A federal judge in Boston ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan to pause a food assistance program for 42 million people was illegal — but gave the Trump administration until Monday to respond to her finding before she decides on a motion to force the benefits be paid despite the ongoing government shutdown.
At nearly the same time Friday, a Rhode Island federal judge in a similar case brought by cities and nonprofit groups ordered USDA to continue payments and granted a request for a temporary restraining order.
In Massachusetts, in a Friday afternoon order, District Court of Massachusetts Judge Indira Talwani said she would continue to take “under advisement” a coalition of Democratic states’ request to force the release of funds from a contingency account holding about $6 billion.
Her ruling came a day before a cutoff of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits to low-income households.
Because Congress is locked in a stalemate over a stopgap spending bill and did not appropriate money for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, administration officials say the program cannot provide federal funds beginning Saturday. In states, SNAP benefits are loaded onto cards on varying dates, but the cutoff would be effective for November benefits.
Talwani, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, called the administration’s conclusion it can’t provide SNAP funding “erroneous,” and said the reserve fund was sufficient for SNAP benefits to flow to states and the vendors that add money to debit-like cards issued to the program’s beneficiaries that are used to purchase groceries.
The law creating the program mandated that benefits continue, she said.
“Defendants are statutorily mandated to use the previously appropriated SNAP contingency reserve when necessary and also have discretion to use other previously appropriated funds,” Talwani wrote.
Talwani ordered the administration to say by Monday whether it would provide at least partial benefits for November.
The 25 states that sued were Massachusetts, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state, Wisconsin Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The District of Columbia also sued.
In Rhode Island, where the judge granted a temporary restraining order, the advocacy group Democracy Forward, which was among those bringing the suit, praised the move.
“A federal court today granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful effort to halt the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the ongoing government shutdown,” the group said. “The decision ensures that millions of children, seniors, veterans, and families will continue to receive essential food assistance while the case proceeds.”
The judge in that case, John James McConnell Jr., said the administration’s actions violated a key federal administrative law against arbitrary and capricious executive action and federal spending laws “by disregarding Congress’s direction that SNAP must continue operating,” Democracy Forward said.
NOTN- The City and Borough of Juneau formally accepted Advance Measures Assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to begin Phase 2 of the temporary flood barrier project along the Mendenhall River, city officials announced Thursday.
This marks the next major step in the city’s ongoing effort to protect homes and infrastructure from recurring glacial outburst floods or GLOFs originating from Suicide Basin.
“The Army Corp has committed to helping, really, really substantially with phase two of our short-term mitigation efforts.” Said Deputy City Manager Robert Barr, “And also, to really pursue a quite ambitious timeline for an enduring solution, solutions that would mitigate GLOFS, in such a way that we won’t be seeing these massive 15, 16 plus flood events. So thats really, really good news.”
The Army Corps will provide 100% federally funded assistance to install new riverbank armoring and temporary flood barriers along unprotected sections of the Mendenhall River. The agency will also offer technical support and repairs to the existing flood barrier system completed earlier this year under Phase 1.
“The Phase 2 project is almost three times the size of the first,” said Mayor Beth Weldon.
Construction could begin as early as next spring, Weldon said.
Thursday night’s briefing also featured presentations from scientists and engineers with the University of Alaska Southeast and the National Weather Service.
“The science presentations we received from the university and the weather service were just phenomenal. They’ve been such impressive partners and so important in this work.” Said Barr, “It’s hard to imagine where we would be were it not for the work, it’s really guided and advised us and everyone that’s been working in emergency response and policy management. So really huge kudos to the university and the geological service and the weather service.”
The Army Corps, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service also presented. The NRCS discussed its Emergency Watershed Protection Program, which could provide funding for potential buyouts of flood-prone properties on View Drive.
Phase 2 of the temporary flood barrier would extend protection to remaining populated areas along the river not covered in the first phase.
The carapace, or upper shell, of an invasive European green crab and a live live green crab are shown in this undated photo. Ever since Alaska’s first green crabs were found on Annette Island in 2022, numbers have exploded and the invaders have spread north. (Photo by Linda Shaw/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service)
When a young Sealaska intern walking a beach in July 2022 found the first evidence of European green crab presence in Alaska – a discarded shell on a beach on Annette Island in the state’s far southeast corner – it was an ominous sign about the invasive species’ northward spread.
