In late January, Indigenous peoples from interior Alaska, the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and northern British Columbia gathered at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks for Building Connections to Strengthen Guardians & Indigenous-led Stewardship, three days of conversation, knowledge-sharing, and visioning about the future of Indigenous-led stewardship in the region. Indigenous Guardians programs employ community members to […]

Recently, we have seen a deluge of management plan reversals from the current federal administration across Alaska, especially in the Western Arctic. Additionally, projects are being fast-tracked, with short comment periods, and agencies denying requests for comment period extensions.  In 2025, we awarded Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic (SILA) a $9,500 Rapid Response grant […]

The Kigluaik Mountains north of Nome are more than landscape: they are sacred sites where Kauweragmuit people have journeyed for prophecy and survival, gathered for ceremony, and maintained connections spanning generations. Now, they face a threat from the proposed Graphite Creek mine, a large-scale open-pit graphite mine that would be located in the Kigluaik Mountains, […]

Photography By Schuyler Alig The Aleutian Islands are located hundreds of miles from the Alaska mainland in the Bering Sea, accessible only by plane or boat, and often facing harsh, unpredictable weather. In August, Aleut/Unangax̂ Tribes, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, and other federal and regional partners came together to discuss opportunities for co-stewardship of […]

When conservation threats evolve quickly grassroots organizations need funding that moves just as fast. The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) exemplifies this reality, demonstrating how critical rapid funding becomes when federal policy shifts overnight. Just two weeks ago, SEACC applied for urgent funding to oppose the proposed public lands sell-off buried in federal budget reconciliation […]

Photo credit: Emily Sullivan Nearly 200 people gathered in Girdwood to share and learn new knowledge and skills, build new relationships, strengthen existing networks, and explore how the topic of consent applies to proposed hardrock mining projects in Alaska. From May 6-8, 2025, Alaska Conservation Foundation brought together Indigenous leaders, community advocates, and environmental experts […]

Photography By Schuyler Alig From mapping coastal erosion to preserving vital ecosystems, Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is giving Alaskan communities the power to protect their lands and ways of life. Indigenous communities have been too often excluded from land resource management decisions despite being the stewards since time immemorial. The Bristol Bay Region, known […]

In Alaska, many villages, especially those off the road system, are grappling with the far-reaching effects of climate change, including erosion, wildfires, flooding, and thawing permafrost. These challenges are felt most acutely by Alaska Native communities, whose traditional ways of life—closely tied to the land and water—are increasingly threatened. In Rampart, a remote village of […]

We’re thrilled to share an exciting win for Alaska’s environment! Recently, a federal district court judge overturned Lease Sale 258, marking a significant victory for our coastal communities and the Cook Inlet ecosystem. Photo credit: Paxson Woelber Lease Sale 258 was a proposal by the Interior Department to auction off offshore oil and gas drilling rights […]