3/13/25

A storm passes in front of Denali. NPS Photo by Emily Mesner

This week's e-newsletter is packed with resources, opportunities for participation, and important updates. Keep reading so you don't miss a chance to have your voice heard! We'd also like share our deepest gratitude for Northern Center volunteers who have been working tirelessly on much-needed updates to our office's basement apartment. Read more about their work below.

- Emily Mesner (mesner@northern.org)

  Communications Coordinator

Some incredible volunteers have been hard at work updating the second basement apartment in our office—a space that will be used by Fairbanks Trails Inc., Camp Habitat, Alaska Songbird Institute staff and volunteers, and the Northern Center.

Barb and Stan have been cleaning and painting the walls, removing old carpet and sealing the floor, and have helped replaced the toilet, bathtub, sink, window blinds, and cleaned and repaired the stove. This has been an immense undertaking and they are still working. We are deeply grateful for all of their support in updating this space. 

This apartment needs a few more items to be a livable space and the greatest need is a bed and couch. If you have any spare furnishings you’d like to donate, please call us at 907-452-5092 to schedule a time to drop them off at the office.

Full list of needs: Couch, mattress (new or gently used), bed frame, table, microwave, standing lamps, throw rugs (clean and undamaged), toilet paper, paper towels. Thank you!

More than 250 people gathered in front of Fairbanks City Hall last week to protest the layoffs of tens of thousands of federal employees.

With more federally managed lands than any other state, the Trump administration’s massive cuts to federal funding and job terminations are having a huge impact on Alaskan communities. The people we rely on for everything from accurate weather forecasting to running our national parks have had their lives upended. 

If you or someone you know has been impacted by federal funding cuts or layoffs, please share your stories using this form created by Representative Alyse Galvin.

Also, on Mondays at 3:30 p.m. in Fairbanks, people are gathering to submit written comments at the offices of Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan in a "Pack the Offices" initiative. Click the button below for more information.

Representative Ashley Carrick meets with Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways. Photo courtesy of Rep. Carrick

Last month, Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways (ASAH) presented to the House Transportation Committee on public highway safety in the face of an industrial ore haul that runs a distance of 240 miles across three Alaska highways, taking large trucks from Tetlin to Fort Knox, north of Fairbanks.

The presentation highlighted many safety issues reported in the independent analysis of the Manh Choh ore haul corridor, and the substantial costs to the state for implementing the recommended safety measures. It is clear that hauling industrial waste alongside all other public road and bridge users is a danger that we cannot afford, both literally and figuratively.

Northern Center supports ASAH in its mission to prevent degrading public infrastructure, which threaten the safety and livelihoods of the public. Click the button below for more information about the presentation and for ways you can show your support.

Our friends at Susitna River Coalition (SRC) are providing further action opportunities regarding the mining industry’s expansion strategy for hauling mining waste on public roads. SRC encourages Alaskans to oppose federal funding of the West Susitna Industrial Road via the STIP Amendment #2. 

This twice-rejected mining access road would run more than 100 miles and result in severe environmental impacts, impair community health and safety, and would be a further waste of public funds on private industrial projects. 

Find more information and talking points here, in the form of a sign-on letter. Comments can also be sent to dot.stip@alaska.gov. The deadline to comment is March 20.

A caribou rests in Denali National Park and Preserve. NPS Photo by Emily Mesner

5 Calls is an excellent resource that provides you with the phone numbers for your legislators, background information for different issues, and short scripts you can use when leaving a message or talking to a staff member at your legislator's office.
 
We encourage our members to utilize this resource to make your personal advocacy simpler and less stressful! 

Here in Alaska, tell your legislators it's time to close the S-corp tax loophole and make Hilcorp pay their fair share. Learn more from Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition about contacting lawmakers and how Senate bills 92 and 112 will raise much needed state revenue. 

Taking just a few minutes of your day to speak with your legislators makes a huge impact, and is incredibly important in the face of so many current challenges that span the political spectrum.

House Bill 25 aims to prevent restaurants from using disposable polystyrene foam in food service ware, encouraging the adoption of biodegradable or compostable alternatives. You can support this bill by signing the petition below and by emailing house.state.affairs@akleg.gov. For talking points, and to learn more about styrofoam's harm to human and environmental health, click here.

Listen to this interview with Rev. Ben Chavis, an environmental justice pioneer and civil rights leader, from Inside Climate News' collaborative partner, Living on Earth.The interview is hosted by Steve Curwood and explores how Rev. Chavis is thinking about our current moment. In 1981, Rev. Chavis coined the phrase “environmental racism” after his arrest for protesting North Carolina’s decision to dump tons of toxic waste in the poor and predominantly Black Warren County, Curwood explains. Although nearly two months of demonstrations failed to stop the toxic dump, it sparked what is now known as the environmental justice movement.

• Are you qualified to train CPR? Camp Habitat is seeking a certified CPR instructor to give the camp counselors and instructors training they need to keep campers safe. Contact lauren@friendsofcreamersfield.org if you are available in Fairbanks between June 9-13.
• READ: Half of world’s CO2 emissions come from 36 fossil fuel firms, study shows
• Southeast Alaska Conservation Council is hiring a Mining Campaign Manager. Similar to Northern Center, SEACC has a dedicated mining program that focuses on monitoring proposed and existing mining projects, working with grassroots and state wide partners, and developing campaigns to protect vital environmental and community resources in southeast Alaska. Salary and benefits are competitive. Visit https://seacc.org/about/hiring for more information, or click here.

• FCAC is hiring a Keep It In the Ground (KING) Organizer. You can find the job description here.

MISSION

The Northern Alaska Environmental Center promotes conservation of the environment and sustainable resource stewardship in Interior and Arctic Alaska through education and advocacy.

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