Federal agency managing 72 million acres of public land in Alaska — more than any other state. Oversees oil and gas leasing, mining claims, backcountry recreation, and wild horse herds.
Anchorage, AK, USA
A remote Alaska village's firefighting enterprise lands more federal work
Nulato Hills Enterprises, owned by the remote Athabascan village of Nulato, won a new BLM wildland firefighting contract, part of a tribal enterprise with 200-plus jobs.
by Maggie AlaskaNews10h ago2 min readAI
The pipeline right-of-way comment window got another week
The Bureau of Land Management extended the scoping comment period on the trans-Alaska pipeline's 30-year right-of-way renewal to Sept. 17 from Sept. 10.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2d ago1 min readAI
BLM rule would let NPR-A operators waive subsistence conditions without public notice
A proposed BLM rule for oil production sites in the National Petroleum Reserve writes mitigation conditions into regulation, including four subsistence protections, then lets an operator ask to waive any of them. The waiver section sets no public notice step. Comments close Nov. 9.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago3 min readAI
A small wildfire was reported near Wrangell on Friday night
Alaska 511 listed a new wildfire investigation near Sandy Beach in Southeast Alaska, discovered Friday night at 8:29 p.m. and still recorded at 0.00 acres, with cause and any threat to structures undetermined.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
Volunteers are replanting a mining-scarred creek, and last year's willows lived
The Bureau of Land Management is recruiting about 30 volunteers to plant willow stakes and native seeds along Nome Creek on Sept. 26 to rebuild grayling habitat. Registration with BLM staff closes Sept. 14.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5d ago1 min readAI
A proposed rule would cut years of NPR-A oil review down to 60 days
A BLM rule would approve NPR-A oil production sites in 60 days without project-level environmental review if they sit within 25 miles of infrastructure.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago4 min readAI
Three Sterling streets end at the river, and the neighbors have had enough
Kenai's borough planning liaison told the city Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday that public easements to the Kenai River near Scout Lake have produced reports of human waste, trespass and armed confrontation, and that borough planners may convene BLM and state DNR to sort out roles.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
The Nulato Hills Crew fights fire with hand tools, from five villages
The Bureau of Land Management awarded Nulato Hills Enterprises, LLC of Nulato a second $495,000 Type 2 wildland fire crew task order, running Aug. 31, 2026 through March 31, 2031, according to federal award records.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
A fight over whether North Slope oil money stays local or goes to the whole state
Alaska's larger share of North Slope oil revenue under the 2025 federal law is narrower than advertised, and a fight has broken out over whether that money should keep flowing to North Slope communities or to statewide accounts.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago7 min readAI
The pipeline's owners want another 30 years, seven years before they have to ask
The BLM opened scoping comment on renewing the trans-Alaska pipeline's federal right-of-way for another 30 years, more than seven years before it expires.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
The Fortymile road hunt lasted 48 hours, exactly as predicted
Fish and Game closed the road-accessible Fortymile caribou hunt in Zones 1 and 4 after 48 hours, on permits issued for a season running through Sept. 30.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min readAI
A village-based fire crew from Nulato gets federal funding through 2031
The Bureau of Land Management awarded Nulato Hills Enterprises, LLC $495,000 on Aug. 20 for a Type 2 wildland fire crew assignment, with a performance period running through March 31, 2031. Nulato community planning materials call seasonal fire jobs an important source of cash.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
A Fortymile caribou hunt closed after just 48 hours as the quota filled fast
A Fortymile caribou hunt in zones near the Steese Highway closed just two days after opening as the quota filled, drawing a complaint from Tanana Chiefs Conference over the short window and reporting period.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago1 min readAI
Alaska moves to give up nearly 59,000 acres near Parks Highway for University of Alaska
Alaska is relinquishing a 58,893-acre selection at Honolulu Pass near the Parks Highway so the land can be conveyed to the University of Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago1 min readAI
A Fort Yukon tribal crew that fights fire across the country just locked in funding through 2031
The Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments' Fort Yukon-based Type 2 wildland firefighting crew secured $500,000 in federal funding through 2031, continuing a generations-old Alaska Native firefighting tradition.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
BLM closes spur road and gravel pit at Moose Creek Landing through fall
BLM has closed a spur road and gravel pit off Nome Creek Road at Moose Creek Landing to motor vehicles through the fall so hydroseeded ground can revegetate after summer construction. The agency will re-evaluate the closure in the spring.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
A declining Fortymile caribou herd, short hunts, and a dispute over timing
A BLM emergency closure and Aug. 14 reopening cut the federal head start in Fortymile Zone 1 from four days to two, though the state's 48-hour hunt leaves two more federal-only days at the end. Tanana Chiefs Conference filed a complaint Wednesday over the timing.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
An Iñupiaq village corporation from Wainwright is plugging orphaned wells in Wyoming
The Bureau of Land Management awarded $209,974 to Anchorage-based Olgoonik Construction Services for the Lake Townsend Reclamation, work scheduled from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30, 2026. The posting gives no further scope detail.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
Dalton corridor suit is not over: groups appeal, and 700,000 acres remain in dispute
Ten groups are appealing a ruling on Alaska's transfer of Dalton Highway corridor land, as the state cites its statehood entitlement and tribes warn of lost subsistence rights.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
Four wildfires broke out on the North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday
