The U.S. Interior Department said there would be no searching for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this winter because Kaktovik Iñupiat Corp. failed to meet a key deadline. In a strongly-worded statement Thursday, KIC said the Interior provided a “blatant mischaracterization” of what happened.

The missed deadline effectively kills the corporation’s proposal to use seismic exploration to search for oil in part of the Arctic refuge’s coastal plain this winter.

The state granted Donlin Gold 12 water right permits after giving the public 15 days to comment. Some Y-K Delta residents claim that wasn’t enough time, especially with villages locked down to fight the pandemic.

After being delayed for almost a decade, the federal agency proposed what’s called critical habitat designation last month in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

A federal appeals panel has halted work at one of Alaska’s biggest proposed North Slope oil fields, putting dozens of contractors out of work and costing ConocoPhillips, the project’s developer, millions of dollars.

The proposed project would run roughly 211 miles from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District in the Northwest Arctic Borough.

Researchers have found a way to determine the ages of living Cook Inlet belugas using skin samples.

A related study of harbor seals in the Aleutians found a similar decline over a three-year period, with an average decrease of about 10% of their weight.

Conoco had planned to break ground at the gravel mine site on Feb. 12.

One of the major new features of the latest Joint Contingency Plan is the addition of what’s called an international coordination officer.