Category: Alaska News

The U.S. Forest Service’s Tongass Plan Revision Team announced in a press release on Monday, March 16, that it would be releasing a document online March 23 detailing the process of formulating a forest plan and a proposed Species of Conservation Concern list.

The plan, still in its drafting stages, will be outlined in what the press release called “a content document … (that) will give you a look at how the draft plan is taking shape, and help inform comments and conversations.”

The Monday of the release will mark the beginning of a 45-day public comment period, which will be open until May 7. During this time, members of the public can view and share their positions on the current state of the Tongass National Forest Plan.

USFS Tongass Forest Plan Revision Coordinator Erin Mathews told the Ketchikan Daily News via email that the plan is supposed to guide the management of the Tongass National Forest for the next 15 or so years. While it doesn’t implement specific projects or decisions, it establishes principles and best practices to maintain the forest’s integrity.

“The content being shared is just a portion of what goes into a full forest plan, providing review opportunity of desired conditions, goals, preliminary direction, potential management areas and more—and we want more public input before drafting the plan this summer,” Mathews added.

The USFS will also be holding a virtual town hall at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, which the press release stated will be recorded. The release described the town hall as “an opportunity to better understand what’s included in the content document, and how it fits into the overall revision process.”

“The full Draft Plan will be a comprehensive document containing all proposed changes to the forest plan,” Mathews said. She also told the Daily News that public comment “will be considered as the team creates the draft plan.”

Additionally, the Species of Conservation Concern Report and proposed SCC list will be on the USFS’s website. This report aims to identify native species not already protected under the Endangered Species Act, whose survival is a matter of substantial concern.

Once SCCs are identified, plans to sustain these species’ ecological conditions and maintain their populations must be developed by the USFS.

To access the town hall, in-person workshops, public comment portal and proposed SCC list, visit the Tongass National Forest Plan webpage available through the USFS website.

This story was originally published by the Ketchikan Daily News.

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The operator of Alaska’s massive Red Dog mine says it wants to use the sun to help power the sprawling zinc operation, which currently burns expensive, imported fossil fuels.

If built, a newly proposed 8.8-megawatt solar farm at Red Dog would have slightly more capacity than the state’s largest existing farm, in the Susitna Valley north of Anchorage. 

Unlike some of the state’s other large mines, Red Dog is completely off grid in a remote area of Northwest Alaska, hundreds of miles from the gas-, coal-, and oil-fired plants that power urban areas. That means the mine relies on millions of gallons a year of pricey, barged-in diesel for energy. 

The new solar array and an accompanying battery system, according to mine operator Teck Resources, would boost energy supply in summer months, when power demand surges. And it’s expected to lower costs by reducing the amount of diesel Red Dog burns — roughly 40,000 gallons each day. 

The project also aims to curb Red Dog’s greenhouse gas emissions — a company-wide goal for Teck and other global mining corporations. 

The solar farm would be built at a pivotal moment for the mine. 

Red Dog has been a major economic driver in rural Northwest Alaska for some three decades, sustaining high-paying jobs and substantial revenue for the borough government. But it’s running low on ore and is slated to close in 2032. 

To keep the mine running, Teck has been studying whether tapping into two new mineral deposits could be profitable. The company plans to spend between $150 million and $180 million on the extension project this year alone. And future power demand is expected to exceed existing supply, the company said in a recent submission to state regulators.  

The solar array could add capacity if the company decides to mine the new deposits. But it also would support mine closure, Teck said. After Red Dog stops operating, the company expects to continue treating more than one billion gallons of wastewater annually, according to the mine’s reclamation plans.

The solar farm would supply about 2 megawatts of electricity during the summer, according to Teck. That’s a fraction of the roughly 25 megawatts that Red Dog typically needs.

But “it is currently the most direct, achievable, and timely option for delivering a meaningful portion of required capacity,” Teck said. 

The project would “return the most value” if Teck extends the mine’s life, a company spokesperson, Treena Wood, said in an email. But the extension project “must still advance through the planned project stages” independent of the solar proposal, she added. 