Alaska 511 logged four new wildfire investigations in the Brooks Range foothills on Thursday afternoon, all discovered between 3:01 and 3:18 p.m. AKDT and spread across roughly 40 miles at their widest point. All four show 0.00 acres, and cause has not been determined.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Ambler advances, but the U.S. stake in its developer hasn't closed
Ambler Road permits are back in force and the project is advancing, but the U.S. government's planned stake in developer Trilogy Metals still hasn't closed.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
As the world burns, Alaska stays cool — a regional weather quirk
Alaska is having one of its quietest, coolest summers as Spokane and Europe face record heat and fire — a regional weather quirk, even as the Arctic hits record-low sea ice.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A tiny fire near Koyuk has smoldered under investigation for a month
The Kilusiktok fire northeast of Koyuk remains under investigation more than a month after it was spotted June 25, listed at under a quarter-acre with no reported threat to structures.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
BLM says Alaska's last 3.8 million statehood acres are the hardest
A Bureau of Land Management factsheet updated July 23 says about 3.8 million acres of Alaska's roughly 105-million-acre statehood entitlement remain, and that the leftover selections are the hardest to resolve because many sit atop unresolved ANCSA and Native allotment claims.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Fatigue blamed in a Parks Highway rollover near Cantwell
A Florida driver rolled her vehicle near Mile 199 of the Parks Highway near Cantwell on Thursday, one of several summer incidents on the Wasilla-to-Fairbanks corridor.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Crews are cutting firebreaks in the woods at the center of Anchorage
Segments of the Speedway, Viewpoint, and Moose Meadow trails in Anchorage's Campbell Tract are closed through July 25 while crews maintain wildfire fuel breaks.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
BLM sets August 17 deadline to protest Alaska survey plat filings
The Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office has published a Federal Register notice giving landowners and other interested parties until Aug. 17, 2026, to file written protests against survey plats being officially filed in Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Fairbanks water scoopers were on practice flight, not a new fire
Four single-engine water scooper aircraft seen over Fairbanks on Friday were conducting a routine practice flight to maintain pilot currency, not responding to a new wildfire, according to USFWS Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
BLM opens comment window on Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans land allotment data collection
The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment by August 17, 2026, on extending the information collection that supports land allotment claims for Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans and their heirs.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
BLM's Campbell Tract replanting job is open only to women-owned firms
Only women-owned businesses can bid on a BLM contract to grow 1,710 native plants and revegetate a decommissioned trail on Anchorage's Campbell Tract. Quotes due July 24.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska is about to burn 54,000 acres on purpose, to grow more moose
Alaska plans a 54,000-acre prescribed burn in the Alphabet Hills north of Lake Louise this July to regenerate willow and birch browse for moose, with habitat benefits expected in 5 to 15 years.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Smokejumpers parachuted into a roadless village to save its solar array
A lightning-sparked tundra fire that escaped the Selawik landfill was stopped at 21 acres within 100 yards of the village's solar array and near its tank farm, the two power sources for a community with no road access and no grid connection.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Fire contained one mile from Trans-Alaska Pipeline near Livengood
The half-acre Ready Bullion Fire burned to within one mile of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline on Saturday before eight smokejumpers and aircraft fully contained it; crews return Sunday for a final hotspot search before declaring it out.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
High water on Gulkana River forces raft party onto trail, triggers medical rescue
A party of eight abandoned their Gulkana River float on July 3 after high water made the river unrunnable. One member, Ben Degraw, 49, suffered chest pains on the Haggard Creek Trail overland exit and required a multi-agency rescue after Lifemed could not land.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A new logjam on the Beaver Creek float wants your boat. Here's how to dodge it.
A new channel that opened in 2025 just upstream of the Borealis-LeFevre Cabin on Beaver Creek Wild and Scenic River is filled with logs and debris, and BLM warns the strong current may pull watercraft into it, a serious risk for anyone launching the remote 100-mile float over the holiday weekend.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska plans to burn the Alphabet Hills to grow more moose forage
State and federal agencies announced a prescribed fire in the Alphabet Hills north of Lake Louise, targeting mature black spruce stands to grow willow, birch, and aspen browse for moose and restore caribou migration and foraging habitat. Ignition is planned for mid to late July 2026.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska opens 10 wildfire investigations in 24 hours
Nine wildfires entered investigation status across Alaska between Friday and Saturday, with a tenth discovered days earlier on June 22. Ignitions stretch from the lower Kuskokwim to the central Brooks Range foothills; acreage and containment data are not yet available from DNR or AICC.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A federal rule could stick Alaskans with abandoned-well cleanup costs
The BLM proposed cutting minimum oil and gas cleanup bonds on federal leases, reversing a 2024 increase. Watchdogs warn the rollback could leave taxpayers with cleanup costs.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
Jade Fire ignites near Kopshesut origin point, threatens Ambler landfill
A new 67-acre wildfire ignited Tuesday near the same location where the June 4 Kopshesut Fire originated west of Ambler, raising dual smoke hazards if it reaches the village landfill; a tribal fire crew arrived Thursday as rain holds off until Sunday.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
Interior's First Big Smoke Event Drifts Toward Fairbanks
Smoke from the Starry Fire near Anderson has brought the Interior's first major wildfire smoke of 2026 and is drifting toward Fairbanks; here's how to protect your health.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI