Alaska Beacon

The federal government is proceeding with efforts to expand drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, mining in northwest Alaska, and construction of a road between King Cove and Cold Bay on the Alaska Peninsula, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced Thursday.

At an event in Washington, D.C. that was dubbed “Alaska Day” by the federal department, Burgum signed a series of documents pertaining to all three projects as well as an ongoing effort by the federal government to give land to the families of Alaska Native Vietnam War veterans.

“This is our first, this won’t be our last, Alaska Day. We have a lot more things to accomplish, a lot more things to celebrate going forward,” said Burgum, flanked by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and all three members of the state’s congressional delegation.

“I told the president, it’s like Christmas every morning,” said Dunleavy. “I wake up, I go to look at what’s under the proverbial Christmas tree to see what’s happening. And here’s another example of more presents for not just Alaska, but for this country.”

Tribal and environmental groups opposed to the three development projects saw Thursday’s action differently, with Defenders of Wildlife, a national group, dubbing the event “Alaska Sellout Day.”

“Today’s announcements are the latest step in Donald Trump’s plan to sell out our wildest landscape and natural heritage to corporate polluters,” said Dan Ritzman, director of conservation for the Sierra Club.

What was done on Thursday

Burgum signed previously announced permits for the 211-mile Ambler Road, which is intended to connect the Dalton Highway with a series of potential mine sites in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska.

He also signed a record of decision for the federal government’s oil and gas drilling program in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge of northeast Alaska.

That re-establishes a program that had been in place during the first term of President Donald Trump but which was subsequently reversed by President Joe Biden.

Burgum also reversed the Biden administration’s decision to suspend oil and gas leases issued by the federal government in 2020 to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.

Barring further litigation, that move clears the way for AIDEA — Alaska’s state-owned development bank — to begin seismic surveys that could reveal the amount of oil available within parts of the Arctic refuge’s coastal plain.

While the Ambler and ANWR actions effectively took the projects back to where they stood in 2020, the King Cove road is now closer to construction at any point in its decades-long development process.

Envisioned as a gravel road between King Cove and an all-weather airport at Cold Bay, the road would pass through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, a nationally important bird sanctuary.

Eleven miles of new road are needed to link existing roads to the two towns, but those 11 miles would pass through a wilderness area.

On Thursday, Burgum signed documents that complete a land exchange between King Cove Corp., the local Alaska Native corporation, and the federal government. King Cove Corp. gives up about 31,200 acres to expand the refuge, and in return, it receives the 490 acres of refuge land needed to complete the road.

In a move with more limited statewide impact, Burgum signed paperwork awarding three Alaska Native Vietnam War veterans with 160-acre plots of land under a federal allotment program. As of March, 453 veterans and their families had requested plots authorized under legislation authored by Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan.

For King Cove, a medevac-avoiding road moves forward

King Cove’s airport is frequently closed by bad weather, and since 2014, there have been more than 100 Coast Guard medevacs from the community because regular air ambulance service was unavailable.

Murkowski, who has previously vowed to complete the road, noted that this is the third time that the federal government has embarked on a land exchange for the road, with the prior two attempts blocked and reversed by litigation.

“We’ve reached a point with the King Cove exchange that we haven’t yet before, and that’s actually the official patent being issued to KCC, so we’re one step further. I think that’s important,” she said.

The road, though supported by local residents, is opposed by some Yukon-Kuskokwim river delta tribal leaders and subsistence bird hunters who fear its effects on wildlife.

“Surely, the people of King Cove can see the value of leaving the habitat for so many species intact would be far more valuable than any road could be,” said  Angutekaraq Estelle Thomson, Traditional Council President of the Native Village of Paimiut, one of several communities that have supported lawsuits seeking to prevent road construction.

Rebecca Noblin, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity who has fought the road on behalf of several area villages, said Thursday that “we have significant questions about the legality of the exchange. We, along with the Native Villages of Hooper Bay and Paimiut, expect to bring those issues to court soon. Road construction will also require additional permits, including an Army Corps 404 permit and Endangered Species Act consultation, so this is far from a done deal.”

With Ambler and ANWR, a triumph of economics over environment

On the first day of his second term in office, Trump issued an executive order seeking to encourage oil and gas development, mining and logging in Alaska.

Elected officials said they see Thursday’s actions in line with that decision.

