Willow project

The gift of good guidance: Alaska News Brief July 2022

July 14, 2022 by Dawnell Smith

Summer officially runs from summer solstice on June 21 to the fall equinox on September 22, but in Alaska it feels more fleeting. Already, it seems half gone.

Maybe it’s because the changes in light feel palpable, and plant and garden growth comes so fast you can hardly keep up.

Salmon runs suddenly get hot and then quickly wane; berries get plump and within weeks picked over by bears and dogs and humans; shorts and t-shirt days feel almost oppressive when coupled with wildfire smoke and no wind, yet will soon give way to the first frost.… Read More

America's Arctic | Litigation

Litigation 101: What is a supplemental environmental impact statement and why is the one for the ConocoPhillips Willow proposal so dodgy?

By Dawnell Smith Agencies produce environmental impact statements to analyze and assess the impacts of a project proposal on people and the environment. An EIS is meant to help agencies make good decisions about proposals that impact land, water, animals, … Read More

America's Arctic

Dear President: You can’t kick the climate can down the road. It’s time to stop the massive ConocoPhillips Willow oil and gas proposal.

By Dawnell Smith The U.S. Bureau of Land Management released a draft supplemental environmental impact statement last week for the massive ConocoPhillips Willow proposal for the western Arctic, with the shortest public comment period legally allowed. The project would spew … Read More

Litigation | People & Places

What’s it like making your first arguments in court (…virtually)?

Rachel Briggs made her first two oral arguments as an attorney during the COVID pandemic; Bridget Psarianos argued in court for the first time, then again online, after ten years an attorney. Here, they tell their stories about arguing in court for the first time.… Read More

America's Arctic | Climate Change | Newsletters | Wild Lands & Wildlife

All the wings in motion. Alaska News Brief February 2022

The thick sludge of winter can get to me sometimes. The dark, the cold, the cycling from snow to slush to ice to snow to—you get the picture. All of it gets old. I suppose that’s how cycles feel sometimes. That’s why we have to break out of them—at least in terms of our emotions and perspectives.… Read More