Since then, the Metlakatla Indian Community, the tribe based on Annette Island, and its partners, which include Alaska Sea Grant, have found not just more shells, but live invasive crabs. Discoveries numbered just a handful at first, then dozens, then hundreds, then thousands.
This year, the Metlakatla tribe’s team has trapped more than 40,000 of them on and around Annette Island, a representative said.
“This year we’ve had a complete explosion of green crab — over seven new locations on Annette Island we found green crab, and eight new locations off Annette Island,” said Nicole Reynolds, an environmental specialist working with the tribe, in a presentation at a three-day Anchorage meeting on invasive species in Alaska this week.
The more than 40,000 crabs removed this year compares to last year’s total of 1,800, Reynolds said.
European green crabs are small, usually measuring no more than 4 inches wide, but they are powerful forces of destruction. They mow down eelgrass beds that are vital habitat for salmon and other native species. And they gobble up native marine life like juvenile salmon, clams, mussels and juvenile Dungeness and other crabs that are important to commercial and subsistence harvests.
“They’ll eat the baby crabs. They’re meaner and tougher than the Dungeness,” Reynolds said during a break in the annual Alaska Invasive Species Partnership Workshop.
European green crabs have already spread north of Annette Island. Last year, they were found at Gravina Island, and this summer they were found by participants in a local university class at beaches in Ketchikan that lie about 30 miles north of the initial Annette Island discovery site.
Just this month, they were found at Etolin Island, Reynolds said. Etolin Island is roughly 60 miles northwest of the city of Ketchikan, making it the northernmost North America discovery to date.
And now European green crabs appear to be entrenched in Alaska waters for good, Reynolds and Genelle Winter, a grant administrator with the tribal government, told the workshop audience.
That means the fight against green crabs will also have to be long-term, Winter said, with a permanent staff and a strategy of what is known as “functional eradication.” That is an eradication strategy that accepts the reality of the invaders’ presence in some places, but tries to keep them out of other places with resources that are most important to protect.
Nicole Reynolds and Genelle Winter of the Metlakatla Indian Community pose on Oct. 28, 2025, with a sticker bearing a European green crab design created by local artist, Elizabeth Anderson. The crab face was made intentionally angry and mean-looking, to help send the message about the destruction caused by this invasive species. Reynolds and Winter presented information at the annual Alaska Invasive Species Partnership Workshop in Anchorage about the Tribe’s work to combat the spread of European green crabs. The first discovery of the crabs in Alaska was in 2022 at Annette Island in the far southeast corner of the state, and they have proliferated in Alaska waters since then. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Such a strategy involves “focusing all our efforts on protecting the most vital subsistence and commercial resources,” she said.
Conditions in Alaska waters, the farthest-north spots in North America where the crabs have spread, do not faze the invaders, DNA analysis shows. For that information, the tribe consulted with an expert, Carolyn Tepolt of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Tepolt has also been investigating the genetics of green crabs that have invaded Washington state.
Tepolt’s analysis found that the green crabs in Alaska are a genetic blend of those in Washington and British Columbia, diverse enough to persist in the more northern waters, Reynolds said.
“She even called it a ‘super-crab’ just because of how perfectly genetically suited it is for the environment in Southeast Alaska,” Reynolds said.
European green crabs have been altering North American marine ecosystems for a long time.
They were first found in East Coast waters in the early 1800s, likely carried there in ship ballast water. The first West Coast discovery was in 1989 in San Francisco Bay. Since then, they have been spreading north up the Pacific coast. They were first confirmed in British Columbia in 1999 and continued moving up that Canadian province’s coast before being found at Annette Island three years ago.
Beyond the accidental releases through ballast water, scientists say warming conditions are aiding the spread of green crabs. Larvae are more likely to survive in warmer waters brought on by climate change and weather events like El Nino cycles.
The 2023-2024 El Nino, which warmed Alaska waters, is a possible factor in this year’s explosion of green crabs in Southeast Alaska, the Metlakatla tribal representatives said.