Alaska Republican Rep. Nick Begich said projects like the Ambler Road and ANWR drilling matter because they create jobs.

“We need the jobs. We need high-paying, good jobs, and these resource industry jobs fit that bill completely. And so whether it’s mining, timber, oil and gas development or other resources, these are necessary for the functioning of Alaska’s economy,” he said.

The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is believed to contain billions of barrels of recoverable oil that could be sold on global markets.

Sullivan noted that previous North Slope oil development has been good for the region’s residents.

“The life expectancy, mostly of the Native people in our state, has increased in the North Slope and the Northwest Arctic Borough and by dramatic numbers … and a lot of that is due to the benefits that come from responsible resource development: jobs, revenues, water and sewer, gymnasiums, health clinics. So it’s a real life and death issue,” he said.

The predominantly Alaska Native town of Kaktovik is located on Barter Island, within the refuge.

“Developing ANWR’s Coastal Plain is vital for Kaktovik’s future,” said the town’s mayor, Nathan Gordon Jr., in a written statement. “Taxation of development infrastructure in our region funds essential services across the North Slope, including water and sewer systems to clinics, roads, and first responders. Today’s actions by the federal government create the conditions for these services to remain available and for continued progress for our communities.”

To date, no oil companies have shown interest in drilling within the refuge, leaving only Alaska’s state-owned development bank, which won leases in a 2020 sale, to work there.

So far, no actual work has taken place because of repeated lawsuits seeking to overturn the sale.

The bank, which has filed several lawsuits over federal restrictions on drilling within the refuge, did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Several legal challenges to the 2020 ANWR plan of development — which was restored Thursday — are still pending in federal court.

Some of those challenges revolve around the possible effects that ANWR development and the burning of those fossil fuels will have on climate change.

Thursday’s announcement came just a week after the remnants of Typhoon Halong devastated coastal communities in southwestern Alaska. Experts say that storm was worsened by climate change.

Murkowski said she does not shy away “from the fact that the impact of that typhoon was made more fierce and more destructive because it was able to travel over a large body of what is now warmer, open ocean with lack of ice. I get that, and I call it climate change.”

At the same time, people worldwide are continuing to consume fossil fuels. Murkowski said that for her, the choice is straightforward: Will they get those fossil fuels from Alaska or some place with worse environmental standards?

“I’d much rather be producing in Alaska, than just across the Bering Strait there, over in Russia, where I don’t think that they respect the same level of environmental standards and safeguards,” she said. “So is it complicated? Yes. But am I proud of how Alaska has led in terms of meeting environmental standards that are amongst the highest in the world? I am.”

What comes next for Ambler, King Cove and ANWR?

All three development projects boosted by the federal government on Thursday are a long way from construction, both supporters and detractors say.

In all three cases, proponents need to obtain additional federal permits and will have to cope with lawsuits brought by opponents.

The environmental law firm Earthjustice has repeatedly been involved in lawsuits against the federal government over the issue of arctic refuge drilling.

“Interior has re-adopted the maximally destructive plan from President Trump’s first term,” said Earthjustice attorney Erik Grafe, by email on Thursday. “That plan was unlawful in 2020 and is still unlawful today. The bedrock environmental laws that protect the Arctic Refuge’s irreplaceable natural resources remain despite Congress passing reconciliation bills on leasing in the refuge.”

The Gwich’in Steering Committee, represented by attorneys from Trustees for Alaska, is among the organizations that have repeatedly sued to block drilling in ANWR.

The committee is concerned about the effect that refuge development would have on local caribou herds used by subsistence hunters. In a statement, the committee’s executive director, Kristen Moreland, implied that further litigation will come.

“This action by the Trump administration is a direct attack on the Gwich’in, who have for decades been a voice for the caribou and stood against the destruction of the Arctic Refuge. A leasing program that would open the entire Coastal Plain completely ignores the impacts that oil and gas development would have on the land, on wildlife, and on our communities,” she said.

“We condemn these efforts by the Trump administration to exploit the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou herd for short-term gain, and we know that we are not alone. We will continue to raise our voices and fight for the protection of this sacred land and for our way of life.”

President Donald Trump granted the State of Alaska’s request for a federal disaster declaration on Wednesday, unlocking federal disaster aid to support the ongoing relief and recovery effort in the aftermath of ex-Typhoon Halong throughout Western Alaska.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy formally submitted the request on Oct. 16, and applauded the announcement on social media on Wednesday.

