alaska

Trump’s EPA Just Revived Controversial Pebble Mine

Trump’s EPA Just Revived Controversial Pebble Mine

By Taryn Kiekow Heimer If the Trump administration’s strategy is to put a foreign mining company first—and America’s greatest wild salmon fishery dead last—then sadly it’s succeeding. Friday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) settled a lawsuit with Northern Dynasty Minerals—the Canadian junior mining company behind the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The […]

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    Fracking Comes to the Alaskan Arctic

    Fracking Comes to the Alaskan Arctic

    By Scott L. Montgomery Arctic lands and waters hold irresistible allure for global oil companies. Despite opposition from environmental groups and President Obama’s 2016 ban on drilling in federal Arctic waters, exploration in Alaska has revealed massive new volumes of oil. This comes at a time of low oil prices, when many observers felt the […]

    Senate Approves Legislation to Kill Wolves, Bears in Alaska Wildlife Refuges

    Senate Approves Legislation to Kill Wolves, Bears in Alaska Wildlife Refuges

    The U.S. Senate used the Congressional Review Act Tuesday to strip away regulatory safeguards implemented by the Obama administration in 2016 to protect wolves, bears and other predators on national wildlife refuges in Alaska. In a strict, party-line vote, Senate Republicans approved today’s measure, which will allow the unsportsmanlike killing of wolves and their pups […]

    3 Months and Counting: Pipeline Leaks Natural Gas Into Alaska’s Cook Inlet

    3 Months and Counting: Pipeline Leaks Natural Gas Into Alaska’s Cook Inlet

    For more than three months, an underwater pipeline has been spewing hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of processed natural gas per day in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, possibly threatening critically endangered beluga whales, fish and other wildlife. The 8-inch pipeline, owned and operated by Hilcorp Alaska, is leaking more than 210,000 cubic feet of gas […]

    House Passes NRA-Backed Bill Legalizing the Killing of Bear Cubs in Wildlife Refuges

    House Passes NRA-Backed Bill Legalizing the Killing of Bear Cubs in Wildlife Refuges

    The House of Representatives approved a controversial bill to overturn an Obama-era rule that protects wolves, bears, coyotes and other animals on more than 76 million acres of national wildlife refuges in Alaska. The measure was passed 225-193 on Thursday on a mostly party-line vote. Animal welfare advocates said that the resolution allows trophy hunters […]

    EPA Scientists Held From Attending Alaska Summit

    EPA Scientists Held From Attending Alaska Summit

    The Trump transition team ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to halve the number of staff allowed to attend an environmental conference in Alaska last week, according to conference organizers. The Alaska Forum on the Environment traditionally sees heavy participation from the EPA, with 34 agency employees originally committed to attend this year’s event. […]

    Alaska Sees ‘Astounding’ Rise in Temperature as ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Planned for Arctic

    Alaska Sees ‘Astounding’ Rise in Temperature as ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Planned for Arctic

    As 2016 is set to be the warmest year on record, Alaskans are seeing an “astounding” rise in temperature. Throughout October, average temperatures in Alaska ran 6.7 degrees above normal. Alaska Village Votes to Relocate Due to Rising Sea Levels – EcoWatch https://t.co/dMxmJHjw2w @ukycc @EUClimateAction — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) August 19, 2016 Barrow, the northernmost community […]

    Appeals Court: Animals Can Be Listed as Threatened Based on Climate Change Risk

    Appeals Court: Animals Can Be Listed as Threatened Based on Climate Change Risk

    A U.S. appeals court ruled that federal agencies can list species as threatened based on projections of how climate change will impact their habitats. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Oil companies and Alaska natives had challenged the National Marine Fisheries Service’s decision to list a seal species as threatened because of sea ice loss, but […]