Alaska

Alaska’s congressional delegation reacts to Biden’s planned ban on offshore drilling

Published

1 year ago

January 7, 2025

Alaska’s congressional delegation reacts to Biden’s planned ban on offshore drilling

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska’s congressional delegation is responding on Monday — some members more vocally than others — to the White House’s announcement that President Joe Biden will ban new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the U.S. coastline.

This order will protect approximately 625 million acres of ocean along America’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska’s Bering Sea, citing environmental risks as one of the main reasons for the decision.

In a statement, President Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which gives the president power to withdraw unleased lands from the outer continental shelf indefinitely.

Furthermore, he said that during his term, his administration has conserved more than 670 million acres of America’s lands and waters —more than any other president in history.

“Our country’s remarkable conservation and restoration progress has been locally led by Tribes, farmers and ranchers, fishermen, small businesses, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts across the country. Together, our ‘America the Beautiful’ initiative put the United States on track to meet my ambitious goal to conserve at least 30 percent of our Nation’s lands and waters by 2030,” President Biden said in a statement.

Reacting to the news on social media, newly sworn-in Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, hit the ground running, calling the President a “son of a bitch” in a social media post on “X”.

Begich continued in the post saying, “Events like this should serve as a constant reminder that the Democratic machine is more than willing to sacrifice us all for their sanctimonious, socialist-driven climate science.”

Speaking to Alaska’s News Source on Monday, Begich said sometimes, in Congress, you have to “shout to be heard.”

“I’m sorry that we had to say what we did, but I’m not sorry that we did it, and I will continue to be a strong voice for Alaska while I’m in Congress,” Begich said.

The Biden Administration stated that the withdrawal will safeguard 44 million acres of the Northern Bering Sea, located in far northwest Alaska. The Alaskan congressional delegation has previously opposed proposals to permit oil and gas leasing and drilling in this region.

Opposing what he describes as a last-minute move by the Biden Administration, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, stated on Monday that he has never advocated for resource development in the Bering Sea area, as there is limited resource potential in that region.

Sullivan’s frustration lies in the unilateral process that the Biden Administration aims to use to make such a broad, sweeping move. Furthermore, Sullivan says the administration did not consult Alaska’s congressional delegation before announcing it.

“We’ve had 68 executive orders and executive actions singularly focused on Alaska by the Biden-Harris Administration. They did not consult with us on probably even one of them,” Sullivan said. “It’s no exaggeration to say this administration has sanctioned Alaskans and our energy industry more than he sanctioned the terrorist regimes in Iran and Venezuela.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, echoed Sullivan in a statement released Monday saying she understands the Biden Administration is trying to establish its “environmental legacy” before leaving office, but she believes the “11th-hour” move is the wrong approach.

She went on to say she agrees not all offshore areas need to be available for development and understands the desire of Alaska Tribes in the region to prevent any oil and gas development in nearby waters.

Her frustrations, like Sullivan’s, are broader.

“Cook Inlet is a good example: instead of working with Alaskans to prevent looming energy shortages in Southcentral, the administration has actively worked against our ability to produce more natural gas from that basin. What we have faced over the past four years is an unbalanced policy that has left us on the verge of importing LNG,” Murkowski said.

Speaking to the Biden Administration’s concerns about man-made catastrophes, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that took the lives of eleven people and released millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, Begich acknowledged that the fishing industry is vital to Alaska.

However, he emphasized the importance of examining Alaska’s track record concerning these issues.

“We have the highest environmental standards in Alaska, as of any jurisdiction in the world. When you shut down areas like Alaska, you’re just pushing that work to a jurisdiction with lower environmental standards and a worse record,” Begich said.

When asked about what Alaska’s congressional delegation is doing in light of a new administration that touts the unleashing of Alaska’s national resource potential, Sullivan said he has a meeting scheduled with North Dakota Governor (Doug) Burgum on Tuesday. Burgum has been nominated by President-elect Trump as the new Secretary of the Interior and as the chairman of the newly formed National Energy Council.

“What we’re working on with them is to look at ways in which we can reverse many of these executive orders, either through a Trump Administration executive order or through legislation,” Sullivan said.

He stated the delegation is examining what is known as budget reconciliation provisions.

“We’re going to try and get passed in the law that focus on unleashing American energy. And when you unleash American energy, you have to unleash Alaska,” Sullivan said.

