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Hot Takes in a Cold Place: Something Smells Fishy in Southcentral Alaska

Have you ever attended a public comment meeting that didn’t want the public to comment?  I have.  Six, actually.  All in one week! The owners of the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project held information–erm, “public comment”–meetings last week in Palmer, Anchorage, and Eagle River.  They were certainly “informational,” to say the least. Charts, numbers, and graphics, oh my. Cherry-picked information to intentionally …

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It’s baaaaack!

HB 398 creates more bureaucracy, expense, and red tape that strips Alaskans of our right to protect our waters. This bill is bad.

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Wetland Permitting

The Dunleavy Administration, DEC, mine promoters want state primacy on permitting to streamline industrialization of areas like the Bristol Bay.

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Returning salmon to the Eklutna River

This fall, for the first time in nearly a century, water in Eklutna Lake was allowed to flow its historic path down the Eklutna River and into Cook Inlet. The owners of the Upper Eklutna Dam (Chugach Electric Association, Matanuska Electric Association and Municipal Light and Power) released water from the dam at Eklutna Lake for just over three weeks. …

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Restoring the Eklutna River is long overdue

As the weather gets warmer, many of us are pulling out our camping gear and dusting off our kayaks to get ready for summer. If you live in Anchorage, chances are you’ll be spending some time visiting the Eklutna Valley this season. Eklutna Lake is the go-to spot for many Southcentral Alaskans because it’s the perfect place to hike, bike, …

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Leg With Louie: Recreational River Repeal – March 12

The Senate Resources Committee will hear SB 97 next week, legislation that seeks to give the Department of Natural Resources the power to authorize commercial development on any state land regardless of its status – refuge or park or otherwise – and to put a fine point on it, the bill proposes to repeal the Recreational River statutes that protect …

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Just Transition Summit hopes to share ideas about moving away from single resource economies

A summit next month in Fairbanks hopes to build collaboration and strategies that address the challenges of relying on oil-and-gas development. Organizers hope that the Just Transition Summit – January 8-10, 2020 – provides a space for “Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaboration to build critical thinking around economic and social transition.” “Just Transition is an exciting concept … about building a …

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Two more legal challenges brought to EPA’s Pebble Mine actions

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) – One day after five regional groups representing Alaska Natives, commercial fisherman, and economic development organizations filed a suit, several environmental groups filed two separate lawsuits today alleging the that the Environmental Protection Agency violated environmental laws. Trout Unlimited, a coldwater fisheries conservation organization with more than 300,000 members nationwide, filed its complaint Wednesday. The lawsuit claims that …

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Pebble Mine opposition: Wrong mine for the wrong place

Six rallies around the state this week have one purpose — spurring Alaska’s U.S. senators and representative to stop Pebble Mine permitting. The U.S. House of Representative passed an amendment last week that would suspend funding for permitting for the Proposed Pebble Mine project near Bristol Bay, and a rally held outside Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Juneau office Tuesday is part …