“Good public policy, including good foreign policy, … must be based on facts on the ground, which is to say it must be based in reality,” said Julia Gourley, the United States’ senior Arctic official on the Arctic Council.
Arctic
BLM director visits North Slope to cap wells, transfer lands
The director of the Bureau of Land Management is visiting the North Slope this week. Over the next two days, Director Neil Kornze will meet with Native corporations, local government officials, and community leaders in the region.
Senate cuts $63 million more from budget than House
The Senate voted for $100 million in executive branch cuts that aren’t allocated.
Alaska senators unhappy with Arctic agreement after Canadian PM visits Washington
After Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first official visit to Washington D.C. Thursday, he and President Barack Obama released an agreement on the Arctic, energy and climate. Alaska’s senators aren’t happy with it.
Recent international sea ice report ‘difficult’ to correlate
The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported the lowest January Arctic sea ice extent in the satellite record. The center also says Arctic sea ice growth has stalled.
What’s so critical about polar bear habitat?
A federal appeals court last week ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was following the law when it designated a California-sized piece of the Alaskan Arctic as critical habitat for the polar bear.
Murkowski urges construction of multiple icebreakers
In another effort to increase presence in the Arctic, Murkowski encouraged homeporting a National Security Cutter in Alaska. The closest cutter right now is near San Francisco.
As first legislative budget cuts emerge, some question rural impact
Reductions include $9.8 million in cuts to education programs, as well as cutting all $2.7 million in state funding for public broadcasting.
Scientists find PSP, other toxins in most marine mammal species
For the first time, scientists have documented the prevalence of two biotoxins in Alaska’s marine mammal population above the Arctic Circle.
Another Democrat joins Republican-led Senate majority
Senate Minority Leader Berta Gardner, an Anchorage Democrat, said her caucus members were disappointed.