Begich added that unraveling the Biden Administration’s latest order using provisions under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act could be difficult and may require an act of Congress.

“The Act that President Biden has invoked has some very specific language that may be challenging to repeal when President Trump takes office,” Begich said.

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Alaska

Alaska House advances bill to boost free legal aid for vulnerable Alaskans

Published

6 hours ago

March 2, 2026

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Alaska House advances bill to boost free legal aid for vulnerable Alaskans

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Alaska

Marten visits are a glimpse into mystery

Published

18 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Marten visits are a glimpse into mystery

A trapper fresh out of the Cosna River country in Interior Alaska said he can’t believe how many martens he had caught in a small area so far this winter.

Friends are talking about the house-cat size creatures visiting their wood piles and porches. Could this be a boom in the number of these handsome woodland creatures?

Since the late 1970s, the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute. Portions of this story appeared in 2000.

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Alaska

Alaska Sports Scoreboard: Feb. 28, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

High school

Basketball

Girls

Monday

Kenai Central 63, Nikiski 33

Colony 68, Grace Christian 46

Tuesday

South 33, East 22

Service 62, Dimond 47

Redington 47, Houston 17

Wasilla 60, Mountain City Christian Academy 44

Kenai Central 54, Homer 27

Bartlett 53, Chugiak 29

Mt. Edgecumbe 59, Sitka 50

Wednesday

Shishmaref 82, Aniguiin 34

Shaktoolik 73, Anthony Andrews 25

Savoonga 61, White Mountain 56

Glennallen 68, Nenana 26

Seward 72, Houston 8

Service 65, South 26

Brevig Mission 65, Koyuk Malimiut 47

Chief Ivan Blunka 67, Manokotak 30

Thursday

White Mountain 76, Anthony Andrews 50

Hoonah 44, Skagway 21

Koyuk Malimiut 53, Aniguiin 51

Nunamiut 74, Kali 17

Glennallen 25, Delta 20

Birchwood Christian 42, Nanwalek 24

Ninilchik 33, Lumen Christi 30

Dimond 59, Chugiak 54

Shaktoolik 57, Savoonga 24

Colony 43, Mountain City Christian 41

Alak 67, Meade River 66

Lathrop 42, West Valley 34

Seward 78, Nikiski 32

Grace Christian 56, Soldotna 41

Kenai Central 56, Houston 10

Wasilla 72, Palmer 27

Bristol Bay 55, Chief Ivan Blunka 30

Nome-Beltz 33, Bethel 24

Scammon Bay 46, Ignatius Beans 28

Aniak 83, Akiachak 45

Shishmaref 53, Brevig Mission 51

Metlakatla 64, Haines 21

Friday

Chief Ivan Blunka 68, Togiak 38

Meade River 80, Nuiqsut Trapper 34

Nunamiut 68, Alak 50

Cook Inlet Academy 33, Birchwood Christian 32

Meade River 71, Kali 46

Kalskag 62, Akiachak 47

Hoonah 39, Kake 37

Soldotna 36, Palmer 23

Delta 54, Valdez 45

Unalakleet 61, Chevak 45

Minto 46, Hutchison 26

West 71, Bartlett 65

Seward 63, Homer 19

North Pole 61, West Valley 25

Newhalen 78, Chief Ivan Blunka 40

Birchwood Christian 43, Nanwalek 28

Bethel 42, Nome-Beltz 35

Aniak 65, Tuluksak 50

Scammon Bay 49, St. Mary’s 38

Monroe Catholic 84, Galena 42

Ketchikan 57, Redington 24

