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.

Flags from around the Arctic -- without the Russian flag -- are displayed on March 30 in a meeting room at the Arctic Encounter Symposium. Between the Norwegian and Swedish flags, Nagruk Harcharek of Voice of the Arctic Inupiat and Hajo Eicken of the University of Alaska Fairbanks' International Arctic Research Center converse. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Despite Russia’s post-invasion isolation, some narrow openings for Arctic cooperation remain

By: - April 3, 2023

Russia comprises half of the world’s Arctic region, so how can Arctic cooperation proceed without Russia? And for Alaska, which shares bodies of water, marine ecosystems, animal populations, cultures and, in some cases, language and even family ties across the Bering Strait, how can those shared resources and interests be protected when communication with Russian […]

Vera Metcalf stands on Wednesday by a chunk of sea ice transported from Utqiagvik and displayed at the Arctic Encounter Symposium. The melting ice, which started at 310 pounds, symbolizes the rapid climate change that is weaking the Arctic ice pack, with profound implications for ecosystems, communties and cultures. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Sea ice, critical to ecosystems and communities, looms large at Alaska conference

By: - March 31, 2023

Suspended in netting in a downtown Anchorage building is a potent symbol of Arctic climate change: a chunk of sea ice that started at 310 pounds but is steadily shrinking, that was transported from Utqiagvik to the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center. The ice was set up as a prominent display at the Arctic Encounter […]

Doug Vincent-Lang, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, speaks on Wednesday during a panel discussion of ocean issues at the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage. Vincent-Lang said his department is preparing for potential commercial fisheries in Arctic waters in the future. From left are Rachel Kallander, founder of the symposium; David Balton, executive director of the Arctic Executive Steering Committee; VIncent-Lang; Manuel Carmona Yebra, a European Union counselor for environmental and ocean policies; Sheyna Wisdom, director of the Alaska Ocean Observing System; Zachary Penney, senior U.S. Commerce Department advisor for oceans and atmosphere; and Rear Admiral Nathan Moore, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's Alaska district. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska officials prepare for possible commercial fishing expansion into Arctic waters

By: - March 29, 2023

Bans on commercial fishing in U.S. and international Arctic waters have been lauded as admirable preemptive actions that protect vulnerable resources before they are damaged by exploitation. But now the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is preparing for a time when the 14-year-old moratorium on commercial fishing in federal Arctic waters is lifted. The […]

Spawning sockeye salmon returning from Bristol Bay swim in 2013 in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve's Tazimina Lake, part of the Bristol Bay watershed. (Photo by D. Young/National Park Service)

Fishery expert says he is optimistic about long-term prospects for Bristol Bay sockeye salmon

By: - March 29, 2023

The long-term outlook is bright for Bristol Bay sockeye runs, source of a thriving commercial fishery that has enjoyed record-breaking returns and harvests in recent years, a salmon expert told a conference last week. Part of the credit goes to the warming climate in that southeast Bering Sea region, Daniel Schindler, a professor at the […]

Smokestack emissions are seen along the Fairbanks skyline on March 1. At left is the coal-fired heat and power plant on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Legislative resolution takes aim at EPA wood-stove certification in Fairbanks

By: - March 28, 2023

A resolution pending in the Alaska Legislature urges both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to do more to address wintertime air pollution in Fairbanks. House Joint Resolution 11 calls on the federal agency to improve a wood-stove certification program that has been deemed ineffective. It also calls on the […]

The entrance to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission office in Anchorage is seen on Thursday. The AOGCC is considering whether to take enforcement action against ConocoPhillips for last year's natural gas leak at the CD1 field. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Gas leak at ConocoPhillips field reviewed a year later, with enforcement action possible 

By: - March 24, 2023

A year after a gas leak at a North Slope oil field prompted a temporary evacuation of about 300 workers, the sealing and abandonment of a well and heightened concerns about health impacts of expanding development in Nuiqsut, a nearby Inupiat village, state regulators are considering whether to take any enforcement action over the incident. […]

An exploration site at ConocoPhillips' Willow prospect is seen from the air in the 2019 winter season. (Photo by Judy Patrick/provided by ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc.)

New revenue estimate for Willow project presents rosier picture for Alaska treasury

By: - March 24, 2023

A revised estimate by Alaska Department of Revenue experts projects that ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow oil project will start paying off to the state treasury by 2030, years earlier than past analyses, department experts told legislators on Thursday. The new analysis presents a more positive picture for state revenues than did an analysis issued by the […]

Kuspuks of varying colors displayed at a tribal consultation meeting in Anchorage on Sept. 21 represent Indigenous victims of violence. From left, the colors are red for missing and murdered indigenous women, orange for victims of boarind schools, the baby kuspuk for children who will never be born, purple for victims of domestic violence, turquoise for victims of sexual assault, multicolor for LGBTQ victims and black for men who are victims. The kuspuks were arrayed at the Justice Department's annual tribal consultation conference required under the Violence Against Woman Act. The 2022 conference is being held in Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Budget items and policy changes recommended to help protect Indigenous women and girls

By: - March 23, 2023

At a legislative hearing that reviewed grim statistics about the dangers facing Alaska Native women and girls, Indigenous activists presented recommendations for better state responses. Those dangers can be addressed through the state budget and through other practical actions, activists said Wednesday in testimony to the House Tribal Affairs Special Committee. Before detailing their policy […]

Names of homicide victims are engraved on pillars seen Monday at the Alaska Victims of VIolent Crime Memorial in downtown Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska homicide statistics detailed in new report show gender and ethnic disparities

By: - March 21, 2023

Twice as many males as females were homicide victims in Alaska from 2011 to 2020, , according to a report released Monday by state health officials. Homicides increased over the period, from a low of 34 in 2011 to a high of 78 in 2019, according to the report, released by the Alaska Division of […]

Fishing boats line a dock at Kodiak's St. Paul Harbor on Oct. 3. In the background is Pillar Mountain. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Kodiak lawmakers outline fishery-related accomplishments and ambitions

By: - March 18, 2023

A bill that passed the Alaska Legislature last year has already started to benefit the fishing industry, and more fishing-specific bills are in the works this year, state lawmakers representing Kodiak said on Friday at an industry conference. Alaska Senate President Gary Stevens, a Republican leading a bipartisan majority, told the audience at ComFish Alaska […]

A walk-in inflatable model colon, on display on Oct. 20 at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, gives visitors a close-up view of a typical precancerous polyp. This is the smaller of two inflatable displays that teh Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Southcentral Foundation use to raise awareness of colorectal cancer. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Study documents high rates and persistence of colorectal cancer among Alaska Natives

By: - March 17, 2023

Alaska Natives continued to have the world’s highest rates of colorectal cancer as of 2018, and case rates failed to decline significantly for the two decades leading up to that year, according to a newly published study. The study, by experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alaska Native Tribal Health […]

Fishing boats line the docks in Kodiak's St. Paul Harbor on Oct. 3. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Peltola, Murkowski warn that fixing fish crisis will be time-consuming and complex

By: - March 16, 2023

The disastrous collapses of Alaska salmon and crab fisheries, some happening at the same time, will require a long time and a variety of tools to address, the state’s senior U.S. senator and sole U.S. House member said in a panel discussion at an annual fishing industry conference in Kodiak. To Rep. Mary Peltola, who […]