Posts by Anja Semanco
Storytelling on the Kuskokwim with Polly Andrews
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.
Read MoreProtections for America’s Arctic: What You Need to Know
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…
Read MorePress Release: Biden’s Proposed Actions for America’s Arctic Recognize Alaska’s Conservation, Climate Potential
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.
Read MoreWhat the Heck is AIDEA
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…
Read MoreGreat Alaska Migrations
Alaska boasts some of the most incredible wildlife in the U.S., not only for the sheer number of creatures that call Alaska home, but also for the hundreds and thousands of miles so many migratory species cover every year.
Read MoreBill to Provide Lasting Protections for Tongass National Forest, Roadless Areas Nationwide Introduced By Rep. Gallego (D-AZ)
Today, Representative Gallego (D-AZ) and Senator Cantwell (D-WA), along with 15 other lawmakers, reintroduced the Roadless Area Conservation Act (RACA). This legislation would codify the Roadless Rule on 58.5 million acres of national forest land nationwide—including within Alaska.
Read MoreAlaska’s Critical Role in Protecting Global Biological Diversity
In addition to serving as home to 229 federally recognized tribes and the highest proportion of American Indian and Alaska Native people in the U.S., a 2020 study of intact habitats around the world identified 93.6 percent of Alaska’s lands as essential in stabilizing climate and avoiding species extinction. The study emphasized the unique importance of Alaska’s vast landscapes and high carbon storage capacity.
Read MoreChubb Insurance Bans Underwriting Arctic Refuge Drilling
Chubb insurance company officially signed a new policy prohibiting the underwriting of oil and gas extraction projects in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (as well as other government-protected conservation areas).
Read MoreLatest IPCC Report: How Worried Should We Be?
On Monday, March 21, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report. In short, this IPCC report brings together more than 1,000 scientists from around the world and six years of research to determine the likelihood of atmospheric warming as well as the impacts from…
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