Meade River 69, Alak 62

Fort Yukon 60, Jimmy Huntington 19

Grace Christian 50, Kenai Central 45

Shaktoolik 44, Shishmaref 34

Wrangell 44, Petersburg 31

Saturday

Unalakleet 41, Chevak 37

Meade River 54, Nunamiut 51

Monroe Catholic 68, Galena 32

Newhalen 32, Bristol Bay 26

Cook Inlet Academy 65, Birchwood Christian 32

Soldotna 55, Palmer 42

Nunamiut 48, Meade River 46

Boys

Sunday

SISD 51, Yakutat 18

Monday

Eagle River 54, Birchwood Christian 52

Colony 69, Grace Christian 64

Kenai Central 68, Nikiski 30

Tuesday

Susitna Valley 48, Lumen Christi 46

Dimond 54, Service 47

South 50, East 46

Houston 53, Redington 40

Wasilla 63, Mountain City Christian Academy 50

Kenai Central 74, Homer 47

Chugiak 66, Bartlett 45

Wednesday

SISD 59, Yakutat 17

Shishmaref 85, Savoonga 45

Hydaburg 58, Hoonah 51

Shaktoolik 103, Martin L Olson 49

Skagway 68, Gustavus 24

Davis-Romoth 108, Kobuk 31

Klawock 68, SISD 27

Glennallen 61, Nenana 57

Gambell 46, James C Isabell 31

South 63, Service 60

Seward 81, Houston 73

Bristol Bay 80, Chief Ivan Blunka 61

Mt. Edgecumbe 68, Sitka 59

Scammon Bay 79, Ignatius Beans 34

Brevig Mission 73, Aniguiin 67

Thursday

Savoonga 69, James C Isabell 61

Hoonah 64, Yakutat 45

Alak 88, Meade River 38

Shaktoolik 110, Brevig Mission 30

Chief Ivan Blunka 62, Tanalian 39

Nunamiut 66, Kali 48

Davis-Romoth 91, Buckland 45

Ninilchik 83, Lumen Christi 38

Monroe Catholic 43, North Pole 42

King Cove 57, Bristol Bay 41

Metlakatla 52, Haines 46

Nome-Beltz 62, Bethel 45

Skagway 79, Angoon 30

Birchwood Christian 69, Nanwalek 63

Dimond 60, Chugiak 57

Colony 75, Mountain City Christian Academy 49

Wasilla 66, Palmer 40

Klawock 63, Hydaburg 49

Shishmaref 58, Gambell 47

Grace Christian 63, Soldotna 52

Seward 66, Nikiski 51

Kenai Central 61, Houston 48

Nuiqsut Trapper 64, Alak 51

West Valley 51, Lathrop 44

Akiachak 83, Akiak 64

Scammon Bay 62, Marshall 54

Friday

Hoonah 71, SISD 38

Hydaburg 61, Kake 50

Chief Ivan Blunka 73, Bristol Bay 68

Kali 63, Meade River 45

Nunamiut 80, Nuiqsut Trapper 62

Service 58, East 50

Angoon 61, Hoonah 56

Cook Inlet Academy 73, Birchwood Christian 34

King Cove 75, Newhalen 39

Petersburg 53, Wrangell 20

Skagway 46, Klawock 43

Metlakatla 50, Haines 42

Nome-Beltz 71, Bethel 43

Juneau-Douglas 67, Tri-Valley 45

Wasilla 73, Chugiak 43

West 83, Bartlett 36

Colony 73, Kodiak 32

Delta 62, Valdez 54

West Valley 72, North Pole 46

Palmer 57, Soldotna 47

Nenana 55, Cordova 53

Chief Ivan Blunka 63, Manokotak 48

Scammon Bay 67, St. Mary’s 54

Unalakleet 87, Chevak 64

Shaktoolik 73, Shishmaref 54

Saturday

Unalakleet 95, Chevak 44

Cook Inlet Academy 95, Birchwood Christian 50

South 73, Eagle River 35

Palmer 45, Soldotna 40

• • •

College

Hockey

Friday

UAF 2, UAA 0

Saturday

UAA vs. UAF (Late)

• • •

Women’s basketball

Thursday

UAA 79, Western Oregon 58

Saint Martin’s 99, UAF 59

Saturday

Western Oregon 73, UAF 58

UAA vs. Saint Martin’s (Late)

• • •

Men’s basketball

Thursday

Saint Martin’s 77, UAF 65

UAA 80, Western Oregon 59

Saturday

UAF 82, Western Oregon 74

UAA vs. Saint Martin’s (Late)

• • •

NAHL

Friday

Anchorage Wolverines 5, Chippewa Steel 4

Saturday

Anchorage Wolverines vs. Chippewa Steel (Late)