Teck still anticipates a few more years of exploratory drilling and analysis before deciding whether to move ahead with the extension. 

The solar farm, however, would likely happen a lot sooner: Teck wants construction to start by June. That’s a crucial deadline because lucrative federal tax credits created under the Biden administration expire in July — and without those incentives, the solar farm would not be financially viable, according to Teck. 

Teck’s rush echoes a separate push by Anchorage’s urban utility, Chugach Electric Association, to build a solar farm on the west side of Cook Inlet in time to qualify for the credits. That project could produce up to 10 megawatts of power. 

Other, larger-scale renewable energy projects — namely big wind farms — have stalled in Alaska as federal support and investment opportunities have dried up under the Trump administration. 

But Red Dog’s proposal aligns with a global trend of mining companies moving away from fossil fuels to power their operations. And it shows that even in a political climate hostile to wind and solar, renewables are still attractive purely for economic reasons, according to Phil Wight, an energy historian and professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks. 

Teck’s plans offer a glimpse of “what is economically rational in the private sector,” he said. 

Other large mining companies operating in Alaska have warned in recent years that the state’s high energy costs and reliance on fossil fuels could thwart future investment. 

Mines use huge amounts of energy to dig up ore and then crush and grind it to separate out valuable minerals. They’re among the state’s biggest power consumers. And electricity is among their biggest operating expenses. 

Looking to cut costs, some companies that operate Alaska mines have been encouraging the state’s cooperatively-owned urban utilities — particularly in the Interior, where the grid runs partly on pricey, oil-based fuel — to expand their limited use of wind and solar power.  

Red Dog would be the first large mine in the state to draw substantial energy from an on-site solar array. 

The farm would span 30 acres, partly on land owned by Northwest Alaska’s regional Native-owned corporation, NANA. 

A Canadian company, Tugliq Energy, would build and operate the project, according to Teck.

Teck and Tugliq are working out a contract that would set the price and other terms of power purchases, said Wood, the Teck spokesperson. 

Tugliq is responsible for funding the project, she added. She declined to provide a cost estimate.

This piece was originally published in Northern Journal, a newsletter and news website. Subscribe here.

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The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has tentatively decided that oil and gas exploration should be allowed on state land in the vicinity of the Yukon River.

In a public notice published March 4, the agency said its determination for the Yukon Flats “comports with constitutional direction to encourage the development of the state’s resources, and with the legislature’s direction that it is in the state’s interest to develop the state’s oil and gas resources.”

The flats are a large area of wetlands and lowlands at the confluence of the Yukon and Porcupine rivers in Interior Alaska. 

DNR’s preliminary approval is subject to a public notice process, and public comments on the agency’s position are due by April 6. They may be emailed to dog.bif@alaska.gov.

This month’s public notice comes as the oil and gas firm Hilcorp enters another year of operations in the area with Doyon Ltd., the regional Alaska Native Corp. for Interior Alaska. 

Last summer, Hilcorp drilled for oil on land leased from Doyon near the village of Birch Creek, south of Fort Yukon. Doyon’s subsidiary, Doyon Drilling, conducted much of the work.

As that drilling took place, Hilcorp applied for permission to conduct oil and gas exploration on state land nearby.

Most of the surrounding territory is within the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, an area prized for its waterfowl nesting and breeding grounds. 

The only state land within the requested area is on “subsurface waters,” riverbeds and lake beds controlled by the state under federal law and a 2019 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Hilcorp’s permit application is on hold until the state completes the regulatory process covered by this month’s public notice.

The Yukon Flats are in what the state has colorfully labeled “Middle Earth” — a vast swath of Alaska between the North Slope and Cook Inlet that has no active oil and gas production and hasn’t been thoroughly surveyed for oil and gas.

The determination signed this month by Derek Nottingham, director of the Division of Oil and Gas, states that “the land within the Yukon Flats determination area has unknown oil and gas potential and there is limited access to existing oil and gas infrastructure in much of the region. Although oil and gas exploration has occurred in the past, technological advancements may facilitate more effective and efficient exploration. Further, the state would benefit from geological and geophysical data that may result from potential exploration.”

