1/30/25

Sandhill cranes fly in front of Denali. Photo by Emily Mesner

We are thrilled to have selected Fairbanks artist Tehya McLeod as Northern Center's 2025 Featured Artist! Each annual art piece that we commission embodies relationships to the lands in Interior and Arctic Alaska that we work to protect. Tehya's art will be featured on our event publicity and fundraising materials throughout the year. Read more about her below, plus information on the recent Day One Executive Orders, and opportunities for in-person action.

- Emily Mesner (mesner@northern.org)

  Communications Coordinator

Photo courtesy of Tehya McLeod

Throughout the year, we will be sharing more updates and stories with you about Tehya and her art. Her original piece will also be auctioned off at our annual Night for the North fundraiser event in November!

Learn more about Tehya:

• She began taking art classes in high school and at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where she graduated in 2022 with an interdisciplinary Bachelors of Applied Arts and Science in Drafting and Design, and a minor in Art.
• Growing up in Alaska meant adventuring galore; hiking across mountains and glaciers, skiing in sub-zero temperatures, and camping in some of the most gorgeous places on Earth. Through this adventuring, Tehya found her inspiration as an artist. As an avid explorer, she is passionate about documenting impacts on the landscapes around us.
• Through painting and printmaking, her work explores the relationship people have with the places around them.
• Tehya will be showcasing artwork during the February 7 First Friday from 5-7 p.m. at the Bear Gallery in Fairbanks.

Last week, President Trump signed an Alaska-focused Executive Order instructing the incoming Secretary of the Interior and other federal agencies to reverse the Biden administration’s conservation legacy. 

While his immediate shift away from protecting Alaska ecosystems and subsistence rights in favor of extractive industries is unsurprising, it is important to remember that these EOs are not legal actions. We have time to organize and prepare for the work ahead, likely including legal challenges. 

The Executive Order laid out a number of troubling plans for Alaska including:

• Rescinding the “No Action” Record of Decision stopping the controversial Ambler Road, going against overwhelming community opposition in-region and sound science.
• Reinstating oil and gas leases in the Refuge from 2021 that were canceled based on deficiencies in the 2020 environmental review process.
• Using that same flawed 2020 EIS for the Refuge to open the coastal plain to new oil and gas leases in spite of the recent failed lease with ZERO bidders.
• Undermining new environmental and subsistence use protections in the Western Arctic’s Special Areas.

These are just some of the ways the Trump administration wants to prioritize industry and expedite environmental reviews, which will impact the entire state.

Check out how our coalition partners are responding to these orders, including Grandmothers Growing Goodness and Trustees for Alaska. Stay tuned for more details on the implications of these EOs, and ways you can join Northern Center in defending our communities, lands, and waters, now and into the future.

The sun sets in Kotzebue in April 2020. Photo by Emily Mesner

Do you want to be paid up to $50 to contribute to research on climate change and mental health? The University of Washington is conducting hour-long focus groups online to receive feedback on a climate change distress questionnaire. 

Participants must be 18-26 years old, live in the U.S., and have access to computer/internet. Sign up here by Friday, January 31.

Email Jessica Acolin (jyacolin@uw.edu) or climatedistressstudy@gmail.com with any questions. This study was determined exempt by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Washington (STUDY00020797).

Photo by Emily Hikes

• Fairbanks North Star Borough is in the beginning stages of its 20 year Regional Comprehensive Plan planning process. Over the next two weeks, local meetings will be held in various communities across the borough, and a survey is available online for all community members to share their values and vision for the borough.
  • For more information on the plan, visit their website, attend ongoing public meetings, and participate in this survey.
  • Additionally, local grassroots organizations Save Our Domes and Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways have both shared information about this planning process with suggested questions and comments related to industrial mining development, public safety, and community health. Please see their webpages for more information and guidance on how to participate.
• Save Our Domes is hosting a public information meeting on Wednesday, February 5 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Noel Wien Library (1215 Cowles Street). The group will be sharing updates on the proposed Scrafford antimony mine, as well as the Treasure Creek and Grant Mine projects. Information from Felix Gold’s investor presentation and shareholder updates will be shared, with opportunities for community members to ask questions about the projects.

Aerial view of Gloomy Knob in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. NPS Photo by Sean Neilson

Remembering the man who preserved a huge section of Alaska

In this article by Ned Rozell for Anchorage Daily News, read more about Jimmy Carter's Alaska legacy. "One of his final signatures as president made it more likely that in spring 2025 the kinglet can fly from Texas and still land in the Alaska spruce in which its great-great-great-grandmother built a nest and laid her eggs," Rozell writes.

Energy Justice Solutions in Rural Alaska

In this recorded webinar from Alaska Community Action on Toxics, listen to Jasmine Jemewouk, Petla Noden, and Dr. Philip Wight as they explore community-led solutions and renewable energy initiatives that prioritize equity, health, and resilience for Alaska’s rural residents.

Microplastics are choking our waters. Could a sponge made of squid bones help remove them?

From Lex Harvey for CNN: “Microplastics are everywhere. They have been found on the peak of Mount Everest and in creatures inhabiting the deepest trenches of the sea. They’re in bottled water, human placentas and breast milk." Read about how a research team from Wuhan University used chitin from squid bones and cellulose from cotton to create a biodegradable sponge.

• Check out this list from the Alaska Conservation Foundation highlighting 13 internship opportunities across Alaska.

• Job Openings
  • Alaska Community Action on Toxics is hiring for multiple positions:
    • Plastics and Petrochemicals Campaign Coordinator
    • Protecting Future Generations Coordinator

  • Audubon Alaska is currently recruiting for two new roles:

    • Director of Conservation

    • Director of Geospatial Science

  • Camp Denali, in Denali National Park and Preserve, is hiring naturalist guides for the 2025 season.

  • Alaska Wilderness League is hiring a campaign director for the Arctic Defense Campaign. To apply, submit a resume and cover letter that expresses your interest in Alaska public lands conservation and your top two or three skills that will allow you to be successful in this role to Jobs@defendthearctic.org.

  • Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition 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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