• • •

2026 Fur Rondy Frostbite Footrace

5K Women

1. Courtney Spann, Anchorage, AK 26:05; 2. Racheal Kerr, Alakanuk, AK 26:07; 3. Anne-Marie Meyer, Yakima, WA 27:06; 4. Riann Anderson, Anchorage, AK 27:09; 5. Nevaeh Dunlap, Anchorage, AK 27:47; 6. Rita McKenzie, Anchorage, AK 27:55; 7. Marta Burke, Anchorage, AK 28:08; 8. Rachel Penney, Eagle River, AK 29:24; 9. Victoria Grant, Eagle River, AK 29:33; 10. Gretchen Klein, Craig, AK 29:36; 11. Penny Wasem, Willow, AK 29:42; 12. Chantel Van Tress, JBER, AK 29:51; 13. Janet Johnston, Anchorage, AK 30:18; 14. Dianna Clemetson, Anchorage, AK 31:33; 15. Sarah Hoepfner, Anchorage, AK 32:02; 16. Ireland Hicks, Seward, AK 33:21; 17. Lilly Schoonover, Seward, AK 33:21; 18. Suzanne Smerjac, Anchorage, AK 33:32; 19. Mindy Perdue, Wasilla, AK 34:12; 20. Oxana Bystrova, Anchorage, AK 34:23; 21. Charlene Canino, Anchorage, AK 34:49; 22. Tami Todd, Wasilla, AK 34:50; 23. Kaiena Tuiloma, Anchorage, AK 34:57; 24. Meg Kurtagh, Anchorage, AK 35:05; 25. Larue Groves, Chugiak, AK 35:13; 26. Rose Van Hemert, Anchorage, AK 36:12; 27. Morgan Daniels, Crestview, FL 36:25; 28. Elle Kauppi, Anchorage, AK 37:31; 29. Miranda Gibson, Wasilla, AK 37:46; 30. Caroline Secoy, JBER, AK 37:46; 31. Jordyn McNeil, Palmer, AK 38:29; 32. Ryan Plant, Palmer, AK 38:30; 33. Samantha Williams, Anchorage, AK 39:00; 34. Wendy Heck, Willow, AK 39:33; 35. Stephanie Kesler, Anchorage, AK 43:29; 36. Denise Wright, Anchorage, AK 43:50; 37. Brie Flores, Anchorage, AK 46:14; 38. Anabell Lewis, Anchorage, AK 46:15; 39. Jessica Lose, Anchorage, AK 46:18; 40. Kaylie Bylsma, Anchorage, AK 46:18; 41. Alicyn Giannakos, Anchorage, AK 46:38; 42. Natasha Henderson, Anchorage, AK 46:39; 43. Shannon Thompson, Anchorage, AK 48:40; 44. Heather Holcomb, Palmer, AK 48:40; 45. Debora Milligan, Iron Mountain, MI 57:36; 46. Rondy McKee, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, 57:37

5K Men

1. James Miller, Anchorage, AK 18:28; 2. Barefoot Bogey, Woburn, MA 18:37; 3. Keaden Dunlap, Anchorage, AK 19:22; 4. Maximus Tagle-Martinez, JBER, AK 20:03; 5. Gavin Hanks, Eagle River, AK 20:59; 6. Patrick McAnally, Anchorage, AK 21:37; 7. Anthony Gomez, Anchorage, AK 22:37; 8. Christopher Hilliard, JBER, AK 23:20; 9. Terry Schimon, University Place, WA 23:37; 10. Ryan Moldenhauer, Anchorage, AK 24:12; 11. Matthew Haney, Anchorage, AK 24:24; 12. Dan Burke, Anchorage, AK 25:44; 13. Paul Chandanabhumma, Seattle, WA 25:52; 14. Woods Miller, Wasilla, AK 26:51; 15. Bill Grether, Anchorage, AK 27:10; 16. Charles Simmons, Anchorage, AK 27:15; 17. Jacob Cassianni, Anchorage, AK 27:32; 18. John Brewer, Anchorage, AK 28:09; 19. Dustin Whitcomb, Eagle River, AK 28:14; 20. Greg MacDonald, Anchorage, AK 28:28; 21. Kevin Redmond, Anchorage, AK 28:38; 22. Olin Jensen, Anchorage, AK 28:45; 23. Michael Loughlin, Anchorage, AK 29:18; 24. Daryl Schaffer, Anchorage, AK 30:30; 25. Aaron Paul, Anchorage, AK 30:37; 26. Mark Ireland, Anchorage, AK 30:37; 27. Christopher Pineda, Eagle River, AK 30:39; 28. Eric Jostsons, Anchorage, AK 31:07; 29. Justin Fitzgerald, Anchorage, AK 31:36; 30. Steve Lambert, Anchorage, AK 32:09; 31. Justin Atteberry, Anchorage, AK 32:21; 32. Matthew Beardsley, Anchorage, AK 34:07; 33. Caleb Penney, Eagle River, AK 34:21; 34. Evgenii Ivanov, Anchorage, AK 34:22; 35. Eliezer Rivera, Anchorage, AK 35:12; 36. David Massey, Anchorage, AK 35:38; 37. Zachary Todd, Wasilla, AK 35:39; 38. Ed Hills, Anchorage, AK 36:52; 39. Chucky Williams, Anchorage, AK 36:54; 40. Rick Taylor, Wasilla, AK 39:32; 41. Steven Shamburek, Anchorage, AK 43:48; 42. Dave Jones, Anchorage, AK 46:46; 43. Tom Meacham, Anchorage, AK 46:47; 44. Russell Martin, Ventura, CA 47:34; 45. David Martin, Ventura, CA 47:45; 46. Zachary Lounsberry, Palmer, AK 48:41