If the state does determine that oil and gas exploration is appropriate in the area, it would then have to go through a separate process to determine whether Hilcorp in particular should be given permission to explore.

A similar process took place in the Susitna River valley last year.

State permission in the Yukon Flats doesn’t automatically mean that a company could plop a drilling rig in the middle of the Yukon River. That kind of development plan would be subject to many different levels of regulation by several state and federal agencies.

Instead, the biggest impact is likely to be in cases where subsurface rights are split between the state and Native corporations. If an underground oil pool is beneath land with split ownership, ownership of that pool could be complicated.

An explorer working from corporate land wouldn’t have to worry about ownership issues if it also holds a permit from the state.

In Hilcorp’s case, the Birch Creek area being leased from Doyon is dotted with lakes whose bottoms could be state-owned.

Hilcorp has not yet announced its plans for the summer 2026 season. Last year, it had plans to drill two exploration wells but ended up drilling only one, according to data published by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. 

That well stopped work in October, but significant amounts of equipment, including a drill rig, remain on site at Birch Creek. 

Sarah Obed, a spokeswoman for Doyon, said by email that the company will be sharing an update with shareholders soon and is grateful for local residents’ collaboration on the project.

“As always, Hilcorp and Doyon will prioritize shareholder employment when opportunities arise and will continue to work closely with partners and our communities through this upcoming season and beyond,” she wrote by email.

U.S. Forest Service leadership is in flux as the agency takes sweeping actions in managing the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest, and making regulatory and administrative changes at all levels, Alaska-based officials reported this week.

At the beginning of a four-day federal subsistence Regional Advisory Council meeting in Juneau on Tuesday, Tongass Supervisor Monique Nelson spoke about shifts in the Forest Service since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.

Nelson said staffing on the Tongass is down 30% from this time last year; in the wake of federal workforce reductions by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, 270 USFS employees are currently working in Southeast Alaska.

Nelson, who’s worked for the Forest Service in Alaska for several years, stepped into the Tongass supervisor role last spring. She said that “since the changes in the administration, we have shifted our work from the focus on the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy to other agency priorities that include active forest management, disaster recovery, minerals and energy and access to outdoor recreation.”

“While I say that there is a shift, those things are always our agency priorities, and so we are certainly happy and dedicated to doing that work in front of us,” she said.

USFS personnel are currently working through planning processes for logging, mining, and energy projects, Nelson said. 

The largest of the planned logging projects are the South Revilla project east of Ketchikan and the Twin Mountain II project on eastern Prince of Wales Island, both of which include old-growth timber harvest, Nelson said.

“For both of those projects, we did find a significant likelihood of impacts to subsistence resources,” Nelson told the subsistence council members.

Among its energy projects, USFS is continuing to work on the Angoon-area Thayer Creek Hydropower project.

“With regard to minerals, I’ll say that really there is not a change. We are required to be very responsive to minerals needs,” Nelson said, noting there is currently a high price on gold. 

The service is preparing for tourist season by hiring seasonal staff to take care of Tongass National Forest day-use sites, bear viewing areas, camp grounds and visitor centers.

Following Nelson’s presentation, council member Ted Sandhofer remarked on the size and scope of current USFS projects on the Tongass.

Sandhofer worked with USFS for about 35 years, starting in 1987 as a forester based in Hoonah, and retiring in 2021 as the head of the Petersburg Ranger District.

He said that the current USFS project list is “a big workload, as big as I’ve seen on the Tongass.”

“I know that there’s a reduction in (workforce), so it seems like you’re going to be doing more with less. … Do you have enough people?” Sanhofer asked.

Nelson told him the agency currently is working through “interim operations” while adjusting to staffing reductions.

“Our regional offices and our Washington office are acting as consolidated units where we have that high-level expertise working in much larger groups across much larger land masses,” Nelson said. “Now, we in Alaska are now working as part of a larger Pacific team with California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii, overseen by a (Pacific Northwest) Regional Forester on their executive leadership team.”

