Be Informed + Learn About the Judges on Your Ballot

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Hey all! Something a little different this week—our friends at Alaskans for Fair Courts are guest-authoring our blog to share important information about judicial retention elections. With election season in full swing, we wanted to give you the chance to hear from the experts on this crucial part of the ballot. Check it out below!

Greetings from Alaskans for Fair Courts! We feel honored to have this opportunity to chat with you because we know how dedicated and involved each of you are in various community-oriented efforts in our great state!

I want to talk about judicial retention. Why? If you want to protect your values and your Constitutional rights, it is in your best interests to fill out the entire ballot as an informed voter.  Here’s why.

Nineteen judges “standing for retention” are on the ballots this year – fifteen of whom will be on the ballot in the Third Judicial District, home to 2/3 of the state’s population, which includes Anchorage.  

Why does this matter to you? Alaska’s state judges are the bulwark against attacks on the Alaska Constitution and/or the rule of law. They handle 95% of all cases, affecting a myriad of issues that affect all Alaskans, sometimes involving core constitutional rights that you value.  

What is judicial retention? Unlike many other states, Alaska’s judges do not run campaigns to become a judge. Alaska’s Constitutional framers kept money and partisan politics out of judicial selection and retention. Wise folks!

Toward this end Alaska’s Constitution creates an independent, nonpartisan commission – the Alaska Judicial Council – to evaluate judicial applicants and seek the “best available timber.”  The Council is comprised of: three non-attorney members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature; three attorneys appointed by the Alaska Bar Association after polling its members; and the Chief Justice, who serves as an ex officio member who chairs the Council but votes only in those rare instances where there is a tie vote. The framers also concluded that judges should serve limited terms rather than lifetime appointments, requiring judges to “stand for retention” every so many years. Retention offers you an important role –  to make the final decision about whether a judge should remain on the court.

This superior retention system – which is widely admired across the country – has produced judges who are dedicated to protecting the law while serving the community with integrity, professionalism, knowledge of the law, and respect for those who are in their courtrooms. We are lucky to have some of the best judges in the country. 

Here’s why you can be so confident in our state judges. When a judge comes up for retention, the Judicial Council conducts a rigorous investigation of that judge, gathering information from thousands of people who have interacted with the judge, including jurors, court clerks, law enforcement, attorneys and social workers. The public has an opportunity to testify at public hearings. The Council compiles this information, grades the judges against judicial performance standards that reflect “best practice,” and votes whether to recommend the judge be retained. The Council’s findings, research, scores and recommendations are all on the Alaska Judicial Council website.

Unfortunately, since 2000, the “yes” votes in the 3rd Judicial District have declined by 7% – a downward trajectory that has now dipped below 60% for the first time in the State’s history. If a judge does not receive 50% of the votes during retention that judge loses their position on the court.

A number of factors have contributed to this trend:

  • Voters not understanding how judges are selected and why they appear on the ballot
  • Voters not finishing the ballot because they don’t know where to find information about the judges
  • Eroding confidence in the judiciary exacerbated by national hyper-partisanship trends 
  • Individuals/organizations wanting to remove a judge because of an unpopular opinion or because a judge did not rule in their favor
  • Efforts by individuals and groups within Alaska, and others from Outside, trying to destabilize our courts and replace our judges with ideologues
  • Funding coming in from Outside extremist groups seeking to politicize Alaska’s state courts

If you don’t know the judges on your ballot, or don’t have the time to learn more about them, the Alaska Judicial Council has evaluated each judge rigorously and done the work for you! Check out their recommendations here! 

For 64 years Alaskans have benefited from judges who were selected and retained by this process. Alaskans would not be well-served by a system that removes even one judge because of an unpopular decision, ideological differences, or because someone lost a case.  

Please – When You Vote, Finish Your Entire Ballot!

