...and keep doing the work with us. |
Photo by Emily Sullivan, 2022. A final decision on the proposed Willow project could be issued as soon as this Monday, March 6. While we are in the last few days of this 30 day review period, it is critical that Alaskans make our voices heard.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen a massive increase in attention to this project from people in and out of Alaska. A change.org petition created by Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic is fast approaching 1,500,000 signatures (click here to help get it over that threshold). But Alaska's legislators in D.C. continue to push the harmful narrative that Alaskans are unified in support of the Willow project, and it's more important than ever that Alaskans raise our voices in opposition.
We must continue the momentum as we approach the end of the 30 day review period, and tell President Biden to stop this climate disaster. Here are a few steps you can take today: - Send an email stating your opposition to the project and any specific concerns directly to the U.S. Department of the Interior at feedback@ios.doi.gov
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You can still send a letter urging "No Action" on the Willow project directly to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Senator Lisa Murkowski, House Rep. Mary Peltola, and President Joe Biden.
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To sign on to another letter directly to President Biden and Secretary Haaland,
click here. This link also provides information on how to call the White House and record a message, some examples of what to share about this issue on social media to help #StopWillow, and additional information about the project.
Sign on to this petition
The Northern Center opposes any new oil and gas development on federal lands, and stands strongly against the ConocoPhillips Willow project. |
Our concerns about the Tetlin to Ft. Knox ore trucking proposal - and how to comment |
The State of Alaska released two draft decisions related to the Manh Choh mine project’s reclamation plan and waste management permit. From now until March 13th, we strongly encourage Northern Center members to submit comments sharing your concerns about this proposed project.
The Northern Center shares the following concerns specific to these permits: -
These permits only consider the impacts and reclamation of the mine site itself; they do not consider the majority of the footprint of the project including the transportation corridor and Ft. Knox
- Waste management does not consider spills along the transportation route or storage and management of waste material at Ft. Knox
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Manh Choh ore poses significant risk of acid-generation and heavy metal leaching; these permits only consider management of these materials at the mine site
- Ft. Knox is not currently permitted to manage and monitor acid-generating and heavy-metal leaching materials, which has not been considered in the waste management permit or the reclamation plan
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Pits at the mine site will be back-filled with waste rock and either covered with a liner, or filled with water to reduce oxidation of the ore; while this reduces the chances of acid-generation and heavy-metal leaching, chances of groundwater pollution from these water bodies remains significant, and poses threats to the water quality of surrounding habitat and the nearby Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge
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Current management plans at Manh Choh suggest no additional permitting requirements or monitoring on the part of Ft. Knox to manage or monitor acid-generation and heavy metal leaching, despite significant amounts of material being transported and stored off-site
- These permits only require water quality monitoring for 5 years post-mine closure; this is insufficient as acid-generating and heavy-metal leaching storage must be monitored in perpetuity to ensure the materials are not contaminating the surrounding environment
The Northern Alaska Environmental Center does not oppose all mining in Alaska. We strongly support tribal sovereignty and the inherent rights of the Native Village of Tetlin to self-determination. While ore could be milled at the mine site, Kinross Gold and Contango Ore are choosing to utilize public infrastructure to avoid the increased expense of developing a mill in Tetlin. However, the proposed ore haul transportation plan by Kinross Gold from Tetlin to Ft. Knox poses significant risks to human and environmental health and does not have the support of the stakeholders along the proposed route (250+ miles). This transportation proposal lacks evidence to support that hauling ore over this distance along public roadways can be done safely, and without endangering human safety or posing risks to environmental quality.
Comments can be submitted online, or sent by mail, email or fax to:
Manh Choh Comments
Ashlee Adoko, Large Project Coordinator
DNR/Office of Project Management and Permitting
550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1430
Anchorage, AK 99501-3561 |
Alaska Wilderness League and Love is King launch a new Activation Council |
Photo courtesy of Chad Brown
In early February, Alaska Wilderness League and Love is King announced the new Alaska Wilderness League Activation Council. This new council's goal is to "unite and cultivate BIPOC leaders to activate their leadership and build advocacy around protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."
As part of this effort, the council coordinated meetings with decision makers on Capitol Hill. Love is King ROAM leaders who have spent time in the Arctic Refuge were invited to share their stories and experiences with elected officials and other influential people and groups in Washington DC. At Northern Center, we are proud to have Love is King founder Chad Brown on our Board, and we look forward to seeing this project progress. |
Save the Date: Sheri screening in Anchorage |
Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 6th and join us in Anchorage for a screening of the film Sheri at Bear Tooth Theatrepub. We're thrilled to share that Alpacka Raft has generously offered to donate profits from this event to the Northern Center to support our conservation work in Alaska. We will be in attendance and can't wait to see our Anchorage members there. According to the official film trailer's description:
The film is a story about the hurdles Sheri Tingey overcame to launch the company [Alpacka Raft], the ways she hid from view so that people would judge her products, and her role in creating them. It’s the story of her son, Thor Tingey, who has built the company alongside his mother, but has only recently begun to fully grasp what she has created not just for him, but for adventurers who’ve used the boats to access remote and wild rivers around the world. Sheri’s story will warm audiences and ask them to grapple with important questions about who belongs.
