Federal Government

The government shutdown is delaying funding for a federal heating assistance program that helps thousands of low-income Alaska families to offset their heating costs and weatherize homes for winter, state health officials said Thursday.

The Alaska Department of Health said in a statement that the government shutdown has delayed the release of money for the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program for the year of 2026. The program subsidizes energy bills for about 50,000 Alaskans, many of whom live in rural and tribal communities.

“It definitely benefits a lot of rural and tribal communities,” said Jennifer Hyde, a federal infrastructure coordinator at the Alaska Center, a nonprofit that advocates for the continuation of the program. “Disproportionately, those communities are often low income or have different economic struggles.”

The shutdown began on Oct. 1. Funding for the heating assistance program usually comes in on Nov. 1.

State health officials said they expect that money to run out by mid-November. For now, they are operating the program using the remaining money from the previous year.

The department said it usually takes four-to-six weeks for the heating assistance funds to be released to states. So if Congress acts in late November, Alaska would receive funding after mid-December, according to the state health department.

Alaska tribal organizations are looking closely at the issue.

The Tanana Chiefs Conference administers heating assistance for over 1,200 households. Amber Vaska, the executive director of tribal government and client services at the organization, said by email that the federal program is “a lifeline across the Interior.”

“In our remote Interior villages, this support means the difference between families keeping their homes heated and pipes from freezing—or being forced to go without heat entirely, ” Vaska said.

Vaska added that Tanana Chiefs Conference can use carryover funds from prior years, which allows the organization to continue serving residents even during funding interruptions or government shutdowns.

The government shutdown is also affecting other programs crucial for Alaska Native communities, like food assistance and tribal Head Start.

Hyde, with the Alaska Center, said families who rely on heating assistance are the same vulnerable residents who will be affected by the loss of food benefits.

“It’s going to just be a really tough winter, unless something can give,” she said.

In the meantime, the state Department of Health said its staff is prioritizing applications by focusing on households in a heating emergency or at immediate risk of losing heat. It’s also processing regular applications in the order they were received.

If the federal money runs out, the department said it plans to continue processing new applications, though payments will be delayed until the new funds arrive.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is halting a contract that makes it possible for the federal agency to accurately monitor for potential tsunamis in Alaska – and quickly warn at-risk communities.

The Alaska Earthquake Center for decades has collected data from seismology stations across the state and directly fed the information to NOAA’s National Tsunami Center, in Palmer. If the data indicates an earthquake that could lead to a tsunami, the Tsunami Center sends out a warning message within minutes.

Or at least that’s how it worked historically, including on Thursday morning, when an earthquake struck between Seward and Homer.

But that’s about to change. In late September, the federal agency advised the Alaska Earthquake Center that it does not have funding available for that work.

“We are anticipating direct data feeds to stop in mid-November,” said Mike West, the Alaska State Seismologist and director of the Alaska Earthquake Center, which is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute.

The news comes amid the Trump administration’s effort to dramatically slash federal spending – including by proposed cuts to key weather and climate programs within NOAA.

West said the change is a big deal. NOAA’s National Weather Service holds the federal responsibility for tsunami warnings, and has historically been a primary supporter of seismic data collection in Alaska. But the agency doesn’t actually collect much of that data itself.

“Without this contract,” West said, “they lose data from dozens and dozens of sites all around the state, and specifically – or maybe more urgently – a handful of sites out in the Aleutians and the Bering that have been there for decades specifically for this purpose.”

The potential fallout isn’t isolated to Alaska. West provided an example: the 1946 tsunami that originated near the Aleutians, and killed more than 150 people in Hawaii.

“The tsunami threats from Alaska are not just an Alaska problem,” West said.

The contract was supposed to re-start October 1. But after funding did not arrive as expected, West reached out to the agency on Sept. 23. A NOAA official advised him via email a week later that the agency did not have the budget to support the long-standing contract.

West said the Earthquake Center is grappling with the situation but that its NOAA data feeds and tsunami-specific work will wind down in November.

“We are not going to continue operating those stations in the Aleutians that are entirely NOAA supported,” he said. “We’re not going to just keep doing it.”

NOAA did not respond to a request for comment. NOAA Tsunami Warning Coordinator David Snider declined to comment for this story.

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View Drive is the street hardest-hit by Juneau’s annual glacial outburst flood, and remains unprotected by the city’s temporary levee. The Juneau Assembly is hoping to avoid paying a portion of the cost for a federal program that would offer buyouts to those residents.