Donna Goldsmith, Co-Chair Alaskans for Fair Courts
Check out the Find My Judges page at: https://akfaircourts.com

Navigating November: Ballot Measure Endorsements for a Thriving, Just Future

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Hey yall,

Have you ever had the experience of going into the voting booth feeling prepared and ready, started filling out your bubbles oh-so-carefully, only to suddenly find that there’s a vote you didn’t prepare for? Me too! 

Luckily, part of our job here at The Alaska Center is to help voters navigate the many questions we’ll all face this November. We’ve already emailed you (a lot) about our state legislative endorsements, but not yet about the ballot measures. We examine ballot measures through the same lens as candidates: what will lead us closer to our vision of a thriving, just, and sustainable future? With that vision in mind, our Board made endorsements on both ballot measures coming up on November 5th: Yes on 1 and No on 2!

Yes on 1 is a ballot measure to let Alaskans earn paid sick days, raise the minimum wage, and increase worker freedom. While employees of The Alaska Center and The Alaska Center Education Fund are privileged to already have these benefits (and many more!), 1 in 4 Alaskans don’t have a single paid sick day–that means thousands of Alaskans choosing between their paycheck and their family’s health. A just economy includes all of us and protects workers–this ballot measure is one step we can take towards that better future!

Ballot Measure 2 is an effort to repeal Alaska’s election system, and The Alaska Center (and The Alaska Center Education Fund!) has endorsed the No on 2 campaign. Ending open primaries strips away Alaskans’ freedom to vote for the best candidate regardless of party affiliation. Our endorsement recommendations don’t take party into account, and we know most Alaskans are the same with more than 60% of Alaskan voters not registered with a party. In 2022, we saw some of the most competitive races, with candidates that represented community members better than ever. This ballot measure is an attack on democracy, and voting NO is imperative to protecting it.

You can learn more about our ballot measure stances on our endorsement page. I hope you join us in voting Yes on 1 and No on 2!

All the best,

Jenny-Marie
Political Director
The Alaska Center

P.S. You know what’s on the ballot after the ballot measures? Judicial Retention Elections! We’ll talk more about this in a future blog–but if you want a preview, check out the information from Alaskans for Fair Courts to learn more!

Beyond Juneau: Renewable Regulations and You!

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If you joined us in celebrating some major policy wins with us this summer, you may have started to wonder what comes next. While we set our sights on our next policy goals for 2025, we also have important opportunities to continue to move toward a clean energy future for Alaska by engaging in the world of regulations. 

On August 13, Community Solar was signed into law by Governor Dunleavy. Now, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) has one year from the effective date to determine exactly how this program will function. The RCA regulates public utilities and pipeline carriers throughout the state, making decisions about rates, compliance with regulations, quality of service, safety, and more. In addition to support staff and analysts, the RCA is structured to be led by five full-time Commissioners, but currently only has four serving Commissioners. 

With our partners, we have written about some of the specific decisions the RCA will need to make, including whether to extend its full net metering policy to community energy facilities so that subscribers are equitably compensated for the energy produced. As the RCA considers exactly how Community Solar will be structured, we encourage members of the public to make their voices heard. At the beginning of each biweekly public meeting of the RCA, members of the public are invited to speak for up to five minutes. During this period, you can introduce yourself and make a comment about Community Solar, clean energy, or anything else relevant to their work (as long as it is not related to an open docket). 

Meanwhile, the Railbelt Reliability Council (RRC) is also making key decisions in the world of renewable regulations. This body, created by the legislature to create a more reliable and efficient railbelt energy system, is directed by a fourteen member board of stakeholders with an interest in railbelt reliability, representing the state’s Alaska Energy Authority, consumer advocates, environmental advocates, independent power producers, the electric utilities, and unaffiliated representatives. 

The RRC has been moving forward toward the creation of an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for the railbelt, which will lay out the energy priorities for the railbelt for a twenty year period. This process includes identifying how much renewable energy should be brought online, what transmission and grid upgrades are necessary for proper integration and exchange of renewable energy, and how to ensure the overall system functions well (or how to ensure reliability across the system). Each of the railbelt utilities has created or will create their own version of an IRP, but an overarching plan will be an opportunity to build out the railbelt’s renewable energy generation most efficiently. 

