Northern Alaska Environmental Center
Promoting conservation of the environment and sustainable resource stewardship in Interior and Arctic Alaska through education and advocacy
The Northern Alaska Environmental Center
The Northern Alaska Environmental Center is an Alaska-based conservation organization dedicated to protecting the land, waters and wildlife of Interior and Arctic Alaska for current and future generations to use and enjoy. We understand the unique challenges of living in Alaska and seek to balance natural resource development with conserving what makes Alaska special.
The Northern Center is committed to defending special places in Northern and Interior Alaska from irresponsible extraction activities, and promoting local initiatives to protect the health and way of life of people living in Fairbanks and Interior Alaska.
We acknowledge that we work throughout the unceded territories of the Indigenous Peoples of Alaska; that our office is located on the traditional territories of the Lower Tanana Dené Athabascan Peoples. We honor the ancestral and ongoing land and water stewardship and place-based knowledge of the peoples of these territories.
Our Guiding Principles
- Believes that a healthy environment is a prerequisite for a sustainable economy.
- Bases conservation decisions on sound science and ethics.
- Uses our stakeholders’ energy, expertise and enthusiasm to strengthen the organization.
- Seeks opportunities to collaborate with federal, state and local government agencies, and with other organizations to enhance our effectiveness.
- Supports the establishment, protection and appropriate stewardship of designated Wilderness areas, as well other less-restrictive management that protects sustainable uses of non-Wilderness wild lands.
- Values healthy and intact ecosystems where habitat fragmentation is minimized and wildlands are respected.
- Favors stewardship over intensive management of natural resources, in order to meet the needs of the present generation without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
- Encourages the implementation of clean energy technologies and management practices that minimize air, water and noise pollution and impacts on habitat.
- Supports public processes—including use of legal, legislative, and administrative systems—in natural resource use decisions.
- Expects to comment on issues in our areas of expertise and interest.
- Puts our greatest effort into issues whose results are irreversible or long lasting.
- Employs clear, honest communication and constructive dialogue.
Northern Center Programs
Latest News
Action Alert: No Ambler Road, No Ambler rider
This past June, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would require the Department of the Interior to approve permits for the proposed Ambler Road. This amendment would force the DOI to select Alternative A...
A visit with President Carter in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
One of the highlights of my life was the day President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, visited our family in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. My sister, Kate, and I were camped on the Okpilak River in the foothills of the Brooks Range along with my two...
Strengthen your impact with a fall contribution
Every year the Northern Center commissions artwork by an Alaskan artist that reflects the spirit of our work and shapes ourtheme for the year. This year’s piece is an intricately-beaded dreamcatcher made by Danielle Stickman, titled Ełnena ada, which means “care for...