2.5K Women

1. Kelsey Kramer, Wilmington, NC 13:50; 2. Alannah Dunlap, Anchorage, AK 15:09; 3. Kelsea Johnson, Anchorage, AK 15:45; 4. Kirsten Kling, Anchorage, AK 16:05; 5. Miriam Hayes, Anchorage, AK 16:55; 6. Brianna Slayback, Anchorage, AK 17:04; 7. Haley Hoffman, Alexandria, VA 18:01; 8. Kathryn Hoke, Anchorage, AK 18:32; 9. Rachel Stein, Palmer, AK 18:51; 10. Shayla Harrison, Anchorage, AK 19:29; 11. Danielle Harrison, Anchorage, AK 19:30; 12. Nikki Withers, Tacoma, WA 19:32; 13. Michele Robuck, Anchorage, AK 20:20; 14. Jess Adams, Anchorage, AK 20:20; 15. Ashley Martinez, Miami, FL 20:24; 16. Laura Casanover, Houston, TX 20:31; 17. Adylaine Hacker, Eagle River, AK 21:59; 18. Mary Stutzman, Tallahassee, FL 22:59; 19. Jean Bielawski, Anchorage, AK 23:24; 20. Cheryl Parmelee, Mount Dora, FL 25:45; 21. Ruth Anderson, Anchorage, AK 26:56; 22. Morgan Withers, Tacoma, WA 27:17; 23. Terri Agee, Anchorage, AK 27:31; 24. Chyll Perry, Anchorage, AK 27:35; 25. Denice Withers, Yakima, WA 28:09; 26. Sarah Camacho, Anchorage, AK 28:20; 27. Katheryn Camacho, Anchorage, AK 28:21; 28. Brooke Whitcomb, Eagle River, AK 28:41; 29. Kristine Withers, Tacoma, WA 31:19; 30. Penny Helgeson, Anchorage, AK 33:56; 31. Kimberly Halstead, Eagle River, AK 34:02; 32. Julianna Halstead, Eagle River, AK 34:09

2.5K Men

1. Riley Howard, Anchorage, AK 10:54; 2. Julian Salao, Anchorage, AK 12:26; 3. Mitch Paisker, Anchorage, AK 16:05; 4. Kaden Bartholomew, Anchorage, AK 16:24; 5. Brandon Bartholomew, Anchorage, AK 16:25; 6. Michael Hayes, Anchorage, AK 16:30; 7. Calvin Stein, Anchorage, AK 18:51; 8. Jesse Ackerson, Anchorage, AK 19:42; 9. Clinton Hacker, Eagle River, AK 21:59; 10. Daniel Hjortstorp, Gakona, AK 22:20; 11. Atlas Hjortstorp, Gakona, AK 22:20; 12. Craig Withers, Tacoma, WA 27:18; 13. Jordan Ralph, Tacoma, WA 27:19; 14. Scott King, Anchorage, AK 28:20; 15. Shawn Withers, Yakima, WA 31:18; 16. John Ruthe, Anchorage, AK 35:53

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