The 50th Anniversary series: Landmark cases
By Dawnell Smith A winning lawsuit can set the stage for legal interpretations...
20 December, 2024
Short but sweet relief on Pebble as Arctic appeals heat up
By Dawnell Smith Significant court rulings can come in small but potent packages,...
18 January, 2024
A month in the life of protecting the Arctic
We won in court and are still in court to protect Alaska's...
18 August, 2023
Litigation 101: What’s a motion for a preliminary injunction and how did ours play out in our Willow litigation?
Motions can ask the judge to do an array of things, like...
14 April, 2023
We sued the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow project. Let’s pause now to share these words from SILA
By Dawnell Smith The Biden administration released its final decision on the ConocoPhillips...
14 March, 2023
Alaska News Brief February 2023. I’m still shoveling. Let the celebration begin!
Here we are, well into Alaska’s notorious faux spring, where we’re so...
17 February, 2023
The bad news can be made good and the good news better. Stop Willow and protect the Arctic Refuge.
The ConocoPhillips Willow oil and gas proposal is on the move--and so...
17 February, 2023
Joanna is finishing her legal fellowship. She has words.
Two years ago, I left my position as a disability rights attorney...
16 November, 2022
The Arctic on the precipice
By Dawnell Smith Alaska faces serious climate impacts, pollution concerns, and industrial pressures....
17 August, 2022
An Arctic update: Restored protections, a methane leak, a looming threat
Western Arctic Alaska basks in endless sunlight these days, with caribou and...
18 May, 2022
You can’t duct tape the climate crisis. Biden agency must say no to Willow oil and gas project
UPDATED: The Alaska office of the Bureau of Land Management announced on...
02 February, 2022
Climate action in the western Arctic
The Biden administration announced in January 2022 that it intends to reverse...
21 January, 2022
An Arctic wish list with 2022 resolve
Our work feels less frantic and chaotic than it did a year...
17 December, 2021
Moving the needle on climate action and Arctic health
August brought good news for the Arctic and planet when a federal...
15 September, 2021
Big court win voids permits for ConocoPhillips’ Willow project
Western Arctic health and climate action won big today in court when...
18 August, 2021
Alaska News Brief July 2021: On finding happiness (and social skills)
I visited my family in the Lower 48 last month, and wow,...
14 July, 2021
Calling out the ConocoPhillips’ Willow carbon bomb in court
We were in court calling out an illegal Trump-era approval of the...
12 July, 2021
Alaska News Brief June 2021: Getting your hands dirty helps
A few weeks ago, I took some time off to pick up...
16 June, 2021
The good news, and the bad, for Alaska’s Arctic
While the Biden administration promises climate action and clean energy, and Alaska’s...
15 June, 2021
Biden administration undermines climate promises
The Biden administration confirmed through legal briefs filed in court May 26...
27 May, 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 February 2021: The climate crisis isn’t a surprise
The climate crisis didn't come out of nowhere. Scientists knew as early...
25 February, 2021
Shining light on the Arctic
Despite four years of intense arm-twisting by political players and industry insiders...
17 February, 2021
Court stops massive Willow oil project in western Arctic
We got good news when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted...
17 February, 2021
Alaska News Brief January 2021: When relief comes to light
Many of us feel a palpable sense of relief right now.We just...
03 February, 2021
Willow project poses immediate threat
We went to court in December to stop ConocoPhillips from doing road...
27 January, 2021
We just sued Interior for illegal, premature approval of massive Arctic oil and gas project
We’re taking the Interior Department, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and U.S....
18 November, 2020
BLM pushes massive Willow oil & gas proposal during pandemic
As communities shut down and all Alaskans hunker down to stop the...
21 April, 2020
Alaska Brief–October 2019
When people use the phrase "for the birds," they trivialize what they consider...
20 November, 2019