This multi-year planning process is underway with the Board currently working on establishing certain reliability standards that must be created before an Integrated Resource Plan is completed. The RRC currently aims to begin the IRP process in earnest by the first half of 2025, and complete that in a year. Additionally, the RRC’s Public Involvement Committee has been working hard to create clear opportunities for public outreach and engagement throughout this process. 

Members of the public are always welcome to attend RRC Board meetings or Public Involvement Committee meetings, and to give feedback to the Board during the public comment section of their meetings. Information about upcoming meetings, including agendas, can be found on the RRC website.

Interested in learning more about the regulatory process or attending one of these meetings with support? Email Alex at alex@akcenter.org or stay tuned for future opportunities.

With energy for the future,
The Alaska Center

Local Elections Matter: Announcing Our Fairbanks Endorsements! Help Shape Alaska’s Future

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Hi Friend,

If you turn on national news, it’s probably hard to avoid hearing about the Presidential election. Just the other day, I heard that this week marks “the start of the sprint to the Presidential election.” That might be true—but in Alaska, it’s also the sprint to the fall elections: state elections in November AND local elections!

Many municipalities across the state (including, but not at all limited to: Juneau, Palmer, and Fairbanks) have local elections in October, before the November elections. If you’ve followed The Alaska Center for any time, you know that we talk about local elections a lot. That’s because local elections are crucial: they govern our school districts, budget for everyday needs like snow-plowing, invest (or not) in local infrastructure like libraries, pools, trails, rec centers, and more. They’re also crucial to creating and implementing local climate action plans—like the one Fairbanks recently passed.

Check out our endorsements for the
Fairbanks local elections here!


This year, our Political Committee made endorsements in the Fairbanks North Star Borough and Fairbanks City Council elections. Fairbanks is crucial to the political progress we can make in this state. Their October elections will be crucial to implementing the new climate plan, and deciding whether it collects dust or starts being used to make positive changes.

Fairbanks (and statewide November)
endorsements here!


Thank you!

Best,
Jenny-Marie Stryker
Political Director
The Alaska Center

The Alaska Impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, Two Years Later

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This Op-Ed was originally published in the Anchorage Daily News on August 14, 2024. It is authored by our board members, Gavin Dixon and Griffin Plush, who share their insights on the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on Alaska over the past two years.

Two years ago this week, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed, marking a generational investment in energy and climate infrastructure. This funding is now beginning to flow into Alaska, benefitting our homes and communities in myriad ways. With numerous new tax credit programs, financing tools, and grant funding opportunities, the IRA has created so many funding opportunities that people are beginning to take advantage of all across our great state.

Alaskans are starting to benefit from the IRA through a wide variety of programs, including rebates on new efficient appliances such as stoves, dryers, heat pumps and water heaters; tax credits for home energy efficiency improvements; and expanded tax benefits for installing renewable energy and battery energy storage on homes. These new programs help keep money in Alaskans’ pockets, encourage job creation and investment in our homes and businesses, and help reduce energy costs. These direct energy and financial improvements for individuals will be even more important to help mitigate the negative impacts of escalating energy costs on the Railbelt due to the natural gas crisis in Cook Inlet.

Beyond the individual tax credits, the IRA has also established Direct Pay, a system for non-taxpaying organizations such as nonprofits, Tribes, local governments and utility cooperatives to benefit from these clean energy tax incentives for the first time. By enabling creative financing options like this, we are starting to see movement toward clean energy across sectors.