Warmer temperatures than those that used to be normal in Alaska marine waters are known to encourage green crab proliferation.
A study by Danish scienetists that was published in September identifies a temperature range that appears ideal for the crabs. At temperatures of 12.5 to 16.6 degrees Celsius, or 54.5 to 61.9 degrees Fahrenheit, European green crab abundance peaked, the scientists found.
Average temperatures in Southcentral Alaska’s Cook Inlet were within that range this August, an indication that conditions would be suitable for green crabs if they somehow reach that area.
Nicole Reynolds, an environmental specialist with the Metlakatla Indian Community, shows a photo stored on her phone of an unusual-looking European green crab collected this year. The Tribal government is at the forefront of the campaign to try to control the spread of the invasive species, which eats native species and damages habitat used by fish. Reynolds presented information about the Tribe’s work at the annual Alaska Invasive Species Partnership Workshop in Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Preparations are already underway in Alaska for what experts believe is an inevitable spread north from the Southeast region.
In Southcentral Alaska’s Kachemak Bay, over 700 miles northwest of Ketchikan, residents this summer deployed over 60 traps in what was effectively a pre-invasion drill. The program was a cooperative effort of the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Seldovia Village Tribe and its council member, Michael Opheim, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
There and elsewhere, a big part of the fight against green crab infestations is public education.
European green crabs can be identified by the array of bumps on their shells. They have five sharp spikes on either side of their eyes and three lobes in between their eyes. Despite their name, they are not always green – they can be red, yellow or mottled. Some of those found by her team have even been blue, Reynolds said.
To help boost awareness, local Tsimshian artist Elizabeth Anderson has designed a green crab logo – with an angry face to reinforce the message that the species is a bad actor, Winter said.
In Metlakatla, awareness appears to be keen already, including among some of the youngest residents.
“The other day, the mayor was driving down the street and got flagged down by two little kids. And they said, ‘We found some green crab! We know its green crab because it’s 5-3-5,’” Winter said during the workshop presentation. The numbers reference the array of shell bumps on a green crab. “Those little kids absolutely knew how to identify the European green crab.”
Those crabs, found at a beach right in front of town, were stashed in a plastic bag and added to this year’s count, Winter said.
Aside from identifying, trapping, counting, measuring and analyzing the European green crabs, the inundated community faces another challenge: what to do with thousands of unwanted invaders.
In Metlakatla, the ultimate destination is the community compost heap. That is a good end use, Reynolds said. “They add heat to the compost, and because it’s cold and wet in Southeast, it’s actually really helpful to have more heat,” she told workshop attendees.
On the East Coast and elsewhere, some of the eradication work involves eating the invaders. Experts say they have little meat but can be useful for making soups. One organization, Greencrab.org, has compiled recipes and sells a cookbook and T-shirts with a catchy slogan: “If you can’t beat them, eat them.”
European green crab specimens preserved in plastic are displayed on Oct. 28, 2025, at the annual Alaska Invasive Species Partnership Workshop in Anchorage. Although they are called green crabs, they come in different colors, and heat can turn their shells orange. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Longtime Juneau broadcaster Pete Carran, a voice synonymous with “News of the North” and a cornerstone of Alaska journalism for more than five decades, died Wednesday October 22.
He was an Alaska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame inductee, recognized for his lifelong contributions to radio and television news across the state.
Pete’s path to the microphone ran through service as a young man, he trained at the Defence Information School and was assigned to Alaska during the Vietnam era, a twist of fate he called the most fortuitous of his life.
Carran’s career stretched from Anchorage to Homer to Juneau, , Carran worked on the air at KFQD-AM, KAKM-TV, KTNX Radio, and KTUU-TV, all in Anchorage. He also took a year and put KBBI public radio on the air in Homer. There, he served as General Manager.
Here in Juneau, Carran’s career included stints at KJNO, KTOO-TV and most recently KINY.
Listeners across Southeast Alaska knew Carran as the familiar voice behind KINY’s “News of the North,” a program he helmed for more than 20 years. He also hosted the community talk show “Action Line” and served as a mentor to generations of young broadcasters and journalists.