A federal buyout for View Drive would pay residents to leave, demolish their homes and transform the land into a park. But first, the city has to decide whether to sponsor it. At this point, it’s not clear if the Assembly will vote to do so. 

Mayor Beth Weldon was cautious at Thursday’s special Assembly meeting, where experts presented the city’s options.  

“I don’t think anybody’s ready to commit to anything tonight,” she said.

Brett Nelson is Alaska’s conservation engineer at the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS. The federal agency oversees a recovery buyout program. At the meeting, he explained that the City and Borough of Juneau would be responsible for 25% of the cost. 

If all 18 eligible properties participated, it would cost an estimated $25 million. That means the city would be on the hook for up to around $6 million. But he says it’s unlikely every household would take the deal.

The Assembly voted unanimously to request a waiver to pay. Nelson said it’s worth making the request, but he’s not sure it’s realistic that NRCS headquarters would approve it. 

“I’ll say this: it is not very often used,” Nelson said.

If the cost is not waived, the city could seek funding from other sources besides Juneau taxpayers, such as nonprofits. But there is one restriction on the city’s portion:

“The 25% cannot be from another federal source unless that other federal source comes with congressional language specifically indicating that it can be used as a match for federal dollars,” Nelson said.

He said it would take around a year to complete the process and that the agency would prefer to offer the buyout option to residents before the next flood, which is expected next summer. 

“This is an emergency program and we’d like to move as expeditiously as possible,” he said.

If the city does take on the project, NRCS will appraise the 18 homes on View Drive and then residents will choose whether to take the deal or stay. Nelson says there are two appraisal options: they can be done based on the value now, or as of the day before the 2024 flood — and the agency is leaning toward the latter.

That appraisal decision will apply to every eligible property and affect the overall price tag of the project, since homes are worth more before they’ve been damaged by repeated flooding. 

Engineers say that while a couple of properties on View Drive might benefit from a barrier, the whole street can’t be protected by the HESCO barriers that make up the temporary levee protecting most other Valley neighborhoods.

Mike Records is a hydraulic engineer at the Army Corps. He compared the hazard of putting HESCO barriers on View Drive to the danger of a mariner taking a dinghy across Lynn Canal during a storm. 

“View Drive basically sits on a moraine from the retreat of the Mendenhall Glacier, so that moraine is extremely porous,” Records said.

He said that means water would seep under a temporary levee and form a pool. That’s what happened to a property at the end of the street where residents decided to erect their own berm ahead of the flood this August.

“You’re building a reservoir — potential reservoir  — with homes in the middle and no way out,” Records said, referring to how View Drive is a dead-end street with a single entry and exit point.

He said he recognizes that it’s unfair not to protect View Drive residents who’ve faced flooding over and over, and that they’re in a “horrible situation.” But from an engineering perspective, he said the only way to protect households that decide to stay is to implement a long-term flood solution. 

Nelson says parcels that get bought out become restricted from development forever, so households that participate in the program couldn’t return to their former properties — even after a long-term solution is built. He says NRCS has already determined View Drive is eligible for a buyout and that federal funding would likely be available soon after the government shutdown ends, if the city decides to sponsor it.

WASHINGTON — The government shutdown is creating a lot of uncertainty and disruption for Alaska Native communities, and for tribal organizations that administer federal programs.

These include SNAP, for food assistance, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which subsidizes energy bills.

Ben Mallott, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, said the prospect that both of those programs would run out of money, just as winter begins, puts some Alaskans in a life-threatening bind.

“Without LIHEAP, without SNAP, our communities, our tribal citizens will have to decide between fuel and food,” he testified to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee Wednesday.

During the pandemic, the Federal Subsistence Board allowed emergency hunting to improve food security. Now, with the government shutdown, Mallott said the Subsistence Board can’t even meet to consider it.

Since the second Trump administration began, advocates for Native American and Alaska Native people have stressed that programs that help them aren’t D.E.I. initiatives but the result of promises, treaties and laws. Now, between the administration’s cuts to government services and the shutdown, they say the government is dodging its responsibilities.

Hearing witnesses said tribal Head Start programs will run low on money if the shutdown extends into November, and that many agency experts tribes normally turn to have lost their jobs.