New financing and grant opportunities have also been secured for Alaskans, with many millions more to come. The Alaska Energy Authority and Tanana Chiefs Conference and their partners Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium together received more than $120 million from the IRA’s Solar for All Program, which will support rooftop solar, community solar programs and utility-scale solar for communities all around Alaska primarily benefiting low-income residents and Tribes over the next five years. Golden Valley Electric Association received $100 million from the IRA’s Powering Affordable Clean Energy to develop grid infrastructure that will improve reliability and enable the development of large-scale solar in Nenana. Southeast Conference received nearly $40 million from the IRA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program to install thousands of residential heat pumps all over southeast Alaska to reduce energy use and heating costs for residents. These infrastructure projects will reduce energy costs, create thousands of good-paying jobs, and help to improve the resilience of our electrical systems across Alaska. That’s to say nothing of IRA investments in fisheries research and protection, forest fire mitigation programs, transportation infrastructure and much more.

Alaskans are excited to see the investments of the IRA propel Alaska’s transition towards more sustainable, local and clean energy. We look forward to communities and families around the state fully leveraging the IRA. We are thankful to the federal and state agencies working to implement these programs correctly, and to the elected officials, like Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Mary Peltola, who continue to support these smart investments that build the framework for growing our state’s clean energy economy, fighting the impacts of a changing climate, and building a brighter, more resilient future for us all.

– Gavin Dixon and Griffin Plush volunteer together as board members of The Alaska Center; they are both lifelong Alaskans who work professionally with energy projects across the state.

Our Election System Glow Up

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August in Alaska means our freezers are full, our gardens are bursting, and it’s time to cast our ballots in the Primary Election. Even we (who love elections, as you likely know) have to admit that past partisan primary elections haven’t always been the most appealing of electoral processes – especially if, like most Alaskans, you don’t identify as a Republican or a Democrat. Historically, the primary landscape has been dominated by a duopoly where Democrats and Republicans engage in their annual tug-of-war. Independents are invited (barely). But everyone else is left out. The new open primary system, however, has thrown the ropes aside and the doors wide open. Now, voters can choose from a broader spectrum of candidates, and that means that our votes have even more power. 

In 2020, Alaskans voted YES to swap out our old election system for an open primary format paired with ranked choice voting for the general election. What does this mean? In a nutshell, all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, run in a single primary. The top four vote-getters then face off in the general election where voters get to rank them from their first choice to their last choice.

With the open primary system, any candidate has the chance to compete directly against candidates from any party and voters have the opportunity to vote for their favorite in every race, regardless of party. The Alaska Beacon’s analysis of 2022 primary election data found slightly more than half of Alaska’s 192,061 voters opted to split their tickets in the races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor and state legislative offices. This means people voted for candidates from multiple political parties, an opportunity they wouldn’t have had in the old, closed primary system.

Research shows that candidates in open primaries – who must appeal to every voter, not just their party’s voters – are more likely to work to appeal to a broader base, be more moderate, and cordial to each other. And in open primary elections, candidates with more diverse ideas and identities throw their hat into the ring. When voters see that their choices aren’t constrained by party lines, and more candidates look like them, they’re more likely to head to the polls. This increased turnout and candidate diversity is good for Alaska and makes our democracy more representative of our communities and our Alaskan values.

As you prepare to vote in the Primary Election I’ll leave you with a few dates to remember and some words of wisdom: August 20 is Primary Election Day. You can apply to vote by mail before August 10. Early voting starts at select locations on August 5. This election season will be a very important one for our democracy – do your research, cast your vote, and do your part to make Alaska more just, thriving, and sustainable for generations to come.

Happy Voting,
The Alaska Center

New Name, Same Old Coal

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This month, a company named Flatlands Energy has been making the rounds at Southcentral Alaska’s electric utilities, cheerily describing a future where coal power is safe and environmentally responsible. We know better. The vision they present of “carbon capture and storage” on a coal power plant relies on unproven technology and a number of false assumptions, and Alaskans are smart enough to see through these claims and refuse new coal development in our state. 

While the rest of the United States, and most advanced economies throughout the world, are working to phase out coal usage, Flatlands proposes developing a brand new coal power plant in Matanuska-Susitna Borough. This is not a conversation about mitigating the emissions from existing projects – this would be starting from scratch with coal, fully aware of its many environmental and health impacts. A new open-pit coal mine along with a power plant fitted with carbon capture infrastructure would be constructed near the proposed pipeline to Donlin Mine. 