His induction into the Alaska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame cemented his legacy as one of the state’s most respected and enduring voices.
Carran had been battling Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.
CBJ- Several Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) mitigation topics will be presented by local experts and federal agencies during a Special GLOF Assembly Committee of the Whole Meeting on Thursday, Oct. 30.
The special meeting agenda includes presentations on recent key studies and understanding of the science of Suicide Basin from University of Alaska Southeast and the National Weather Service. Representatives from two branches within the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will be present to walk through next steps for their respective programs, including both short-term mitigation and progress toward identification of an enduring solution.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will present on the Emergency Watershed Protection Program and the potential buyout program for View Drive.
Thursday’s meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in City Hall Assembly Chambers and online at the link below. As is standard with Committee of the Whole meetings, public testimony is not included in the agenda, however, members of the public are invited to share questions and comments on the topic at boroughassembly@juneau.gov and emergencyresponse@juneau.gov.
FILE – Bear sculptures sit outside the Boney Courthouse, where the Alaska Supreme Court hears cases, in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
AP- The Alaska Supreme Court is weighing a case that is expected to determine who can provide abortion care in the state.
The court heard arguments Wednesday in a 2019 case challenging the constitutionality of a law that states only a doctor licensed by the State Medical Board can perform an abortion in Alaska.
The law, dating to the 1970s, was struck down as unconstitutional by Superior Court judge Josie Garton last year, a victory for the group that brought the challenge, Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky. The state appealed Garton’s ruling.
Planned Parenthood has argued there is no medical justification for the restriction and that it unfairly burdens those seeking an abortion by limiting the pool of those qualified to provide care. In 2021, Garton granted the group’s request to allow advanced practice clinicians — health care workers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants — to provide medication abortion pending her decision in the underlying case. They have continued to do so and since the 2024 ruling also have been able to provide procedural abortions, Planned Parenthood says.
Advanced practice clinicians routinely provide care similar in risk and complexity to that of providing abortion services, and in 25 states can provide medication abortion, attorneys for Planned Parenthood said in court documents. Planned Parenthood’s advanced practice clinicians seek to provide abortion care in just the first trimester, the attorneys said.
Since Garton’s 2021 decision, advanced practice clinicians have been providing “nearly all” medication abortions in Alaska, and Planned Parenthood clinics in the state have been able to offer medication abortion each day they’ve been open, the attorneys wrote. Before that, doctors hired by Planned Parenthood on a per diem basis — at the clinics on limited days — were able to offer medication abortions perhaps once or twice a week at each clinic, they wrote.
A vital statistics report released by the state this year shows that the total number of abortions in Alaska has been fairly consistent — 1,229 in 2021, 1,247 in 2022, 1,222 in 2023 and 1,224 last year. The report says that could include cases where medication was provided to manage a miscarriage, but without providing a number. It also says reasons for ending pregnancies are not reported to the state.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned a federal right to abortion, leaving it up to each state to regulate.
Access to health care has been a longstanding concern in Alaska, with travel — sometimes covering hundreds of miles — required for many residents. Compounding that are ongoing challenges to recruit and keep medical providers.
Most Alaska communities are not connected to the state’s main road system, and health care in many small communities is often limited, requiring residents to fly to larger cities, such as Anchorage or Seattle, for more options or for specialized care. Roundtrip flights can easily cost hundreds of dollars. In remote communities, fog or poor weather can cause flight delays.
Planned Parenthood has two clinics in Alaska, in Anchorage and Fairbanks. It closed its clinic in Juneau last year.
The Alaska Supreme Court has long interpreted the right to privacy in the state’s constitution as encompassing abortion rights.
But attorneys for the state argued in court filings that Planned Parenthood did not show that the law at the center of the legal challenge had “inhibited women in Alaska from exercising their right to choose an abortion.” Planned Parenthood could have hired more doctors but chose not to, wrote the attorneys, including Laura Wolff, an assistant attorney general.
“Even if an occasional patient were prevented from getting an abortion, the physician-only law is not unconstitutional as applied to all women who are not significantly affected by the law because the law has a plainly legitimate sweep,” the filing states.
