In the first piece in our series on mining in Alaska, we talked about how the push for green energy mining could replace one catastrophe with another.

The Ambler road project is the poster child. The project is being promoted by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency with little to no legislative oversight, an insulting lack of public transparency, and a rigid agenda impervious to good sense.… Read More

Two years ago, I left my position as a disability rights attorney to follow a vastly different pursuit —conservation.

It was an exciting and daunting move that has been well worth the transition. The last few years have been packed with professional growth and new perspectives. It’s been incredibly rewarding and I’m finishing my two-year fellowship a better and more inspired advocate.… Read More

By Dawnell Smith Clean energy is in the air these days—in the sun, the wind, the water, and the forces and cycles of nature that have always run things around here. Decision-makers, lobbyists, and public relations teams that once undermined … Read More

One of the things that most struck me in flying across the proposed Ambler road route was just how complex the waterways are across the Southern Brooks Range. Waters flow down off the mountains of the Brooks Range and crisscross the vast valleys down below. In just the distance between Coldfoot and Iniakuk Lake, we flew over countless winding rivers, streams, and lakes.… Read More

It doesn’t take long spending time with dogs, bears, birds and bees to know they communicate. Some animals even manipulate. Only human animals uniquely share knowledge, wisdom, tall tales and lies through stories. The writer Margaret Atwood describes the origin of storytelling as the coupling of language with concepts of the past, present, and future to help people learn about what happened before—to teach people things to avoid having to learn by trial and error every time.… Read More

The Biden administration failed to rescind permits for the Ambler road proposal while refusing to acknowledge the full and long list of legal problems with the Interior Department’s approval process.
This means the applicant, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, can continue funding and working on the project with outside corporate mining interests.… Read More

Our work feels less frantic and chaotic than it did a year ago. Nonetheless, the divisive 2020 election that led to an insurrection slashed any hope of taking a break from staying vigilant about defending democracy, ensuring climate action, and sustaining the health of Alaska’s lands and waters.

Yes, a lot has changed in 2021, with real hope that climate policy will honor and prioritize frontline communities and Indigenous ways of life. Yet the Biden administration continues to defend Trump era decisions and actions that threaten Alaska communities, animals, and landscapes. … Read More

Seriously, I got really cold hands, along with an amazing birthday week journey to Katmai National Park with friends for a joyful experience of wind, rain, snow and the sight of bears with swinging bellies sleeping, playing, and snatching end-of-season salmon from the Brooks River. … Read More

Late last month the Interior Department requested a 60-day stay of action in two lawsuits that call out the illegal 2020 approval of the Ambler road proposal. The threat to people and land continues despite this pause, and a recent article delves into why. … Read More