Acting Regional Forester for Alaska, Jerry Ingersoll, started in the role in October. He previously worked with USFS in Ketchikan and Juneau for about seven years.

Introducing himself at the council meeting Tuesday, Ingersoll said that he’ll be retiring at the end of April. 

The permanent Regional Forester for the Pacific Northwest Region, Jacque Buchanan, spoke to the transition in USFS leadership for Alaska.

“When Jerry steps out, I’m going to step fully into it, to get us through the interim place to you getting back to a full staff at the Alaska level,” Buchanan said.

“This is the interim space,” Buchanan said. “I think we will probably be in this space for the next six to eight months. And so what the future is exactly going to look like, we don’t know.”

“I have pretty high assurance that, especially here in Alaska, there will remain a state-level leadership,” Buchanan said “It may be called something different, you know, it’s probably, it’s not going to be (an Alaska) Regional Forester, but it would be a state leadership at the same level.”

Buchanan said she’d like to help USFS get back to full staffing levels.

Nelson said that, with reduced staffing levels, “a lot of the local projects will be harder to address, and the emphasis on partnerships is really what’s going to make a difference for us to be able to make sure that we’re attending to those very local needs.”

She said partnerships remain a priority for USFS.

“Just recently, we entered into a shared stewardship agreement with the State of Alaska, and that agreement is focused on providing wood to the wood products industry, and pairing that with restoration actions on the forest,” Nelson said. 

“We also have the opportunity to enter into more shared stewardship agreements, and we hope to be able to do so with many tribes and tribal partners, as well as other landowners in Southeast,” Nelson said. 

Nelson said the Trump administration is prioritizing “deregulation and organizational efficiency, and then also an emphasis on partnerships as part of the deregulation agenda.”

Forest Service personnel in Washington, D.C., are working through the process to repeal the 2001 Roadless Rule, which could open the Tongass to more logging. A draft environmental impact statement is expected this spring, and will be released for a public comment period. 

Last month the Forest Service issued a notice of intent for its ongoing Tongass National Forest Management Plan; public comments are due by March 20 as to “purpose and need for action” driving the Tongass plan revision by USFS. 

Meanwhile, personnel in Washington, D.C., are working on changing the agency’s National Environmental Policy Act regulations and administrative review regulations, Nelson said. 

This story was originally published by the Daily Sitka Sentinel.

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The Coast Guard today identified two crew members who died in an accident Sunday aboard a freight barge as 21-year-old Ben Fowler of Sitka, and 28-year-old Sidney Mohorovich of Washington state.

U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Stanley Fields, commander of Sector Southeast Alaska, offered his condolences and said the Coast Guard is conducting a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.

“This is a heartbreaking reminder that confined spaces on vessels can contain extremely dangerous, invisible hazards,” he said. “The Coast Guard is committed to a thorough investigation to understand what happened and prevent a tragedy like this from occurring again.”

Coast Guard Arctic District staff said the “fatal confined space incident” occurred aboard the barge Waynehoe while it was moored in Skowl Arm, 25 miles northwest of Ketchikan.

Rescue crews from the Coast Guard and fire department in Ketchikan responded after the crew of the tugboat Chukchi Sea reported at 9:14 a.m. Sunday that they had lost contact with four individuals who were in a confined space on the Waynehoe.

Two of the four crew members were recovered and responsive on Sunday. The third crew member was recovered Sunday and later declared deceased. The fourth was unaccounted for on the barge on Sunday; today the Coast Guard reported that he was recovered and declared deceased on Tuesday, after the barge had been towed to the Ketchikan area.

The Coast Guard worked with partner agencies in Ketchikan on Tuesday to access the confined space on the barge in a safe manner, and find the crew member who was unaccounted for, USCG said.

The South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department of Ketchikan helped the Coast Guard respond to the emergency on Sunday. Its chief, Steve Rydeen, told the Sentinel that the Coast Guard search and rescue boat received the call to the barge, and called the STVFD fire hall.