“This declaration will be instrumental for ongoing response and recovery efforts. I want to thank President Trump and his administration for the continued support of Alaska and providing help for Alaska during this time of need,” Dunleavy said on Facebook. “Thank you President Trump!”

The declaration authorizes a 100 percent cost share for relief assistance for the next 90 days, through January, according to a statement from the governor’s office. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will coordinate with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on all recovery operations and programs. Representatives with the governor’s office and Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said they did not yet have a copy of the declaration on Wednesday.

Trump said he also authorized an immediate $25 million in relief funding, to cover costs as the state continues to conduct damage assessments.

“I am approving $25 Million Dollars to help Alaska recover from the major typhoon they experienced earlier this month,” Trump wrote on the social media site Truth Social. “It is my Honor to deliver for the Great State of Alaska, which I won BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024 — ALASKA, I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

The Alaska congressional delegation also thanked the president in a joint statement, noting their letter urging the president to respond and grant the disaster declaration.

“I raised Alaska’s disaster declaration directly with President Trump yesterday at the White House and thank him for quickly approving it to ensure impacted western communities have federal support in the wake of Typhoon Halong,” wrote US Sen. Lisa Senator Murkowski, R-Alaska. “I also appreciate FEMA’s expedited review of this request, which is one of the quickest federal responses in recent years.”

“To all Alaskans impacted,” Murkowski added. “Please know that your congressional delegation, state, and nation stand united and will continue to coordinate recovery efforts as you move forward.”

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, praised Trump’s move and said he would be visiting storm-impacted villages on Saturday.

“I plan on being in Western Alaska this weekend with top FEMA and DHS officials, and my team and I will continue working closely with the Trump administration and our state, local, and tribal partners to make sure these incredible Alaskans get the help they need to recover and return to their communities,” Sullivan said.

Begich has not announced plans to visit the region. He also praised Trump and the announcement. “Our focus as a delegation remains on ensuring every Alaskan family impacted by this storm receives the resources and support needed throughout the long process of rebuilding their lives,” he said.

The disaster declaration request covered the Northwest Arctic Borough, Lower Yukon Regional Education Attendance Area and the Lower Kukokwim Regional Attendance Area, places hit by the remnants of Typhoon Halong.

More than 1,500 residents were displaced by the storm that killed one woman and left two missing in Kwigillingok.

The storm recovery effort is in full swing. Local residents are working on clean up, while regional tribal partners and dozens of state agencies, non-profit and relief organizations provide support to the region, particularly the hardest hit area of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. State and tribal agencies are flying aid into those residents who remain in the coastal villages, like immediate food, water and fuel, while crews continue to work on debris removal, fuel spills, infrastructure assessment and repair to water, power, and sewer systems, roads and boardwalks. Crews are working throughout communities to repair homes where possible, so that local residents can return before winter sets in.

There is no cost estimate for the storm damage at this time, according to Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, because agencies are working to restore services simultaneously.

The state is offering emergency assistance, available through an application on the state’s website, open through November 9.

The program provides financial assistance for storm damage to homes, vehicles, essential personal property, medical, dental or funeral needs directly related to the disaster. Applicants will be eligible for $21,250 in home repairs and another $21,250 for “other needs.”

The president has not yet authorized federal individual assistance — $42,500 for home repairs and $42,500 for other items — but state officials say there will likely be more information from the Trump administration in the coming days.

If the federal government shutdown continues, more than 66,000 Alaskans will lose federal food aid within weeks, the state of Alaska is warning.

On Monday, the Division of Public Assistance within the Alaska Department of Health said that the federal government “has directed states to stop the issuance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the month of November due to insufficient federal funds. This means that Alaskans may not receive SNAP benefits for November, even if they are authorized to receive them.”

The division estimates that 66,471 Alaskans would be eligible for benefits under the program.

In its written statement, the division said that it tried to pay for the program with state money “and determined that a state subsidy was not mechanically possible under the federal payment system.”

Similar warning messages went out from other states across the country starting Friday. In Kentucky, where one in eight residents receives food aid, Gov. Andy Beshear said the pending cut makes this “a scary and stressful time.”

In Oklahoma, more than half a million residents receive food stamps and are expected to lose that help.

Altogether across the country, more than 42 million Americans rely on the food stamp program, which the federal government funds and individual states administer.

