What does the law do? ANILCA and public lands in Alaska
Welcome to our first piece in a series of articles about what...
13 February, 2025
What’s the Izembek Refuge land swap and road proposal really about?
By Dawnell Smith In the early 1980s and for decades after, Alaska legislators,...
20 December, 2024
The light always returns: Alaska News Brief June 2023
Earlier this month, I joined my mom on her last—for now—“bucket list”...
22 June, 2023
How a week of news tastes like a soggy cabbage sandwich: Alaska News Brief March 2023
I took some time off to see my family in early March....
17 March, 2023
When the Secretary withdrew a land exchange that traded away vital wetlands in Izembek Refuge, did it put this issue to bed? Not yet.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced on March 14 that the...
17 March, 2023
A bittersweet farewell: Alaska News Brief December 2022
December feels bittersweet this year. Sweet because I love snowy mountains and am...
14 December, 2022
We argued in Ninth Circuit Court to protect Izembek & all national parks and refuges in Alaska
On a sunny December afternoon in Pasadena, California, we argued before a...
14 December, 2022
Joyfully pressing the pause button: Alaska News Brief November 2022
I don’t know about you, but I need a break. It’s been a...
16 November, 2022
A Supreme betrayal: Alaska News Brief May 2022
We like to believe that certain groups of people, when given the...
18 May, 2022
Litigation 101: What is a petition for a rehearing en banc and why did we file one?
We filed a petition en banc late last month asking the entire...
16 May, 2022
What’s it like making your first arguments in court (…virtually)?
Rachel Briggs made her first two oral arguments as an attorney during...
18 March, 2022
Alaska News Brief August 2021: When the raspberries pop
The raspberries in my yard started to pop this week,...
18 August, 2021
Courtroom déjà vu: Protecting Izembek Refuge again
Yesterday we argued in court again to stop a bogus land swap...
05 August, 2021
Alaska New Brief March 2021: A year can change everything… and nothing
It’s hard to believe it has been a year since we first...
16 March, 2021
Our 2021 view of the lawsuits and issues
Things look far rosier now than a year ago when it comes...
16 March, 2021
Alaska News Brief June 2020: Endless pressure, endlessly applied
I came to Trustees as a staff attorney in 2007 and recall...
17 June, 2020
We stopped the giveaway of public lands in Izembek. Again.
The Interior Department tried twice to make corrupt and illegal side deals...
04 June, 2020
Lawsuits call out Trump agencies
We filed two lawsuits charging Trump agencies with violating FOIA and environmental...
21 August, 2019
We’re taking Trump to Court. Again.
Black brandt stop during migration to feed on the rich eelgrass beds...
07 August, 2019
Court win protects Izembek!
A federal District Court decision today voids a land exchange deal between the...
29 March, 2019
The legal waiting game
Trustees and its clients will play the legal waiting game this fall...
24 October, 2018
Interns on the issues: The fight for Izembek
[caption id="attachment_8668" align="alignright" width="329"] Sea otters in Izembek Lagoon. Photo by USFWS,...
11 September, 2018
Alaska Brief Newsletter–February 2018
This month--and in the same week!--Trustees filed two lawsuits taking the Trump...
21 February, 2018
Lawsuit challenges Zinke, King Cove land exchange
Lawsuit challenges Zinke and his public land giveaway [caption id="attachment_7958" align="alignright" width="300"] The...
31 January, 2018
Interns on the issues: Can we co-exist with migratory birds?
Our summer interns, Kat, Catherine and Hannah, have already jumped into legal...
29 June, 2017
What’s at stake in new political climate
A political tsunami will wash over the country on inauguration day. We...
16 January, 2017
Response Brief Filed in the Izembek Appeal
Brief filed in the legal battle to keep Izembek Refuge protected from...
16 May, 2016
Decision to Protect Izembek Wilderness Appealed
The Alaska District Court upheld the Secretary of the Interior’s decision to...
12 November, 2015