A paramedic and two EMTs from STVFD went with the Coast Guard aboard the USCG vessel on Sunday; Rydeen said the department provides limited medical care for Coast Guard search and rescue cases.

The barge was moored in McKenzie Inlet within Skowl Arm on the east side of Prince of Wales Island.

Ketchikan North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jerry Kiffer said the barge is operated by the Bellingham-based Hamilton Marine Construction.

After the accident a Boyer Towing vessel took the barge to Ward Cove, north of Ketchikan, Kiffer said.

The 92-foot-long tugboat Chukchi Sea, owned by Hamilton Marine Construction, was returned to the Ketchikan harbor by its owner on Monday.

This story was originally published by the Daily Sitka Sentinel.

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State fishery managers on Wednesday spotted several small schools of herring in deep waters of Sitka Sound north of Bieli Rock and east of Middle Island.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game personnel are posting reports from daily herring surveys as managers prepare to open the commercial sac roe herring seine fishery.

The guideline harvest level for the 2026 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is 35,015 tons, which is 15% of the 233,433 tons of mature herring that managers expect to return to Sitka Sound this year.

The 15% harvest rate is new this year; the Alaska Board of Fisheries last year reduced the maximum harvest rate for the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery from 20% to 15%.

Aerial surveyors in a float plane on Wednesday searched for signs of herring in portions of Sitka Sound including Eastern Channel to Biorka Island and St. Lazaria Island to Eastern Bay.

No herring schools or spawn were observed Wednesday from the float plane, Fish and Game said today. Weather conditions were poor with scattered snow showers and strong winds.

Few herring predators were seen throughout the surveyed area. A small number of humpback whales were observed in Eastern Channel and small number of sea lions were found near Inner Point.

Predator numbers and locations observed are more typical for surveys conducted earlier in the season and showed no change relative to previous aerial surveys.

The next aerial survey was scheduled to take place today, and the next fishery update is expected on Friday, Fish and Game said.

This story was originally published by the Daily Sitka Sentinel.

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Construction of the Cascade Point Ferry Terminal is being delayed beyond 2026 due to permitting issues raised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to a notice published this week by the state.

Site preparation as the first stage of the project was scheduled to begin this summer and continue into 2027. However, the Corps of Engineers wants more complete information about the second stage of the project — the terminal and supporting infrastructure — before work begins, according to the notice issued Tuesday by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

“This refined direction from the USACE and the Department’s commitment to honor the permit process necessitates delaying proposed construction until after 2026,” the notice states.

Sonny Mauricio, a DOT spokesperson, stated in an email on Thursday the length of the delay to the project’s timeline is unknown.

“A more specific timeline depends on completing the requested Stage 2 design details and the subsequent federal permitting and Tribal consultation process,” he wrote.

DOT submitted a project application to USACE for Stage 1 work and a preliminary for Stage 2 on Feb. 2, according to the notice. The USACE, after reviewing the application, mandated “all design information for Stage 2 also needs to be included in the permit application.”

“This new direction requires the completion of further Stage 2 details that are in design development for this spring and summer,” the notice states.

Stage 2 is currently at 35% design in the developmental process, according to a state DOT website for Cascade Point.

The proposed terminal about 30 miles north of the current Auke Bay Ferry Terminal is the subject of multiple controversies, including a $28.5 million agreement signed by the state last July for first-stage work. The Dunleavy administration’s motivations for signing the contract were questioned by officials and regional residents, since it occurred days after the ferry system’s oversight board said the state had not proven the project’s economic viability.

Ongoing opposition to the terminal is largely focused on the belief the primary motivation of the project is providing an ore shipping site for a nearby proposed gold mine. There are also concerns it will cause further hardships for Alaska Marine Highway System riders who have already been subject to various scheduling cancellations due to budget and maintenance issues.

The Cascade Point website states the project’s intent is “shortening ferry routes, reducing travel times, and lowering operating costs” for people in Juneau, Skagway and Haines. A DOT report issued last fall states the terminal will have offsetting impacts on the ferry system, but will be an asset to the mine as well as Goldbelt Inc.’s prospects as the property owner of the terminal site and a partner in the project.

