Izembek and Arctic news—the State and feds dig in
By Dawnell Smith The ongoing effort to undermine the integrity of protected public...
16 September, 2026
Fall is coming—Alaska News Brief August 2026
Folks are still harvesting from their gardens, smoking fish, and waiting for...
14 August, 2026
Another Izembek lawsuit, plus a court ruling that makes corporate CEOs swoon
By Dawnell Smith Late last month we sued the U.S. Army Corps of...
14 August, 2026
Reflecting pond blues—Alaska News Brief July 2026
I’m going to be straight with you. My mood keeps swinging like...
16 July, 2026
The State wants public money to pay for a privately owned road in Izembek
By Dawnell Smith The Alaska Department of Transportation has proposed that federal and state money pay for a road...
16 July, 2026
Litigation 101: What are declarations and why are we preparing so many right now?
By Dawnell Smith You know those courtroom dramas where someone stands up and stuns the room with a declaration that no one saw coming?...
14 May, 2026
With gratitude to you, we sue—Alaska News Brief November 2025
This week we sued the Alaska State Board of Game and the...
14 November, 2025
Darkness before the dawn—Alaska News Brief August 2025
In 1650, after living through about eight years of civil war in...
13 August, 2025
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
Keep bringing the light. Alaska News Brief December 2024.
Winter just started, according to the astronomical calendar, but most Alaskans have...
20 December, 2024
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