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Fairbanks Air Quality Comment Opportunity |
We strongly encourage Fairbanks residents to comment on the Alaska DEC Air Quality Serious State Implementation Plan. The EPA has reasonably disapproved portions of the plan and they need to hear from the residents of Fairbanks about the solutions they are proposing to clean up our air. The community of Fairbanks has dealt with poor air quality and a lack of action by the State for too many years. If we want to ensure that Fairbanks remains a place people want to stay, visit, and move then we must mitigate poor air quality due to particulate matter and other forms of air pollution.
You can attend the public meeting scheduled for March 7, 2 pm - 8 pm at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Wood Center (1731 S. Chandalar Drive) and/or submit comments online by clicking here.
Northern Center supports actions to reduce the deleterious effects on human health and quality of life caused by poor air quality in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Northern Center also appreciates potentially conflicting interests held by people who rely on burning wood, among other sources of energy, for heating their homes and/or businesses. Therefore, the Center strives to promote serious dialog and participation by all in processes leading to appropriately balanced solutions fitting the local conditions experienced in the Borough.
The Northern Center does not have a position defining a preferred plan to address or solution elements in addressing air quality issues of the Borough, except to the matter of urgent need for the community to address its air quality (AQ) issues.
The Northern Center supports: - local ownership of the AQ issue, development of solution sets and/or plans, and enforcement, to the minimization of State and Federal intervention,
- mitigation of harm caused when there is forced discontinuance of formerly grandfathered practices/technologies,
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advocating science based solutions and respectful policy compromises to achieve healthy air quality,
- incentives for providing residents with technologies that promise to improve AQ.
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The 2023 PFD application closes March 31, 2023. The Northern Center is participating in Pick.Click.Give. and you can select our organization to receive a portion of your PFD. Katie McClellan, our Clean Water and Mining Program Coordinator, gave to Northern Center with Pick.Click.Give. last year. "It was easy to do during the application, and it felt great knowing that my contribution would directly support work to dismantle the extractive economies that the PFD is based on." At Northern Center, we recognize that the Permanent Fund is complex. On one hand, the PFD is a rare example of universal income which helps many people meet their basic needs. On the other hand, it is founded on climate chaos and helps to perpetuate reliance on harmful extractive industries. If you can afford to reallocate part or all of your PFD, we hope you will consider giving to environmental groups that are working toward a just future for all of us. Have you chosen the Northern Center as a recipient for Pick.Click.Give. this year or in the past? We'd love to hear from you. Email christin@northern.org to share your story. |
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From Gold Rush to Rot—The Lasting Environmental Costs and Financial Liabilities of Hardrock Mining - Read this article on a report on the lasting social, environmental, & financial liabilities of hardrock mining. Risks including public health, safety, & environmental damage, such as contamination of nearly half of all lakes & rivers in the US, demonstrate the dirty legacy of hardrock gold mining in the US. Federal agencies involved in mine cleanup efforts shared that there are more mines that require cleanup than there are funds to manage them.
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| TONIGHT March 2: You Sink Into the Singing Snow
On Thursday, March 2 at 7 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall, Burtner will give a lecture and present a full program of his compositions entitled “You Sink Into the Singing Snow," including his striking "Syntax of Snow," which features four percussionists playing glockenspiels accompanied by amplified snow, Burtner's rarely performed percussion solo "Ecotones," featuring a wide array of percussion instruments paired with field recordings, "You Sink Into the Singing Snow," a song from his opera, Auksalaq, featuring UAF music faculty and grad students, and a world premiere
performance of Burtner's "Aurora" for chamber ensemble with electronics composed by Burtner for UAF music students. $10 admission or free to UAF students with ID |
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| March 6: Seth Kantner Book Talk at UAF
Award winning author Seth Kantner will offer a public presentation and reading at Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center on March 6 at 6 PM. This free, in-person event has limited seating and guests should arrive early to guarantee a seat. Northern Center is proud to be cosponsoring this event. Learn more about Seth and his work here.
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| March 29-31: The Arctic Encounter Symposium 2023
As the largest Arctic policy and business conference in the United States, with partners and convenings worldwide, the Arctic Encounter continues to gather leading voices from around the world. The Arctic Encounter Symposium is eager to welcome participants to Alaska for a world-class arts and cultural experience, including dialogue and presentations with elected and international leaders, business executives, Indigenous peoples, scientists, students, defense leaders, diplomats, policymakers, and more.
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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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