Carbon capture technology on power plants has not been proven successful. In fact, existing projects have been consistently under-performing when it comes to the actual carbon captured. Notably, Flatlands claimed during its presentation at Chugach Electric Association that coal with carbon capture would put out lower emissions than even wind and solar with natural gas backup. However, that claim relies on the system capturing a whopping 90% of carbon emissions, which is completely unrealistic. Petra Nova, the only coal plant to operate with carbon capture in the United States, also aimed for a 90% capture, but likely only captured 55-70% of emissions while it was online. Including methane emissions from coal mining itself also significantly drops the amount of carbon that can be captured. 

What’s more, these projects fail consistently on economics alone. Even with substantial government funding, carbon capture projects have not been profitable. Flatlands bets on a future of tax credits that is not guaranteed, and key players like the Mat Su Borough Assembly claim this will reduce the cost of importing liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, a new coal mine and coal power plant would certainly not be online soon enough to offset LNG imports. 

Instead of getting distracted by false promises, our electric utilities should continue their work to conserve as much gas as possible and move toward the most cost-effective mix of energy for the Railbelt, which includes 76% renewable energy generation.

Alaskans will not be fooled: coal power is the past, not our future.

Building an Inclusive Future: Celebrating Juneteenth and Pride in Alaska

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Hey Friends!

June marks two monumental movements of liberation: Juneteenth and LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Without Black and queer voices represented in our movement, there will be no true equity and justice.

We recognize that achieving thriving communities and a robust democracy requires acknowledging our shared histories and the injustices faced by marginalized communities. Progress towards equity and justice necessitates prioritizing these communities in our conversations and efforts towards equity, while also celebrating their invaluable contributions to our society. This is why celebrations such as Juneteenth and Pride Month are so important.

This year, the Alaska Legislature passed Senate Bill 22, establishing Juneteenth as a state holiday, pending the governor’s signature to become official. This legislative progress demonstrates our state’s recognition of the history and significant contributions of Black Alaskans. On Juneteenth, Alaskans and others across our country will commemorate and celebrate the historic day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas finally learned they were free, two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

In Alaska, many Black leaders played important roles in building both the physical and political infrastructure of our state. Their contributions were monumental in moving Alaska toward statehood and in shaping the community we know today. Black Alaskans have been influential in various sectors, including education, politics, and the arts. Their achievements enrich our communities and strengthen our collective identity. This Juneteenth, we honor the incredible work and leadership of Black Alaskans. This is a time for allies to listen and learn from those on the frontlines of oppression, gaining insights into the intersections of race, democracy, accessibility, and climate justice.

The celebration of Pride Month is also important as it honors the struggle and contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals who have fought and continue to fight for equity and justice. Just as Juneteenth represents the struggle and triumph over oppression for Black Americans, Pride Month celebrates the achievements and ongoing battles faced by the LGBTQ+ community. Both movements highlight the necessity of acknowledging and uplifting marginalized voices to create a truly equitable society. Our work at The Alaska Center is deeply intertwined with these values, advocating for environmental justice that includes and respects all.

As a part of our celebration of Juneteenth, we will be tabling at the Juneteenth celebration this weekend in Anchorage. This month, we also celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride, recognizing the intersectionality of our environmental advocacy. A just transition requires the inclusion of all communities, especially those historically marginalized. At The Alaska Center, we believe our work must be intersectional, ensuring that our advocacy is equitable and inclusive of all.

Join us this weekend to celebrate Juneteenth and later this month to honor LGBTQ+ Pride! Together, we can continue to build a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future for all Alaskans.

Please come say hello at these important community events. We look forward to seeing you!

Happy celebrating,
The Alaska Center

Legislative Highlights: Celebrating Wins and Community Action in Alaska

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Is it just us, or does spring feel extra busy this year? In a week with multiple elections closing, we hope you are celebrating Suzanne LaFrance’s significant lead in the Mayoral runoff and plan on joining us Friday for the Chugach Electric Annual Meeting! – we also watched closely as the 2024 Alaska state legislative session came to a close. 

