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A Ph.D. energy analyst and former state lawmaker got screened out from running for Anchorage’s electric utility board — without an explanation
Antony Scott has three graduate degrees, including a doctorate in natural resource economics, and he once served on the commission that regulates Alaska utilities. That wasn’t enough for the nominating committee of Anchorage’s member-owned electrical cooperative, which recently rejected Scott’s bid to run for Chugach Electric Association’s board of directors. Scott now works as a […]
Letter from Yakutat: Deep cuts on the Lost Coast
Centuries ago, a few dozen Alaska Natives left their home on an epic migration. They were of Ahtna descent, and their trip began in Alaska’s Interior, in the Copper River watershed. They passed through some of the most rugged terrain in the world, and for a period of years, the group lived in the vicinity […]
After four years, joy in Utqiaġvik at the messenger feast’s return
It had been four years since the last maġlak at Kivgiq. When his time finally came Saturday, Jimmy Oyagak couldn’t wait. As an Iñupiaq dance group from the North Slope village of Wainwright drummed, he stood on the floor in the high school gymnasium here before a crowd of hundreds, shaking a whaling harpoon and […]
Inside Kodiak’s crab standoff
After the heat wave-induced collapse of the Bering Sea snow crab fishery, some fishermen were looking, with hope, at the upcoming tanner crab harvest out of Kodiak. The nearly 6-million-pound quota was the highest in decades. And some people spent more than $100,000 to buy a permit to fish this year, said Kevin Abena, one […]
Alaska wants to profit by leaving timber uncut and pumping carbon underground
This article has been updated with a comment from Hilcorp. For decades, Alaska’s economy has depended on the extraction and harvest of natural resources — industries like pumping oil out of the ground, and cutting timber. Now, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants the state to make money by leaving trees standing, and by pumping carbon […]
Two companies’ dispute over access to Alaska’s next big oil development is now headed to court
ConocoPhillips has sued Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration in an effort to block a state-issued permit that provides a competing company access to its major proposed North Slope oil development. Conoco, represented by attorneys in Anchorage and Pittsburgh, filed its lawsuit Friday, prolonging a fight with the state and Australia-based oil company Santos that’s been […]
Are Alaska utilities up to the challenge of climate change and a looming gas crunch?
Last month, I decided to attend a board meeting at Chugach Electric Association, a cooperative that’s Alaska’s largest electric utility and serves more than 90,000 members in and around Anchorage. After I filled out a form, an employee sent me a Zoom link. I responded that I wanted to attend in person, as both a […]
Warming waters are driving Bering Sea crashes, but Alaska’s fishing industry is quiet on climate
Billions of snow crab disappeared from the Bering Sea in the past few years — a crash that’s devastated Alaska’s crab fishing fleet and a harvest that just two years ago was worth $130 million. Bycatch didn’t kill them. But the issue still dominated discussions this month at an Anchorage meeting of the North Pacific Fishery […]
Alaska attorney general headlines $15,000-a-head fundraiser for conservative group
Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor is headlining a $15,000-per-person fundraiser for a conservative organization that ran attack ads against liberal state legislators this year — though an official from the group said the cash will fund its “nonpolitical” advocacy arm rather than political campaigns. Taylor is hosting a “wild Alaskan fishing expedition” to benefit Alaska […]
With leases suspended, Alaska agency wants $6 million more for Arctic Refuge drilling campaign
Alaska’s economic development agency has released plans to spend $6 million next year to advance its campaign to search for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, even as new environmental reviews, pending lawsuits and investor skepticism cast doubt on whether wells will ever be drilled. The budget also includes money for annual lease payments, […]
Mary Peltola ran as pro-fish and anti-bycatch: Here’s what her agenda could look like in Congress
Pro-fish. Fish, family, freedom. The campaign slogans were everywhere. Mary Peltola, the Democrat who this year became Alaska’s first woman and first Native person to hold her state’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, ran a fish-powered campaign, with ads showing her slicing fresh salmon filets. As a former tribal fisheries manager, Peltola’s election […]
ConocoPhillips loses bid to limit competitor’s access to Alaska’s next big oil project
Oil company Santos scored a victory last week over competitor ConocoPhillips in a long-running dispute over roads needed to access Alaska’s next big petroleum development. For the past year, the companies have feuded over the rights of Australia-based Santos to cross roads that connect its new Pikka project to the North Slope oil hub of […]