Wolff and Camila Vega, an attorney representing Planned Parenthood, argued their respective sides in court Wednesday. The court did not indicate when it might rule.
The shore of Kuskokwim Bay on the Bering Sea is seen Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, near Kongiganak, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
AP-A fragment of a mask that was preserved for hundreds of years in permafrost sat in the muck of a low tide in the western Alaska community of Quinhagak. Wooden spoons, toys, a fishing lure and other artifacts were strewn, in some cases for miles, along the beach.
The Yup’ik community near the edge of the Bering Sea was spared the widespread devastation wrought by the remnants of Typhoon Halong on its neighbors further west earlier this month. But it suffered a different kind of blow: The lashing winds and storm surge devoured dozens of feet of shoreline, disrupting a culturally significant archaeological site and washing away possibly thousands of unearthed artifacts.
About 1,000 pieces, including wooden masks and tools, were recovered in Quinhagak after the storm ravaged parts of southwest Alaska on Oct. 11 and 12. But many more pieces — perhaps up to 100,000 — were left scattered, said Rick Knecht, an archaeologist who has worked on the Nunalleq, or old village, project for 17 years. That’s roughly the number of pieces previously recovered from the archaeological site.
Meanwhile, freezing temperatures and ice have settled into the region, stalling immediate efforts to find and recover more displaced artifacts on searches done by four-wheeler and foot.
Knecht called what happened a major loss. The site has yielded the world’s largest collection of pre-contact Yup’ik artifacts. Much of what’s known about Yup’ik life before outsiders arrived stems from the project, said Knecht, an emeritus senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
“When there are holes or disturbances in the site, it’s like trying to read a book with holes in the pages. You’re going to miss a few things,” he said. “And the bigger those holes are, the weaker the story gets. There’s a few holes in the book right now.”
While the name of the original village isn’t known, it was attacked by another village and burned around 1650, he said. Knecht has worked with elders and others in Quinhagak to combine their traditional knowledge with the technology and techniques used by the archaeology teams to study the past together.
Quinhagak has about 800 residents, and subsistence food gathering is critically important to them.
The storm dispersed artifacts from a site long preserved by permafrost, Knecht said. A longstanding concern has been the threat that climate change — melting permafrost, coastal erosion, the potential for more frequent or stronger storms — has posed to the site, he said.
It poses risks to the community itself. Erosion threatens major infrastructure in Quinhagak, including a sewage lagoon, homes and fish camps. Thawing permafrost is also unsettling and undermining buildings, according to a 2024 report from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
The excavation project itself began after artifacts began appearing on the beach around 2007. Part of the site that washed out had been excavated previously.
“There was a big chunk where we’d only gone about halfway down and left it for later because we prioritized parts of the site that were most at risk from marine erosion,” Knecht said.
When he left in July, there was a roughly 30-foot buffer to the sea. The storm took out the buffer and another 30 feet of the site, he said. It also left what Knecht described as piano-sized clumps of tundra on the tidal flats.
Knecht didn’t recognize the site at first after Halong.
“I just drove right by it because all the landmarks I’m used to on the beach and at the site were gone or changed,” he said.
Work to preserve the rescued artifacts has included soaking the marine salts from the wood and placing the pieces in special chemicals that will help them hold together when they dry out, he said. If one were to just take one of the wooden artifacts off the beach and let them dry, they’d “crack to pieces, sometimes in a matter of hours.”
There is a lab at the museum in Quinhagak where the artifacts are kept.
Archaeologists hope to return to the site next spring for a “rescue excavation” of layers exposed by the storm, he said. In some ways, it feels like when teams saw the site in 2009: “We’ve got this raw site with artifacts popping off in every way,” he said. “So we’re starting from scratch again.”
Sweetheart Lake, Photo courtesy of Juneau Hydropower
NOTN- The City and Borough of Juneau Planning Commission on Tuesday night heard public testimony and reviewed a Conditional Use Permit request from Juneau Hydropower, Inc. for a proposed hydroelectric project at Sweetheart Lake, south of Juneau.
The Juneau Borough Planning Commission has approved that conditional use permit.