During the final few days of the session, we saw many of our clean energy and climate priorities across the finish line. We’ll have more to come on what this means for our next steps, but for now, we’re excited to share this brief recap. 

PASSED! Community Solar (SAVE Act)
The Alaska Center has worked closely with Alaska Public Interest Research Group outwardly and behind the scenes over the past year to move a community solar bill forward. The goal of the legislation is to allow more people to access clean energy, by subscribing to solar arrays or other clean energy generation that is centrally located rather than placed on individual properties.  We informed the public about community energy, testified ourselves, and encouraged supporters to call or write in to provide testimony, and met with legislators to answer specific questions and concerns about community energy programs. The bill went through many iterations and ultimately became known as the SAVE Act (Saving Alaskans money with Voluntary community Energy). 

In late April, the SAVE Act passed the Senate unanimously, with Senators from various parties and districts speaking in favor of the legislation on the floor. We celebrated but knew we had to keep working to get the word out about the bill and clarify any concerns raised on the House side. Finally, this week, the bill passed the House and will head to Governor Dunleavy’s desk for his signature. 

We are so excited to see community energy programs launch in Alaska and view this as one step toward a more equitable energy future. 

PASSED! Green Bank 
Late Wednesday night, before gaveling out for the year, the legislature passed a bill with language to create a Green Bank. A Green Bank is a financial entity that leverages private financing and invests in renewable energy technology like heat pumps, electric vehicle charging stations, and more critical new infrastructure that a traditional financial institution is less likely to finance. The bill states that the entity “serves a public purpose benefitting the people of the state” by financing sustainable energy development. 

Alaska’s Green Bank will be housed under the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, a community-oriented agency, that will strive to invest in renewables in a way that best serves the people of Alaska. We look forward to finding opportunities to collaborate with the Green Bank to ensure a transparent and just process. 

STILL WORK TO BE DONE! Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)
Although multiple versions of renewable or clean energy standards were introduced this session, they ultimately did not move forward. Utility providers themselves were heavily involved in the conversation, as both Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA) and Chugach Electric Association (CEA) took up the issue in their own Board meetings. CEA passed a formal resolution in support of a general RPS, but raised issues with the specifics of the legislative proposals. Utility providers generally expressed concerns about the grid’s transmission capacity and limitations, the exact percentages included in proposals, and the enforcement mechanisms associated with standards. 

Grid transmission capacity ultimately became a major focus of the session (more on that below).  In terms of enforcement, we spoke with partners about alternatives to fines or penalties, which utilities said risked raising rates for consumers. One option is to provide significant incentives for meeting goals. Either way, we believe it will only be possible to actually meet these goals if there is some related consequence for achieving them or failing to do so. 

The Alaska Center will continue to advocate for a state standard to be set to ensure we are on track to reduce our overall carbon output. 

PASSED! Railbelt Transmission 
We wrote to you last month to update you on the shift to transmission that took place in the energy space this year. With various bills and conflicting views on the most efficient way forward, this was a complex legislative issue. We weighed in by providing testimony and written analysis throughout the process, as well as meeting directly with legislators about the various transmission issues being addressed. 

First, $30 million was included in the budget as the first phase of a state match for GRIP (Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships) funding. This federal grant of $206 million requires a state match, and will be used to upgrade elements of our transmission system, which is key to our ability to send renewable energy from wherever it is generated to wherever the power is needed at that moment. 

The final transmission legislation got rid of duplicative charges to reduce the overall costs of sending energy up and down the railbelt, updated requirements for commissioners to serve on the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, and addressed the taxation of new power projects. It also created a new organization under the Alaska Energy Authority called a railbelt transmission organization (RTO) but left planning in the hands of the existing Railbelt Reliability Council. Instead, this RTO will focus on cost recovery of transmission operations. 

An efficient and upgraded transmission system is a critical part of our clean energy infrastructure, and we look forward to thinking about the next steps in the coming year. 