Pete Upton testified about the Trump administration’s plan to abolish a fund at the Treasury Department called the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Upton runs the Native CDFI Network, whose Alaska members include the Cook Inlet Lending Center. He said tribal communities are often in banking deserts.

“Native CDFIs are typically the only financial institutions serving these communities, providing access to capital, credit and financial education where no alternative exists,” he said.

Early in the shutdown, the Treasury Department fired the entire staff of the CDFI Fund. With no one at the federal office to certify the CDFIs, Upton said it’s hard for the community finance organizations to attract private-sector and philanthropic investment.

Certification is “a stamp for investors to say that ‘you are investable,'” Upton said. With it, “we bring in private capital at a rate of eight to one.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, chair of the Indian Affairs Committee, said tribes face enormous uncertainty as the stalemate in Congress nears the one-month mark.

“We can’t figure out the path forward right now on our spending bills, although I am a little bit more optimistic on that today,” she said.

She didn’t elaborate but said earlier this week that senators are engaged in productive talks.

President Donald Trump plans to nominate Aaron Peterson, an attorney with the Alaska Department of Law’s natural resources division, for one of two open federal judgeships on the bench of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.

The president’s plans were confirmed by the news organization Reuters, which published a copy of a questionnaire Peterson submitted to the U.S. Senate’s judiciary committee.

Trump himself has not formally announced Peterson’s nomination, but state and federal officials confirmed the president’s plans with the Beacon.

Reuters reported that Trump is preparing to nominate two federal judges in other states as well as Peterson.

A message left on Peterson’s work phone was not returned Tuesday afternoon.

According to a copy of Peterson’s questionnaire, a member of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s federal transition team encouraged him to apply to a committee formed by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, to vet possible candidates for the federal judiciary.

According to state voter records, Peterson is a Republican. He identified himself in the questionnaire as a member of the Federalist Society, whose members generally follow Republican legal principles and support President Donald Trump.

Records published by the Federal Elections Commission and the Alaska Public Offices Commission do not list any political contributions by Peterson.

Attorney General-designee Stephen Cox served on the Sullivan committee. By email, he called Peterson an “outstanding choice.”

“He’s demonstrated a remarkable ability to navigate complex issues with fairness and integrity, including during his representation of the Board of Fisheries. His extensive understanding of both civil and criminal law, honed through his experience as a prosecutor, makes him uniquely qualified for this position. Alaska needs judges who are equipped to handle the complex cases before them and the realities of our state, and I am confident that Aaron will be an excellent addition to the bench,” Cox wrote.

Alaska has three federal judgeships but only one sitting federal judge. Judge Timothy Burgess retired at the end of 2021, and Judge Joshua Kindred resigned in disgrace in 2024 amid a sexual scandal.

Since then, Alaska’s two U.S. senators have been divided about who to pick as replacements and how to pick those replacements. Under longstanding Senate tradition, judge picks normally advance only with the assent of both home state senators.

As a result of the senators’ disagreements and Sullivan’s decision to not attempt to fill a vacancy under President Joe Biden, the judgeship vacated by Burgess is now the fifth-oldest vacancy among 50 in the federal court system.

Sullivan has not disclosed the names of judicial candidates that he examined through a special committee designed to serve as an alternative to the Alaska Bar Association’s traditional review process.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, disclosed the names of applicants she received and solicited opinions from the Bar Association. Peterson’s application was not among those initially received by Murkowski.

Through a spokesperson, Murkowski said she learned about Peterson’s nomination from the White House.

“After speaking extensively with him last week about his many qualifications, I informed the White House that I would support his nomination. Alaska’s District Court has had two vacancies for far too long, and I hope the White House will soon announce a second qualified nominee whom I can support to fill out the bench,” Murkowski said.

According to Peterson’s questionnaire, he met with Murkowski on Oct. 23, seven months after being interviewed by Sullivan and four months after his initial interview by the White House Counsel’s Office. Since September, according to the questionnaire, he has been in regular contact with White House and Department of Justice officials.

By email, Sullivan said Peterson has “extensive legal experience.”

“Throughout his career, which includes military service, Aaron has demonstrated a commitment to the rule of law and federalism. He also understands the principle that the job of a federal judge is to interpret the law, not to make policy,” Sullivan said. “I’d like to thank each of the members of the Alaska Federal Judiciary Council, who worked with me to fully vet a number of well-qualified Alaska nominees, including Aaron. The council’s diligent work and input are invaluable in ensuring Alaskans are represented by jurists and citizens of the highest caliber. I also want to thank President Trump and his team for working closely with my office on identifying outstanding judges who will serve Alaska and our country well.”