Deputy Mayor Greg Smith confirmed Wednesday morning that the commission approved the project with two conditions: establishing a landform barrier to control sound and light emissions, and requiring a flood zone development permit before construction begins.
“The Planning Commission met to decide on a conditional use permit for the Sweetheart Lake hydropower project. The planning commission for the conditional use permit is a review to say, does this project meet adopted city plans? Does it meet land use and zoning code? and it did.” Said Smith, “They and the director make a recommendation, and they recommended approval with conditions.”
The hydropower project, targeting commercial operations by 2028, is not designed to provide direct consumer electricity choice but will serve specific industrial needs. Smith noted the project cannot power cruise ships docked in the area due to service area limitations.
The Sweetheart Lake Hydroelectric facility proposal calls for the construction of a 280-foot-wide, 111-foot-high dam and related infrastructure at the lake’s natural outlet. The project would also include extending transmission lines from the Lena Point Substation north to Cascade Point, Echo Cove, and the Kensington Mine in Berners Bay, to deliver hydroelectric power.
The Planning Commission evaluated the proposal for compliance with Juneau’s Land Use Code and took public comments from residents and stakeholders. The public comment period, which began Oct. 7, closed on Oct. 24, with all submitted testimony forwarded to commissioners for review ahead of the hearing.
Juneau Hydropower, Inc. was officially granted public utility status by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska in the summer.
According to Juneau Hydropower, Sweetheart Lake Hydroelectric Facility, is designed to produce 19.8 megawatts of renewable energy and generate an average of 116,000 megawatt-hours annually, a projected 25% increase over Juneau’s current electrical generation.
Juneau Hydropower says, the project is intended to help meet the city’s growing demand for electricity while reducing reliance on diesel-based generation. Hydropower, unlike fossil fuels, does not emit greenhouse gases during operation, and proponents argue that the facility will offer both economic and environmental benefits, including lower long-term energy costs and reduced pollution.
However there have been concerns about securing funds for the project before its construction, and building a reliable customer base.
Managing Director Duff Mitchell called the decision “a positive turning point for Juneau’s energy future,” as the project aims to replace diesel generation and expand sustainable power across the region.
NOTN- Monday evening’s Assembly meeting saw the approval of several major funding measures.
By a narrow 5–4 vote, the Assembly approved transferring $3.5 million from the city’s Seawalk project to Marine Park improvements.
“The $3.5 million transferring from the Seawalk to the marine park improvements passed by the skin of its teeth, five to four.” said Mayor Beth Weldon, “Some of us didn’t like the total cost of the project, but it did pass.”
Members also passed an ordinance shifting $5 million from the proposed Capital Civic Center to maintenance and repairs of the city’s HESCO flood barriers.
Additional funds included $700,000 for St. Vincent de Paul to renovate its sobering center and $125,000 for Juneau’s cold weather emergency shelter, supplementing earlier funding to help house residents from homeless encampments during winter.
“Just so people understand what that does, it allows the homeless encampments to go to the shelter during the winter. We already put $435,000 so we had to add another $125,000.” Said Weldon, “Just so people understand, that’s how much it cost to take care of that. Because sometimes we get accused of not doing anything, we do what we can do is we can give money towards something, and that’s what we do.”
Alaska attorney Aaron Peterson, seen here in a February 2024 photo, is expected to be nominated by President Trump to one of two vacancies on Alaska’s federal court bench. (Alaska Division of Forestry photo)
President Donald Trump plans to nominate Aaron Peterson, an attorney with the Alaska Department of Law’s natural resources division, for one of two open federal judgeships on the bench of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.
Trump himself has not formally announced Peterson’s nomination, but state and federal officials confirmed the president’s plans with the Beacon.
Reuters reported that Trump is preparing to nominate two federal judges in other states as well as Peterson.
A message left on Peterson’s work phone was not returned Tuesday afternoon.
According to a copy of Peterson’s questionnaire, a member of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s federal transition team encouraged him to apply to a committee formed by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, to vet possible candidates for the federal judiciary.
