a heat advisory, a hot spell standing out in Alaska's coldest year since 2012.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Twenty ptarmigan a day, most of the year, across the Interior
Interior ptarmigan hunters get 20 birds a day from August through February across Units 12, 20 and 25C, with big stretches of lightly hunted country to work.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Interior proposes easing Arctic offshore drilling safety rules
The Trump administration proposed easing post-Deepwater Horizon safety rules for Arctic offshore drilling off Alaska, reviving the spill-risk debate.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Heavy sea ice off Alaska's north coast keeps shipping routes shut
Sea ice off Alaska's north coast is the heaviest in over 20 years, keeping Arctic shipping routes shut and complicating the resupply coastal villages depend on.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
NTSB: Bering Air crash that killed 10 was a chain of preventable failures
The NTSB found the Bering Air crash that killed 10 near Nome resulted from a chain of preventable failures — an overweight plane the company routinely flew heavy, severe icing, and a pilot overloaded in the final minutes.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Minor Chukchi surge hits Kivalina and Red Dog Dock
A minor Chukchi surge Sunday is small by 2022 standards, but it hits Kivalina and Red Dog Dock, where erosion and flooding are already permanent problems.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A permit to study 14 Alaska marine mammal species is up for comment
A Fairbanks firm wants a federal permit to study 14 Alaska marine mammal species. NOAA is taking public comment through Aug. 26.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Nominations open for Arctic shipping panel with reserved Alaska seats
Alaska Native tribes and coastal groups have until Sept. 22 to seek seats on a new federal panel shaping U.S. Arctic shipping policy as sea lanes open.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Draft settlement would protect ANWR leasing terms
A draft settlement would bar Washington from shrinking ANWR leasing below what Congress required, a win the state and Kaktovik's drilling backers wanted.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Chukchi and Beaufort Seas carry most ice in decades, even as Arctic shrinks
Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska hold the most summer ice in decades, bucking the Arctic's overall decline as Atlantic-side ice hits record lows.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Freezing rain possible at Kaktovik and Point Thomson through Wednesday night
Freezing rain and lower-30s temperatures threaten Kaktovik and Point Thomson through Wednesday night, a mid-July hazard the National Weather Service warned Tuesday.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
The Fortymile caribou herd is shrinking, and this year's hunt reflects it
The Fortymile caribou herd is down a bit, so this year's hunt is tighter — 550 bulls, one per hunter, no cows, and zones that can slam shut mid-season.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A Brooks Range hunting guide wants a permanent camp in the wild
A guide who flies hunters into the Brooks Range by Super Cub wants to trade his move-every-two-weeks tent camp for a permanent cabin in some of Alaska's most remote country.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
More than 200 Alaska watersheds have turned orange
Uh-ohh. More than 200 Brooks Range watersheds have turned orange in a decade as thawing permafrost releases iron and metals — rusting rivers that villages drink from and fish.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Heat advisory warns Arctic Plains villages of 80-degree Monday
National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for Arctic Plains villages warning of 80-degree temperatures Monday, when most homes lack air conditioning.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A wildfire is burning in protected caribou habitat in the Kanuti refuge
A lightning fire is burning in protected caribou habitat inside the Kanuti refuge near Allakaket. Crews are holding it in place; no communities are threatened.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Nutmeg Fire near Wiseman hits 1,000 acres; federal managers let it burn
Lightning-caused Nutmeg Fire near Wiseman has burned roughly 1,000 acres since July 9, and federal managers are letting it burn as part of natural fire ecology.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Justice Department concedes Biden-era Arctic Refuge leasing program violated the law
The Justice Department conceded Alaska was right that the 2024 Arctic Refuge leasing program violated federal law by capping development below what Congress allowed.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A tale of two Junes at the top of the world
Alaska's North Slope just had its coolest June since 2018 — even as the wider Arctic logged its warmest since 1950. Same month, opposite stories.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cone Fire in Koyukuk refuge at 50% containment; no threat to Huslia allotments
Eight smokejumpers held the Cone Fire at 50% containment inside Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge as of Saturday, with no threat to Huslia Native allotments 33 miles away.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Beaufort Sea nearly ice-locked in early July, a level unseen since before 2001
The southern Beaufort Sea is nearly ice-locked in early July with less than 0.3 percent open water, the highest ice extent since 2000.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska Airlines crews could lose state break protections
