Author

Yereth Rosen

Yereth Rosen

Yereth Rosen came to Alaska in 1987 to work for the Anchorage Times. She has reported for Reuters, for the Alaska Dispatch News, for Arctic Today and for other organizations. She covers environmental issues, energy, climate change, natural resources, economic and business news, health, science and Arctic concerns. In her free time, she likes to ski and watch her son's hockey games.

The Interior boreal forest is seen on Sept. 20. 2022, from an overlook along the Parks Highway on the edge of Fairbanks. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Senate passes bill to create carbon credits for preserved forest land

By: - May 16, 2023

The Alaska Senate on Monday unanimously passed a bill that would set up a system for selling credits by preserving forested Alaska land to offset carbon burned or released elsewhere. The carbon-offset credits bill would allow leases of up to 55 years in duration, with payments made to the state by businesses and other entities […]

The Yukon-Kuskokwim hub of Bethel is seen from the air on July 13, 2015. (Photo by Rachel Loehman/USGS Alaska Science Center)

COVID vaccination effective in protecting vulnerable Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, study says

By: - May 16, 2023

In southwestern Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, which has some of the nation’s worst water and sanitation service and most overcrowded housing, vaccines proved to be valuable safeguards against the worst ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study.  The study, by experts from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. and the Centers for Disease Control and […]

Spruce and birch trees at the edge Stevens Pond on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus on Sept. 18, 2022. The trees and the pond are atop permafrost that is thawing; thaw has caused some trees to tilt. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska lawmakers consider using forested lands for money-making carbon credits

By: - May 13, 2023

Legislators are considering whether Alaska, one of places in the world most transformed by climate change, can be a solution by keeping habitat intact. That is the idea behind an initiative by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has introduced and is championing two bills that would put Alaska on the path to what he describes as […]

Members of the Alaska House, in a long floor sesson on Wednesday, debate the value of stiffening drug-law penalities in the face of increasing fentanyl overdose deaths. The bill, HB 66, would reclassify contribution to an overdose death as second-degree murder; currently, those who deliver drugs that cause overdoses can be charged with manslaughter. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Bill to stiffen drug penalties, aimed at fentanyl epidemic and overdoses, faces Alaska House vote

By: - May 11, 2023

Spurred by the state’s sharp increase in fentanyl-overdose deaths, the Alaska Legislature is considering a bill that would make those who supply the drug subject to potential second-degree murder charges in cases that lead to death. The measure, House Bill 66, was introduced by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who used part of his Jan. 23 State […]

Haines, Alaska, is seen on the morning of May 29, 2014. Haines is one of the nine Alaska communities with a waiver that allows its wastewater plant to do simple primary treatment that removes solids before wastewater is discharged into marine waters; most U.S. plants must do more sophisticated secondary treatment. For the Haines plant and others in Southeast Alaska, better controls of bacteria will likely be needed if those waivers are to continue, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)ter controls of bacteria will likely be needed if those waivers are continues, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Wastewater plant at Haines and other Southeast sites likely to need upgrades to control bacteria

By: - May 10, 2023

Alaska’s coastal communities are home to more than a third of the U.S. wastewater plants that are still allowed to treat their sewage at the lowest and most basic technological level. But six cities in Southeast Alaska may soon have to invest in improvements to better clean their wastewater before discharging it into the ocean. […]

State Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, is seen in the Senate Finance Committee hearing room in the Capitol on Feb. 17. Kiehl is the prime sponsor of a bill that would end the use of firefighting foams containing PFAS substances, which are known as "forever chemicals." The bill passed the state Senate on May 8. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Senate passes bill banning use of firefighting foams containing ‘forever chemicals’

By: - May 9, 2023

The Alaska Senate on Monday unanimously approved a bill that would mandate an end to the use of firefighting foams containing the long-lasting and health-damaging compounds known as “forever chemicals.” Senate Bill 67 requires use of PFAS-containing foams end on Jan. 1, unless otherwise required by federal law. The foams are generally used in airport […]

Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, speaks on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, in favor of legislation that would make Juneteenth Alaska's 12th legal holiday. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Bill to make Juneteenth an Alaska state holiday clears Senate, heads to House

By: - May 4, 2023

The Alaska Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would make Juneteenth a paid state holiday.  The measure, Senate Bill 22, now heads to the state House for its consideration. The sponsor, Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, used her floor debate to describe the significance of the June 19 holiday, which commemorates the end of slavery in […]

A "honeybucket lagoon," a disposal site for the bagged human waste that is collected from village residents, is seen on Sept. 2, 2021 in Teller, an Inupiat village in the Bering Strait region. Teller, with about 250 people, lacks piped-water service, so residents use honeybuckets as toilets. Teller is one of the 31 villages classified as "unserved" for water and sanitation needs. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

With money pouring in for Alaska water and sewer projects, focus shifts to ensuring sustainability

By: - May 2, 2023

Historically, the biggest challenge to getting adequate water and sewer service in remote communities in rural Alaska was lack of money. Now, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021, there is plenty of money from the federal government, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation officials told legislators on Tuesday. That presents a […]

Malaspina Glacier, the world's largest piedmont glacier, is seen on June 23, 2011. The glacier is located primarily in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. (Photo provided by National Park Service)

Huge Malaspina Glacier is positioned to be a big contributor to sea-level rise, study says

By: - May 2, 2023

Alaska is the home of the world’s biggest piedmont glacier – meaning it falls from a mountain into a plain. But a new study has revealed it is not quite as big as previously believed, and its low-elevation positioning makes it more highly susceptible to melting that would affect the rise in global sea levels. […]

A little brown bat, the most common type in Alaska, is seen after it was captured at Fish Creek on Douglas Island and tagged by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The bat was later released. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Fish and Game))

Rabies in Alaska bats is very rare, but caution is warranted, state medical experts say

By: - May 1, 2023

In Alaska, where many people might be unaware of bats’ existence, there are risks that the flying nocturnal mammals are carrying rabies, a recent bulletin from the state Department of Health advised. The risks are very small, especially when compared to areas elsewhere in North America, where bats are the most commonly reported rabies-infected animals. […]

English teacher Trudy Keller, at right, and student teller Briana Dupree are on duty during lunchtime Wednesday at the mini Wells Fargo Bank branch at Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School. The bank site within the school dates back to 1998, when it was set up in a partnership between the school and National Bank of Alaska. Keller, who also teaches a marketing class along with her English and bank duties, said financial literacy is important to students. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Bill to mandate financial education is intended to help address Alaskans’ pocketbook problems

By: - April 28, 2023

In a nation where most people lack adequate savings for emergencies and retirement, Alaska stands out as being particularly bad at personal finances. Alaska has the highest per-capita credit card debt among all states, measured at over $8,000 in 2019, the lowest rate of completion of the federal Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known […]

U.S. Army infantrymen survey the area on April 3 while acting as opposition forces during a Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center-Alaska exercise at the Yukon Training Area bordering Eielson Air Force Base. The exercise is one of several that help military personnel adjust to and become comfortable with Alaska and Arctic conditions. (Photo by Alejandro Peña/U.S. Air Force)

As Alaska duties evolve and expand, military branches’ housing needs grow, leaders say

By: - April 27, 2023

The Alaska-based military branches that are patrolling the Arctic, buffering against an increasingly hostile Russia and standing ready to deploy to global trouble spots are coping with another adversary: a housing squeeze. In testimony at the 2023 legislative session’s first hearing held by the Joint Armed Services Committee, Alaska military leaders on Tuesday described some […]