A reference that appears to refer to Goldbelt as an Alaska Native corporation, as well as other possible partners, is included in the DOT notice issued this week that refers to following the direction set by the USACE.

“A highly important part of that process is the engagement and consultation with our Tribal partners,” the notice states. “The department will closely collaborate with Tribes and together will strengthen the protection of cultural resources. The USACE approves the start of the consultation process with the Tribes once they deem the permit application ready.”

Goldbelt did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday afternoon.

A statement supporting the delay was issued Thursday by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council

“We’ve been critical of the order of operations of this project — contracts awarded before public comments, plans to break ground before tribal consultation — so this update about the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers requiring Phase 2 details to be included in the permit application before they can move forward and the State of Alaska committing to conduct the environmental process as law requires feels like a necessary course correction, though intervention and correction shouldn’t have been required,” SEACC Executive Director Maggie Rabb said in the prepared statement.

The DOT notice states additional public meetings involving both stages of the proposed terminal will be scheduled. A 10-week public comment period that ended in January saw 92% of the 622 respondents opposing the terminal.

This story was originally published by the Juneau Independent.

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Alaska’s U.S. Senators are pushing legislation that would waive a visa fee hike that is likely to have a dramatic impact on state education staffing. 

Last fall, the Trump administration instituted a $100,000 fee for any employers sponsoring H-1B visa applicants. That led to the Haines Borough School District losing its special education teacher, Stacey Spencer, earlier this year after her visa expired in December and the school district was unable to obtain alternate legal status that would have allowed her to remain. 

Haines superintendent Lilly Boron said at the time that the school district would no longer recruit or hire anyone needing a visa to work because it doesn’t have the financial resources. 

Now, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan are co-sponsoring legislation that would exempt public schools from the new H-1B visa fee. 

Boron said waiving that fee would eliminate a huge barrier for school districts across the state. She said she hopes Murkowski and Sullivan’s efforts are successful. 

“Haines would be able to consider international applicants again, and we would,” Boron said. 

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At the Alaska Beacon, we’re constantly trying to figure out where we should put our attention. There’s always more news than there are people to report it.

Every Thursday, the Alaska Legislature publishes its committee schedule for the coming week. Public notices alert us to meetings and events. The governor’s office occasionally lets us know ahead of time that something’s coming down the pike, too.

Here’s what we know about for the coming week. If you know of something that’s coming up that you should think we should pay attention to, email us at info@alaskabeacon.com.

We can’t cover everything on this list, but we’re interested in them and we think you should know about them in case you’re interested in them, too.

This list is ripped from our notebooks, and it is likely to change over the course of the week. We’ll update it when we can.

Are you trying to keep track of when to testify on a bill? The Legislature has a website for that.

Monday, March 23

House/Senate floor sessions in the morning

Look for conference committee to pop up on Monday or Tuesday

8 a.m. – House Education continues hearing a bill to increase per student funding by $630 next year; a bill to increase funding for students attending residential schools; and a bill to offer CPR training in schools

9 a.m. – Board of Dental Examiners meeting

9 a.m. – Board of Social Work Examiners meeting

1 p.m. – House Judiciary considers several governor appointees to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, Violent Crimes Compensation Board, and Alaska Police Standards Council

1:30 p.m. – Senate Judiciary Committee hears a bill that would raise the age of consent from 16 to 18 years old

6 p.m. – Holi Festival hosted by Spice Bollywood Dancers on Franklin Street downhill from the Capitol

Tuesday, March 24

Alaska Tribal Conference on Environmental Management opens in Anchorage

Look for conference committee to pop up on Monday or Tuesday

7:30 a.m. – Senate Finance Subcommittee hears a presentation from the Office of Children’s Services on their proposed budget for next year

8 a.m. – Will the state’s new sick-leave law be weakened to benefit fish processors? House Community and Regional Affairs is hearing a bill.

9 a.m. – Electronic pull tabs resemble slot machines and they’re in use at tribal gaming halls — will the state authorize them in other places? Senate Finance looks at SB 170.