A federal proposal would strip state-guaranteed meal and rest breaks from airline crews, including Alaska Airlines flight attendants — leaving only the federal standard in place.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
54 years of the North Slope Borough
Fifty-four years ago, Iñupiat leaders founded the North Slope Borough to tax the oil built on their land and govern their own homeland — an anniversary the mayor marked this week.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Rough water off Alaska's Arctic and Northwest coasts, easing by Sunday
Small craft advisories are up for Alaska's Arctic and Northwest coasts through Friday — winds near 25 knots, seas to 7 feet — before things calm down by Sunday.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska's development bank meets behind closed doors on the Arctic Refuge, a mining road, and a port
Alaska's state investment bank meets privately July 8 on its biggest bets — Arctic Refuge oil, the Ambler mining road, Port MacKenzie — with public money on the line.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Why Washington's permitting overhaul lands harder in Alaska than almost anywhere
About 60% of Alaska is federal land, so Trump's NEPA permitting overhaul hits harder here. The complaint that reviews are too slow is bipartisan; how far to cut is the fight.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A Florida company wants to expand a big offshore oil unit on the edge of ANWR
A Florida company wants to expand an offshore oil unit on the edge of ANWR — and the state tagged it "approved" before comments even opened. Weigh in by July 21.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
On the wild Alatna, a guide makes his case to the state
A Fairbanks guide wants the state's OK to run commercial trips on the Alatna — a Wild and Scenic river so remote the only way in is by floatplane.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
AIDEA authorized $190 million for ANWR — backed by Kaktovik, the residents
AIDEA put $190M behind ANWR seismic and lease bidding. Kaktovik — the only community inside the refuge — strongly supported it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska Native leaders brought a unified salmon co-management demand to NCAI
Alaska Native leaders demanded Tribal co-management of salmon at a national Indigenous conference, citing food security and cultural crises from collapsed runs on Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim rivers. • Subsistence communities have gone years without harvesting salmon while bearing the burden of conservation restrictions. • Current federal and state frameworks exclude Tribes from binding decision authority despite their sovereignty and stewardship responsibilities.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Coast Guard to homeport four icebreakers in Alaska
The Coast Guard will homeport two Arctic Security Cutters in Kodiak and one in Seward starting in 2028, funded by $3.5 billion in the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Winter Weather Advisory Issued for Central Brooks Range through Monday
Surprise Surprise, more snow in the Arctic
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
ANWR lease sale draws $3.74m in winning bids from AIDEA, Hex Energy
The Arctic Refuge lease sale brought in $3.7 million from two bidders, a modest showing compared with the recent NPR-A sale’s 11 companies and $163 million-plus in receipts.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
DNR approves 800-cubic-yard gravel contract on Dalton Highway
Alaska DNR approved an 800-cubic-yard gravel contract for North Star Construction on the Dalton Highway near milepost 154, in a corridor recently transferred from federal to state control.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
Trump order on off-road vehicle rules could reshape Alaska federal-land access fights
Trump rescinded executive orders requiring federal agencies to minimize off-road vehicle damage to wildlife and soils, potentially reshaping access rules on Alaska's 60 percent federally owned lands.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
AIDEA approves $190 million for ANWR seismic surveys and lease evaluation
AIDEA approved up to $190 million on May 13 for seismic surveys and lease evaluation in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain ahead of a federal lease sale scheduled for June 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
ANWR lease sale will test whether Alaska oil appetite reaches the Arctic Refuge
After eight years, two underwhelming sales, and one federal lawsuit, ANWR gets another go on June 5 — and the oil industry finally has to bid or stop being coy.
by Cale Green4mo ago4 min read
Alaska Officials Hail 'Night and Day' Shift Under Trump Energy Policies
Governor Dunleavy and Senator Sullivan said Trump reversed Biden restrictions on Alaska resource projects. • Willow and Pitcairn oil fields are now producing, generating 80,000 barrels per day. • State legislature must act on a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes proposal for the natural gas pipeline. • Federal government created a Western Alaska energy task force for rural diesel supply issues.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago5 min read
Alaska Senate Passes Operating Budget With Energy Relief
Alaska Senate passed a $70 per barrel operating budget with $150 energy relief payments, avoiding a major Constitutional Budget Reserve draw that the House budget requires.
by Alaska News5mo ago3 min read