According to state voter records, Peterson is a Republican. He identified himself in the questionnaire as a member of the Federalist Society, whose members generally follow Republican legal principles and support President Donald Trump.
Records published by the Federal Elections Commission and the Alaska Public Offices Commission do not list any political contributions by Peterson.
Attorney General-designee Stephen Cox served on the Sullivan committee. By email, he called Peterson an “outstanding choice.”
“He’s demonstrated a remarkable ability to navigate complex issues with fairness and integrity, including during his representation of the Board of Fisheries. His extensive understanding of both civil and criminal law, honed through his experience as a prosecutor, makes him uniquely qualified for this position. Alaska needs judges who are equipped to handle the complex cases before them and the realities of our state, and I am confident that Aaron will be an excellent addition to the bench,” Cox wrote.
Alaska has three federal judgeships but only one sitting federal judge. Judge Timothy Burgess retired at the end of 2021, and Judge Joshua Kindred resigned in disgrace in 2024 amid a sexual scandal.
Since then, Alaska’s two U.S. senators have been divided about who to pick as replacements and how to pick those replacements. Under longstanding Senate tradition, judge picks normally advance only with the assent of both home state senators.
As a result of the senators’ disagreements and Sullivan’s decision to not attempt to fill a vacancy under President Joe Biden, the judgeship vacated by Burgess is now the fifth-oldest vacancy among 50 in the federal court system.
Sullivan has not disclosed the names of judicial candidates that he examined through a special committee designed to serve as an alternative to the Alaska Bar Association’s traditional review process.
Through a spokesperson, Murkowski said she learned about Peterson’s nomination from the White House.
“After speaking extensively with him last week about his many qualifications, I informed the White House that I would support his nomination. Alaska’s District Court has had two vacancies for far too long, and I hope the White House will soon announce a second qualified nominee whom I can support to fill out the bench,” Murkowski said.
According to Peterson’s questionnaire, he met with Murkowski on Oct. 23, seven months after being interviewed by Sullivan and four months after his initial interview by the White House Counsel’s Office. Since September, according to the questionnaire, he has been in regular contact with White House and Department of Justice officials.
By email, Sullivan said Peterson has “extensive legal experience.”
“Throughout his career, which includes military service, Aaron has demonstrated a commitment to the rule of law and federalism. He also understands the principle that the job of a federal judge is to interpret the law, not to make policy,” Sullivan said. “I’d like to thank each of the members of the Alaska Federal Judiciary Council, who worked with me to fully vet a number of well-qualified Alaska nominees, including Aaron. The council’s diligent work and input are invaluable in ensuring Alaskans are represented by jurists and citizens of the highest caliber. I also want to thank President Trump and his team for working closely with my office on identifying outstanding judges who will serve Alaska and our country well.”
According to the information Peterson submitted to the U.S. Senate’s judiciary committee, he was born in Anchorage in 1981 and served in the U.S. Air Force from 2000 to 2003 before attending the University of Alaska Anchorage, graduating in 2007. He attended Gonzaga University School of Law and graduated in 2010.
After graduation, he returned to Alaska, serving first as a clerk to Justice Michael Spaan of the Alaska Supreme Court, then as a prosecutor with the Municipality of Anchorage.
The Alaska Bar Association’s directory says he was admitted to the state bar on Nov. 16, 2010.
Peterson worked in the Anchorage District Attorney’s office starting in 2012, including on violent felonies, such as murder and sexual assault. He moved to the Department of Law’s office of special prosecutions in 2015 before beginning work with the Department of Law’s natural resources section in 2019.
Since joining that section, he’s prosecuted high-profile criminal cases, including a 2018 incident in which two Matanuska-Susitna Borough men illegally killed a black bear and her two squealing cubs within their den.
More recently, Peterson has represented the state in an ongoing case that challenges the state’s current two-tier system of subsistence fishing management. He also represented the state in a lawsuit that challenged salmon fishery management in Cook Inlet.
“If confirmed,” Peterson said in his questionnaire, “I will recuse myself from any case where I have ever played a role. Further, I will evaluate any potential conflict or issue that could give rise to the appearance of a conflict, on a case-by-case basis and determine appropriate action, including recusal where necessary.”