12 p.m. – Lunch and learn presentation on 65 years of ISER, the Institute for Social & Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage

12:30 p.m. – Alaska Police Standards Council meeting

1 p.m. – House Transportation takes up a bill to regulate self-driving vehicles

1:30 p.m. – Senate Transportation looks at a bill that would make it easier to import classic cars into the state

3:15 p.m. – House Health and Social Services hears a bill to update criminal law related to sexual assault by a health care worker

Wednesday, March 25

House/Senate floor sessions in the morning

8 a.m. – House Education Committee hears a presentation on a state-run career guidance program and a bill to expand career and technical education grants 

9 a.m. – Regulatory Commission of Alaska regular meeting

9 a.m. – Senate Finance takes up a bill that would reduce the annual transfer from the Permanent Fund to the state treasury, and it looks at the big tax bill that came out of Senate Resources

9:30 a.m. – Alaska Corp. for Affordable Housing meets to approve $15 million for a project in Wasilla

10 a.m. – AHFC may approve borrowing almost $150 million for housing projects statewide, during a regular meeting

11 a.m. – Anchorage airport jobs fair

12 p.m. – Lunch and earn about a “forensic training academy”

1 p.m. – House Judiciary Committee considers the governor’s appointees to the Commission for Human Rights

1 p.m. – Should Alaska lower the limit for drunken driving? House Judiciary takes up a bill that would halve it.

1 p.m. – The governor’s big gas pipeline subsidy bill gets its first hearing in House Resources

Thursday, March 26

8 a.m. – Public records bill in House Community and Regional Affairs

9 a.m. – House Finance Committee considers a bill to expand funding for Regional Education Attendance Areas to include Mt. Edgecumbe High School and rural teacher housing

11 a.m. – Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission meeting

1 p.m. – House Energy Committee hears a presentation on the Alaska Center for Energy and Power

1:30 p.m. – Senate Community and Regional Affairs hears a presentation on how property taxes impact school funding by the Alaska Municipal League

3 p.m. – Controlled substances advisory committee meeting

3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs hears a presentation on broadband in Alaska

3:30 p.m. – House Health and Social Services Committee hears a presentation on the Alaska Citizens Review Panel, and Office of Children’s Services director Kim Guay speaks.

6 p.m. – What can Anchorage do about rising natural gas prices? A presentation by Alaska Common Ground

Friday, March 27

House/Senate floor sessions in the morning

8 a.m. – House Education considers governor’s appointees to the Professional Teaching Practices Commission; a bill to increase education funding, and a bill to increase funds for special education

9 a.m. Senate Health Committee hears a presentation on the Division of Public Assistance

House/Senate floor sessions in the morning

12 p.m. – Lunch and learn about state energy data

1 p.m. – House Judiciary looks at changing the way the Legislature handles Ethics Act complaints

1:30 p.m. – The controversial nurse licensure compact bill gets a hearing in Senate Labor and Commerce

3:30 p.m. Senate Education hears a bill that would require school districts to report academic progress to the Legislature, including financial data for each school; and a bill to cap local contributions to school districts. 

Saturday, March 28

12 p.m. – “No Kings” rally at Juneau’s Overstreet Park (the whale statue)

3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs takes public testimony on two different bills that would eliminate Daylight Saving Time in different ways

Judy Edwards and her son Eric traveled from Palmer to advocate for people with disabilities at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau this week, and now one part of that process is a bit easier.

A newly installed universal changing station on the first floor of the Capitol is a clean, safe space for people who need assistance when using the restroom. The changing station is adult-size and adjustable, for people who use adult diapers and need help changing them. This is an upgrade for Eric, who is 18-years-old and has quadriplegic cerebral palsy with dystonia and uses a power wheelchair. 

Previously he and his mother would have had to use the floor. 

“This will make life easier for everybody,” Judy said. “Parents, especially younger parents, they just deal with things, but they shouldn’t have to. You know, parents hurt themselves because they’re trying to lift from the floor.”

