WILD ALASKA BLOG

Ambler Road: A Disastrous Proposed Industrial Corridor

By Anja Semanco | October 3, 2023

The history of the proposed Ambler Road project has been ongoing for years. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Interior, under the Trump administration, approved federal permits for the road. Thanks to that advocacy, and thousands of other engaged activists from the Ambler region, Alaska, and across the nation, we now are close to exactly what we requested.

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Storytelling on the Kuskokwim with Polly Andrews

By Anja Semanco | September 20, 2023

Amidst planning and preparations for activities in late summer and early fall, Polly Andrews graciously offered a new composition and song as a gift to Alaska Wilderness League. In doing so, Polly shared that the song was made possible in part by the support of the 2022 Adam Kolton Alaska Storytelling Grant Award, enabling her to partner with Yup’ik (Ossie Kairaiuak, Chefornak) and Cup’ik (Michael Ulroan, Chevak) artists. Those partnerships will continue thanks to the grant award, in addition to upcoming workshops with the Kuspuk School District (in the Kuskokwim River village of Lower Kalskag) and North Star Behavioral Health center.

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Protections for America’s Arctic: What You Need to Know

By Anja Semanco | September 12, 2023

Did you catch the good news? Last week, the Biden administration announced a suite of actions to protect diverse landscapes across America’s Arctic, recognizing the importance of Alaska’s public lands and waters for communities, biodiversity and our global climate.  Oil and gas development across the Arctic is a major threat, and these announcements get us…

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Press Release: Biden’s Proposed Actions for America’s Arctic Recognize Alaska’s Conservation, Climate Potential

By Anja Semanco | September 6, 2023

Today, the Biden administration announced a suite of actions to protect diverse landscapes across America’s Arctic, recognizing the importance of Alaska’s public lands and waters for communities, biodiversity and our global climate. These announcements are an essential step toward addressing the threat of oil and gas development across the Arctic — a region that provides some of our nation’s last remaining opportunities to protect ecosystems at a landscape level.

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What the Heck is AIDEA

By Anja Semanco | August 30, 2023

The inside scoop on a floundering, publicly-funded Alaska corporation The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority — known as AIDEA — was created in 1967 and is a public corporation of the State of Alaska with a supposed mission to, “provide financing for Alaska’s business community, to expand the economy of the state, and to…

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100+ Organizations and Businesses Call on President Biden and Secretary Haaland to Realize Opportunities for Conservation and Our Climate in America’s Arctic

By Aileo Weinmann | August 8, 2023

Today, more than 100 organizations and businesses sent a letter to President Biden and Secretary Haaland outlining the opportunities the administration has to take bold action in America’s Arctic.

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Court Upholds Suspending Oil & Gas Leases in Arctic Refuge, Dismisses Claims from AIDEA 

By Aileo Weinmann | August 8, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  August 8, 2023  Contact: Aileo Weinmann | aileo@alaskawild.org    Court Upholds Suspending Oil & Gas Leases in Arctic Refuge, Dismisses Claims from AIDEA “We celebrate the court’s decision because it confirms the right of President Biden and the Department of the Interior to correct the Trump administration’s mistakes, restoring thoughtful decision-making that honors the…

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Storytelling on the Kuskokwim: An Update from Polly Andrews 

By Guest Blog | July 26, 2023

In fall 2022, Alaska Wilderness League was pleased to announce the inaugural recipient of its Adam Kolton Alaska Storytelling Grant: Polly Andrews. Since that time, Polly has remained busy and recently offered an update to the League community, including supporters of the Adam Kolton Memorial Fund whose donations make this grant award possible.   The Adam…

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Press Release: GOP Appropriations Bill for Department of Interior Targets Fossil-Fuel Extraction in Alaska, States

By Aileo Weinmann | July 13, 2023

Today, Republicans in the House of Representatives introduced an appropriations bill that would recklessly expedite fossil-fuel extraction on America’s public lands and waters in Alaska and other states.  

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Member Spotlight: A Long Overdue Trip to the Arctic Refuge

By Guest Blog | July 6, 2023

From fishermen to childcare workers, we all spent the spring and summer of 1989 in the chaos of the massive oil spill – trying to protect nearly a billion juvenile salmon, attending countless town meetings, scooping up oil using fishing boats, cleaning oil drenched birds and witnessing the collapse of the herring fishery.

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