The salmon season is behind us, and ahead of us, too. That’s the way nature works—it’s the way life sustains and nourishes itself. Our progress-centric worldview often forgets that, and makes us believe that things move in a straight line … Read More

We just sued the Biden administration for issuing a regulation that allows oil and gas companies to harass Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears and threaten their health and survival.… Read More

August brought good news for the Arctic and planet when a federal court voided illegally issued permits for the ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil and gas project in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. And September brought more good news when the Interior Department directed the Bureau of Land Management to reevaluate the destructive Trump-era 2020 management plan that would open up protected areas of the Reserve to oil and gas and further driving up carbon emissions.… Read More

Western Arctic health and climate action won big today in court when a U.S. District Court judge voided flawed Trump-era approvals and permits for the ConocoPhillips’s Willow Master Development Plan.

The court determined that the Interior Department violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.… Read More

The raspberries in my yard started to pop this week, sweet and plump, and fiery purple fireweed blooms started to reach their peak. It gets dark now, too, and animals fervently prepare for winter—as do we. 

August tells me to gather and process food, button up summer projects, finish chores, prepare for winter, and soak up the last warmth of sunny (though cooler) days every chance I get. Predictably, and also suddenly, summer’s end foretells itself via wilted flowers and late season blossoms, growth surges and decay.… Read More

Earlier this month the Biden administration released a regulation that allows oil and gas operators in Alaska to harass polar bears and walruses in the Beaufort Sea when exploring for oil and gas, extracting or transporting fossil fuels, and when building infrastructure. This regulation imperils already threatened polar bears on the Beaufort Sea.… Read More

I visited my family in the Lower 48 last month, and wow, this introvert sure has missed being around people. I still need alone time, of course—and I sure don’t miss the heat—but I do miss the kinship and connections. … Read More

Attorney Suzanne Bostrom just got back from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She’s been working alongside clients and partners to protect sacred lands, animals like the Porcupine caribou herd, and the health of the land and water in the Arctic … Read More

I first met Bob when I came to Alaska as the new executive director of Trustees in 1982. Bob was on contract to Trustees then, and he called me up and asked me to have lunch with him. We met at the Lucky Wishbone. All Bob knew about me was that I was a DC lawyer with an Ivy League education, so he must have decided that he had to act like a DC consultant – which is precisely what he did. I sat there thinking to myself, “why is this ex-hippy acting so straight?”… Read More