At a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, lawmakers and advocates with the Key Coalition — a group of people with disabilities, their caregivers, service providers and supporters — gathered to applaud the new installation. 

“I am so sorry that you’ve had to advocate for this and that those of us who are able bodied don’t automatically think about it,” said Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, who oversees a committee that runs maintenance in the Capitol. 

Hannan said the universal changing station cost the state less than $20,000 total, including the cost of the device, shipping and electrical costs for installation. She said the committee is in the process of reviewing and making accessibility upgrades around the Capitol, including plans to widen the door frame and install an automatic door opener for the first floor accessible restrooms.  

The Edwards family travel often for medical care. They are among the advocates who have been raising concern and pushing for more changing stations around the state. A new bill now introduced in the legislature, House Bill 141, would require at least one universal changing station be included in construction or renovation of all state or local government owned public buildings. 

Rep. Ashley Carrick, D-Fairbanks, sponsored the bill.

“We’re looking at different ways to approach the issue, whether just on a funding level or policy, but ultimately, the goal is to just have types of changing facilities across the state,” Carrick said in an interview. “As legislators, the more we can do to just help all Alaskans have their basic needs met — that’s really where the motivation for this bill came from, and the awareness around this being a major challenge is so important.”

Advocates and lawmakers are focusing first on Alaska airports. The Edwards family was involved in raising awareness around access, resulting in a new universal changing station being installed at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in 2024. 

There is also a changing station at the Mat Su Health Foundation, and a temporary station was installed last summer at the fairgrounds of the Alaska State Fair. Edwards said she also wants to see one installed at Providence Alaska Medical Center hospital in Anchorage. 

Advocates with the Key Coalition flew to Juneau for an advocacy day on Wednesday, when they held a march and rally in front of the Capitol and met with lawmakers urging policy changes to increase access and services.

“Having a disability could happen to any one of us,” said Michele Girault, board president for the Key Coalition. “So we’re creating communities where accessibility is at the top of the leaderboard, access to housing and good workforce and all the things that you might need to be supported, are available when you need it.” 

Advocates are pushing for the state to eliminate the waitlist for people with disabilities applying for Medicaid services. Girault said they also want to reduce wait times for reimbursements for service providers.

“So that people who provide the service to people with disabilities and elders across the state are reimbursed at a rate that keeps them in business,” Girault said. “Some people have left the state because they were tired of waiting for services, and some families are opting not to even put their names on the wait list.” 

Girault said the Key Coalition is continuing to support increased funding and expanded access for infant learning programs and early intervention services for youth experiencing developmental delays, which support families and children from infancy to age three.

Last year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill to provide $5.7 million to increase funding for the state’s 17 infant learning programs. But lawmakers are trying again this year, with Senate Bill 178, sponsored by the Senate Health and Social Services Committee, to expand eligibility for the programs and increase funding. 

A bill to update the state’s guardianship statutes is also supported by the Key Coalition. Girault said Senate Bill 190 would strengthen protections for people involved in the state guardianship system, including for medical guardians, partial guardians and in conservatorship. They’re also pushing for  improvements to access to public transportation.

“Transportation is in the top five barriers for people with disabilities. When you think about all the snow we’ve had this winter, how do you get to the bus stop? Once you’re at the bus stop, is the bus stop cleared?” Girault said. The Key Coalition is supporting House Bill 26, which would require a new state transportation plan to include access for people with disabilities. 

“This transportation bill requires the state to create a plan that actually thinks about all of the points of access for people across the state of Alaska, not just in major cities, but in rural areas as well,” Girault said.

More than 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. have some type of disability, including mobility, hearing, vision or cognition disabilities, and advocates say they want to see improvements across Alaska to expand access, care and dignity for all. 

For the Edwards family, and many advocates and families with disabilities, flying to Juneau isn’t easy, but Judy Edwards said it’s worthwhile — and she wants to see more changes to increase access across Alaska.

“I’m 67, but when I was a kid, you didn’t see people with disabilities out in public, really, much,” Edwards said. “And so today, it’s like, why not? I mean, we’ve come such a far way. Why not? We need to keep going.”

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