On Tuesday, the 21st day of the federal government shutdown, there appeared to be no progress toward resolution.

Sixty votes in the U.S. Senate are needed to advance a House-passed stopgap funding bill. That would require the support of some Senate Democrats, but they oppose its passage unless lawmakers also agree to extend subsidies for health insurance purchased through the federal marketplace.

Existing subsidies are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, sending prices soaring.

Thus far, Republicans have been unwilling to agree to the Democratic demand, and Senate Republicans also have been unwilling to change the Senate’s filibuster rule. Doing so would allow them to advance the stopgap funding bill with 50 votes instead of 60.

The Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage, while it featured the usual cultural celebrations, socializing and discussions of state and federal policies, had a strong focus this year on a particular subject: the ravages on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of ex-Typhoon Halong.

Speaker after speaker at the convention, the largest annual convention of any kind in Alaska and one of the largest Indigenous gatherings in the nation, referenced the storm. It has displaced more than 1,500 people, killed at least one person and dislodged houses from their foundations. Residents of stricken villages have been airlifted away, with hundreds getting temporary residency in Anchorage. The state’s largest city is about 490 miles east of the evacuees’ home villages, and vastly different in culture and character from the highly rural Indigenous communities.

“My heart with everyone impacted by the recent coastal storms,” Natasha Singh, the president of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and the keynote speaker on the first day of the convention, said at the start of her address.

“While the damage is so vast, the love for our people is even greater. And even as we feel the pain and the loss, I also feel a sense of inspiration to see so many people reach out to help,” she continued.

A special feature of the convention was a second-floor room at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center that was set aside to collect donations headed to the storm victims. Over two days, as convention proceedings unfolded in the third-floor ballroom, the collection room became filled with boxes of diapers, toiletries, clothing items, shelf-stable food and other necessities that were sorted by volunteers.

On Saturday, the final day, delegates passed a resolution seeking an immediate national disaster declaration, and investment by the federal government in better infrastructure in rural Alaska to protect against future disasters.

The ravages of the remnants of Typhoon Halong demand more than an emergency response, the resolution said. The disaster “has continued to expose vulnerabilities in infrastructure, housing, and emergency preparedness for rural Alaska/extreme remote America, and highlights the need for stronger tribal-state-federal collaboration,” it said.

The call for a national disaster declaration and the aid that would come with it was among a packet of resolutions passed on Saturday. Many of the resolutions concerned food security and efforts to ensure that Alaska Natives can safely practice their traditional fishing and hunting practices.

One highly anticipated convention speaker was former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, who is considered a possible candidate for governor or U.S. Senate.

But Peltola made no campaign announcement.

“I want to preface everything I’m saying with: This is going to be very anticlimactic for everybody, I think,” she said at the start of her speech. “No big announcements, no big declarations.”

Instead, she discussed subsistence – the traditional harvests of wild foods and arts materials – and the legal and environmental threats to its continued practice.

She spoke about the way subsistence ties Alaska Natives to their home regions.

“Those spots, the places that we hunt and fish, they’re like another personality to us,” Peltola said.

She referred to a close friend who recently died. When she was on her deathbed, her family gathered around, Peltola said. “And at one point, they just talked about places. They just said the names of the places where they pick berries, or get whitefish, gather greens. And it was one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever experienced, just reciting names.”

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s decision to appoint a suspended attorney to a public seat on the state’s judge-nominating board does not violate the Alaska Constitution, an Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday.

An appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court is expected, but for the moment, it clears the way for John Wood to serve on the Alaska Judicial Council, which nominates candidates to the governor for judicial vacancies.

“The Alaska Constitution gives the governor clear authority to appoint members to the Judicial Council — a power central to the executive’s role in our system of checks and balances. Yesterday’s decision reaffirms that authority,” said Attorney General-designee Stephen Cox in a written statement. “The court agreed with the State on every material issue, recognizing that the governor’s appointment of John Wood was both lawful and appropriate, and that Mr. Wood is fully qualified to serve. This is a complete victory for the governor’s constitutional authority — and an important win for the separation of powers and for all Alaskans who want fair, balanced representation on the Judicial Council. With his decades of public service and sound judgment, Mr. Wood will be an asset to the council’s work right away.”

