Clean Water and Wilderness Protection

By working to ensure that land management plans provide for wildlife, habitat, aquatic ecosystem, and cultural protection, we are able to ensure that later mineral development projects are done in a way that protects these same values.

EPA Proposed Rule Limiting Mercury Air Emissions from Gold Mines

The EPA recently announced a proposed rule limiting mercury air emissions at gold mines. The rule would apply to the Donlin Creek Project. While it is important for the EPA to regulate these emissions, the proposed rule does not go far enough to to protect people and the environment.

Northwest Area Plan

Area plans set forth policies, land-use designations, and management guidelines that apply to all of the state lands in the planning area. In 2008, the Department of Natural Resources revised the Northwest Area Plan, which encompasses 19 million acres. Learn more about the Plan and NAEC's involvement in the revision process.

Kobuk-Seward Peninsula Resource Management Plan

The Kobuk-Seward Peninsula Resource Management Plan sets out management polices and practices for about 13 million acres of federal lands in Western Alaska. In 2006 and 2007, the Bureau of Land Management revised the plan, recommending opening up huge areas to mineral development. Learn more about the plan and NAEC's concerns.

Alaska Coastal Management Program

The ACMP is composed of 33 coastal resource districts which develop and implement their own programs and enforceable policies for the roughly 44,500 miles of Alaska coastline. In 2008, the Department of Natural Resources initiated a "re-evaluation" process of the ACMP, and NAEC participated to serve as a voice for greater habitat protections and local community involvement.