22 Memorable Moments from 2022

This year has brought continued challenges but also persistent progress in protecting the lands, waters, and ways of life that make Alaska unique. Please join us in ringing in the new year by celebrating 22 memorable moments from 2022!

Alaska Conservation Foundation surpassed $1 million in total grant awards given out to hard-working organizations across the state in 2022!
Arctic Youth Ambassadors just announced their fourth cohort with 16 youth representing communities from all across the state.
We welcomed five new staff members this year! Please join us in welcoming Michelle Fehribach, Darcy Peter, Nyssa Russell, Tami Dietrich, and Aurora Warrior.
Working with our partners from our Northern Latitudes Partnerships, we were able to secure commitments of $7.5 million that will be primarily regranted to Tribes and Indigenous organizations.
In March 2022, we hosted the Alaska Conference on Mining Impacts and Prevention – A Gathering of Land and Water Guardians. The conference brought together over 150 Indigenous leaders, community members, conservation advocates, and nine foundation representatives from around the country to learn about preventing industrial-scale mining and associated activities as well as reforming practices and mitigating impacts in Alaska.
We are grateful to have been able to launch a new, multi-year food security partnership with the Native Village of Eklutna – whose tribal homelands host our office and many of our staff.
The Environmental Protection Agency edges closer to banning Pebble Mine in Alaska. A veto is now just one step away!
The Northern Latitudes Partnerships with help from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game launched the Fish Map App that helps the public catalog critical salmon habitat across the state.
Alaska Conservation Foundation officially launched our newest fund, the Mining Impacts and Prevention Fund to support grassroots and tribal efforts to address industrial-scale mining and associated activities across Alaska.
Arctic Youth Ambassador alumni formed an advisory council this year and are now heavily influencing the new direction of the program and its newest cohort.
The 2022 Conservation Achievement Awards event was hosted in person in October for the first time since 2019! We loved being able to gather together in a single room to celebrate the hard work of nine remarkable individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to conservation in Alaska.
In October, we hosted a two-day meeting to launch the Alaska Mining Impacts Collective, a group of dedicated nonprofit professionals, tribal representatives, and community members who are united around the urgency of addressing an increase in potential hardrock mining activity in Alaska.
The Northwest Boreal Partnership had their first in-person gathering in nearly three years with over 30 people from Canada and Alaska coming together in Copper Center, to focus on Indigenous approaches to land and conservation planning.
Our staff welcomed two new babies this year and we have more on the way coming in 2023!
In December, we hosted a call for the broader conservation community called “Agency, Tribal and Conservation Leaders Working Towards Collaborative Land Stewardship in Alaska” which featured five leaders in a 90-minute call.
Arctic Youth Ambassadors have resumed traveling the world and bringing their influence to solving the Arctic’s biggest challenges– meeting with policymakers in Alaska, Washington D.C., Iceland, Greenland, and Canada to better understand and address climate change, sustainable development, cultural resilience, and community wellness.
We welcomed 14 Ted Smith Conservation Interns to the state this summer who were paired with 14 different organizations across the state to help them in various facets from running environmental education camps to monitoring stream health.
The Northern Latitudes Partnerships were able to give funds to 13 new partners this year including The Native Village of Eklutna, Seeds of Change, and T’ee Drin Jik to support food security, tribal conservation districts, and Indigenous Collaboration.
We collaborated with Crooked Footprint Productions who created “Our Wealth is Our Land” to illustrate the magnitude of the potential impacts of mining to Alaska’s peoples and communities.
The Northwest Boreal Partnership successfully collaborated with the University of Fairbanks Tribal Governance Program and the US Fish & Wildlife Service on a 6-part international course on Indigenous-led Land Planning, which featured speakers from Canada and Alaska.
Alaska Conservation Foundation and partners received National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Coastal Resilience Funding that will bring $1.4M to coastal communities for nature-based solutions planning.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our donors have gone above and beyond, being essential to continuing our work ensuring Alaska’s lands, waters, and ways of life thrive for generations to come. We are so grateful for your support!