STILL WORK TO BE DONE! Voting Rights 
Voting rights were a hot topic this session and both the House and the Senate attempted to pass substantial updates to our current systems and policies. HB 4 (the repeal of open primaries and ranked choice voting (RCV)) had a hearing on day one of the session, and HB 129 (purging voter rolls), moved quickly out of the House and into the Senate for consideration. The Senate then turned HB 129 from a bad voting rights bill into a good voting rights bill by adding a provision to remove the witness signature requirement on mail-in ballots, adding a system to fix mistakes on ballots, and allowing Alaskans to register to vote on election day. 

Unfortunately, the House would not support these provisions and this bill did not make it over the finish line. What does this mean for voting rights? It means that many of our leaders and community members want to see voting rights expanded, and that next year we will work even harder to pass positive voting reforms. The repeal of ranked-choice voting and open primaries will likely be on the ballot this November, so we will continue to update you on how you can take action to protect our democracy. 

PASSED! Juneteenth Bill
Finally, at 11:05pm the House voted to pass SB 22 – establishing Juneteenth Day as a legal holiday. Juneteenth is a crucial recognition of our shared history, emphasizing the central role of Black leaders. Specifically in Alaska, many of those leaders were brought up to build both the physical and the political infrastructure of this state, moving Alaska toward statehood. By officially recognizing Juneteenth, we honor the labor and sacrifice Black communities contribute and we join the rest of the nation in one day of celebration and liberation. Thanks to our leaders and community members for helping this get across the finish line! If you are in Anchorage, stop by and say hi at our booth at the Anchorage Juneteenth Celebrations on June 15 and 16!  

We are grateful to the many elected officials who worked hard this session to move forward highly technical, politically charged, and crucial bills for our climate and our communities. We are looking forward to a summer full of advocacy to prepare for what the next session has in store for us! Stay tuned!

Powering forward together,
The Alaska Center

Murky Waters Ahead, Troubled Waters Behind: What’s Happening with the Eklutna River?

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I can’t say how many times I’ve seen a headline recently asking what is going on with the Eklutna River (Well, actually I can. Twice. Check out Emily Goodykoontz’ and Alex DeMarban’s article or Nat Herz’ podcast. I highly recommend checking out these pieces for a lay of the land understanding of what’s occurred.) 

But, my question, and one many people are asking now is: what just happened? And what’s next?

On April 15, the Matanuska Electric Association Board of Directors approved a resolution to send the Final Fish and Wildlife Program to the Governor.

On April 24, the Chugach Electric Association Board of Directors did the same.

The Final Fish and Wildlife Program does not right a historical wrong, and does not give salmon a chance to return to the lake. Instead, it relies on the previously proposed AWWU portal (now called the Eklutna River Release Facility) to restore just 11 miles of the river. The best that it does is offer extremely limited “reopeners” – opportunities for the Project Owners to revisit the project 10 years after the implementation of the proposed Final Program – this would, at the latest, take place in 2042. These reopeners are only helpful if a new technology comes along to allow for cheap fish passage (the project owners have maintained that they won’t pay for it), or inflows to the lake increase dramatically. 

We’re entering the final phases of approval of the plan. Although the plan was sent to the Governor, the ball is now in a couple of resource agency’s court: US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service now have 60 days to submit comments on the final program. After that, the owners of the project will have 30 days to submit responses to these comments. 

As it stands, all of this information will be sent to Curtis Thayer, Executive Director of the Alaska Energy Authority. Curtis will then compile a report and submit it to the governor. The governor has to make his decision by October 2nd. 

The Alaska Center will continue to call on our utility cooperative to exercise their power to right a historic wrong and restore a free-flowing river from the ocean to the lake that can support salmon – the heartbeat of Alaska.

Four out of five Alaskans who submitted comments on the draft program supported river restoration and/or fish passage. We thank you for lifting your voices throughout these last months. Stay tuned and stay with us!

Stream regards,
The Alaska Center