Alaskans For Fair Courts and Juneau resident Eric Forrer had alleged in separate lawsuits that picking Wood violated the Alaska Constitution. In a pair of expedited complaints, they claimed Wood’s suspended bar license made him ineligible to serve on the Judicial Council because the writers of the Alaska Constitution intended laymen, not trained lawyers, to sit in public seats.

Judge Yvonne Lamoureux disagreed with that interpretation of the constitution, declaring that Wood is not an attorney.

His license was suspended in 2000 because of a dispute over bar dues and he has not practiced law since.

“Mr. Wood is not authorized to engage in the practice of law, and has no intention of practicing law again,” Lamoureux wrote. “While Mr. Wood was an attorney 25 years ago, he is not an attorney today.”

Based upon the plain meaning of the constitutional clause establishing three non-attorney seats on the Judicial Council, and the intent of the framers of the Alaska Constitution, Lamoureux wrote, “the court concludes that Mr. Wood is eligible to serve as a non-attorney member on the council.”

The two plaintiffs had also challenged Wood’s eligibility to serve because the Alaska Constitution forbids a member of the Judicial Council from holding a “position of profit under the state,” and Wood holds a consulting contract with the Dunleavy administration. Other members of the Judicial Council also have had contracts with the state.

In 1968, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that “position of profit” means acting as an employee in “salaried nontemporary employment” and does not cover consulting contracts.

Lamoureux, citing that case, ruled against the plaintiffs.

She also sided with the state and against the plaintiffs in one final argument that revolved around the timing of Wood’s appointment. His predecessor’s term on the Judicial Council had expired during the spring legislative session, but Dunleavy did not appoint Wood until after the session ended. The plaintiffs argued that because of that timing, Wood could not serve until confirmed by the Legislature.

Again, Lamoureux referred to the plain language of the constitution and rejected the argument.

“The text does not reflect that the governor can only fill a vacancy which arose or first happened during the recess (after the Legislature adjourns),” she wrote.

“There is no language in the constitution limiting the ability of an appointee to begin serving upon appointment, and the legislature has expressly allowed those appointed to ‘exercise the functions, have the powers, and be charged with the duties prescribed by law for the appointed positions or membership’ pending confirmation or rejection by the legislature,” Lamoureux said.

Neither Donna Goldsmith, co-chair of Alaskans for Fair Courts, nor Jim Reeves, the group’s attorney, could be reached for comment on Thursday.

Attorney Joe Geldhof, who represented Forrer, said by phone that he was “surprised, bordering on shocked” by Lamoureux’s decision because it was pretty clear to him that the context of the constitutional framers’ discussion around public members and attorney members went beyond its plain meaning.

Someone who has been trained in law cannot act as a layman, even when no longer an attorney, Geldhof said.

“The judge’s decision here, it creates a huge potential for political intrigue and mischief, and it’s just inconsistent with the ordinary language in the constitution and the common understanding of what a lawyer was when the citizens ratified the constitution,” he said.

While he expects to appeal, “it’ll be interesting in the meantime,” he said. “It’s going to cause chaos with the judicial council.”

Democratic Fairbanks Sen. Scott Kawasaki violated ethics law by holding constituent events too close to the 2024 state primary, a panel of the Alaska Legislature concluded in a report published Friday.

The report was published by the Senate subcommittee of the Legislature’s Select Committee on Legislative Ethics, which recommended no penalty.

Under the Legislative Ethics Act, a legislator in a campaign cannot use state funds “to print or distribute a political mass mailing to individuals eligible to vote for the candidate” if the mailing takes place during a period that begins 60 days before the primary election and ends one day after the general election.

According to the report, Kawasaki e-mailed constituents a newsletter, distributed informational flyers and held a “Picnic in the Park” event to observe the opening of his office in Fairbanks.

Kawasaki, who defeated Republican Leslie Hajdukovich in the November general election, faced only Hajdukovich in the primary, making the race uncontested. In Alaska, the top four vote-getters advance from the primary election to the general election. Kawasaki and Hajdukovich were the only two registered candidates.

Kawasaki was first elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives in 2007, and to the Senate in 2019. He ran for re-election in 2024 to represent Senate District P.

Reached by phone on Friday, Kawasaki said that “it’s just sort of disappointing to have this be said and politicized, and then it becomes a potential issue in the future campaign.”

“It was a technical violation,” he said, “and I think it was unfairly weaponized against us just because of who we were running against.”