According to the information Peterson submitted to the U.S. Senate’s judiciary committee, he was born in Anchorage in 1981 and served in the U.S. Air Force from 2000 to 2003 before attending the University of Alaska Anchorage, graduating in 2007. He attended Gonzaga University School of Law and graduated in 2010.

After graduation, he returned to Alaska, serving first as a clerk to Justice Michael Spaan of the Alaska Supreme Court, then as a prosecutor with the Municipality of Anchorage.

The Alaska Bar Association’s directory says he was admitted to the state bar on Nov. 16, 2010.

Peterson worked in the Anchorage District Attorney’s office starting in 2012, including on violent felonies, such as murder and sexual assault. He moved to the Department of Law’s office of special prosecutions in 2015 before beginning work with the Department of Law’s natural resources section in 2019.

Since joining that section, he’s prosecuted high-profile criminal cases, including a 2018 incident in which two Matanuska-Susitna Borough men illegally killed a black bear and her two squealing cubs within their den.

More recently, Peterson has represented the state in an ongoing case that challenges the state’s current two-tier system of subsistence fishing management. He also represented the state in a lawsuit that challenged salmon fishery management in Cook Inlet.

“If confirmed,” Peterson said in his questionnaire, “I will recuse myself from any case where I have ever played a role. Further, I will evaluate any potential conflict or issue that could give rise to the appearance of a conflict, on a case-by-case basis and determine appropriate action, including recusal where necessary.”

Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced a land exchange agreement Thursday with King Cove’s Native corporation, making way for the controversial construction of what many consider to be a lifesaving stretch of road.

It’s not the first time an agreement like this has been approved for the road, which would connect two eastern Aleutian communities. But according to local leaders, there’s one important difference this time around.

“Having the land exchange agreement already signed, and the ownership of the land now a done deal, that’s never happened before, so that’s big,” said longtime King Cove City Administrator Gary Hennigh in a phone interview Thursday afternoon.

King Cove sits near the western tip of the Alaska Peninsula. It’s a small fishing community that is only accessible by air or water, weather permitting, and its short gravel airstrip is difficult to fly into.

But with the addition of about 11 miles of road, residents could access a neighboring all-weather airport in Cold Bay. King Cove community leaders have fought for that road for decades, arguing that it would provide lifesaving access to emergency medical care.

The problem, though, is that the road would pass through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Environmental groups and several Alaska tribes have said that land shouldn’t be developed in order to protect wildlife.

In 2018, the Trump Administration approved a land swap, which was later revoked by the Biden administration. But Hennigh said this is the first time the land has actually switched hands.

Alaska’s congressional delegation celebrated the agreement at an Alaska Day ceremony Thursday in Washington D.C.

At a press conference after the event, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the property conveyance, including the patent and the deed to the land, would be recorded Thursday afternoon.

She applauded King Cove’s perseverance.

“They are weary,” Murkowski said. “They are tired of kind of this ‘up and down, and back and forth, and maybe or maybe not.’ They want the certainty that’s going to come with this very small connector road.”

Murkowski said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is swapping 490 acres of federal land for the road. The King Cove Corp. — the local Alaska Native village corporation — will hand over acreage in return.

Some western Alaska tribes have opposed the road, saying it threatens important subsistence species. And federal biologists have acknowledged the road would impact the habitat of Pacific black brant and emperor geese.

Murkowski said she recognizes the significance of those resources and that requirements are in place to ensure the animal populations remain strong.

“Nobody’s talking about a multi-lane paved road, moving lots of big trucks back and forth,” she said. “It is still an 11-mile, one-lane gravel, non-commercial-use road.”

The congressional delegation said in a statement that the swap will ultimately “result in the net expansion of the Izembek refuge, clearly adding to its conservation and subsistence values. Under the agreement, Interior will receive or maintain roughly 14 times more land than it gives up.”

Hennigh said there’s still a lot to be done, with things like permitting, public commentary periods and funding to secure. After years of seeing progress toward a road fall back, he said he’s optimistic but cautious.

“We also are not so naive to think that there won’t be some lawsuits along the way,” he said.

Hennigh hopes to see construction begin by 2027.

The Alaska Desk’s Theo Greenly contributed reporting.