News

Commercial fishing and recreational vessels are docked in the Homer harbor on Oct. 23, 2025. The commercial fishing industry endured a series of challenges over the year, some of them imposed by the new Trump administration. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska fisheries in 2025: turmoil, economic and environmental challenges and some bright spots

NOAA cuts, economic headwinds and invasive species pose problems, but there was some recovery in crab stocks and salmon harvests.

 

Cook Inlet near Clam Gulch is seen on Oct. 23, 2025. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Disputed oil lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet upheld in new Trump administration decision

After completing a court-ordered environmental study, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said no changes are needed for the 2022 sale that drew just one bid.

 

Alaska Department of Natural Resources logo (graphic)

State proposes changes to material sales regulations

The Department of Natural Resources is proposing changes to regulations related to material sales and conveyances to state agencies.

 

Courtesy Harvest On the Kenai Peninsula, a dormant liquefied natural gas export plant could be repurposed to receive cargoes of imported LNG under a plan being studied by Harvest, an affiliate of oil and gas company Hilcorp. The fuel would be transferred from ships to the tanks on the left, still in liquid form, before being converted back into gas and sent into a pipeline.

Utilities say Alaska needs an LNG import terminal. Consumers could end up paying for two.

Planning for two separate projects is currently moving ahead.

Courtesy Harvest On the Kenai Peninsula, a dormant liquefied natural gas export plant could be repurposed to receive cargoes of imported LNG under a plan being studied by Harvest, an affiliate of oil and gas company Hilcorp. The fuel would be transferred from ships to the tanks on the left, still in liquid form, before being converted back into gas and sent into a pipeline.
A map shows the locations of the 21 Alaska federal offshore oil and gas lease sales proposed by the Trump administration. (Map provided by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management)

Trump administration proposes offshore leasing in almost all Alaska waters

A new five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan proposes 21 sales in Alaska, from the Gulf of Alaska to the High Arctic, and 13 more off the U.S. West Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico.

A map shows the locations of the 21 Alaska federal offshore oil and gas lease sales proposed by the Trump administration. (Map provided by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management)
Goldenview Middle School student Luciana Liu's winning poster entry for the 2024 Alaska Radon Poster Contest. Photo provided by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources

Students invited to compete in statewide radon poster contest

The deadline to submit poster entries is Dec. 19.

Goldenview Middle School student Luciana Liu's winning poster entry for the 2024 Alaska Radon Poster Contest. Photo provided by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources
Low clouds hang over Cook Inlet north of Anchor Point on Oct. 23, 2025. The Trump administration is planning an oil and gas lease sale in federal territory of the inlet. It is set to be the first of at six Cook Inlet lease sales that Congress has mandated by held between now and 2032. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Trump administration sets terms for upcoming oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet

The ‘Big Beautiful Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale,’ scheduled for March, would follow a series of federal and state inlet lease sales that drew little industry interest.

Low clouds hang over Cook Inlet north of Anchor Point on Oct. 23, 2025. The Trump administration is planning an oil and gas lease sale in federal territory of the inlet. It is set to be the first of at six Cook Inlet lease sales that Congress has mandated by held between now and 2032. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska’s natural gas pipeline would largely follow the route of the existing trans-Alaska oil pipeline, pictured here, from the North Slope. Near Fairbanks, the gas line would split off toward Anchorage, while the oil pipeline continues to the Prince William Sound community of Valdez. (Photo by David Houseknecht/United States Geological Survey)

Tokyo Gas signs preliminary agreement with trans-Alaska gas pipeline developer

The largest gas company in Japan has signed a letter of intent signifying that it would buy up to 1 million tons of liquefied natural… Continue reading

Alaska’s natural gas pipeline would largely follow the route of the existing trans-Alaska oil pipeline, pictured here, from the North Slope. Near Fairbanks, the gas line would split off toward Anchorage, while the oil pipeline continues to the Prince William Sound community of Valdez. (Photo by David Houseknecht/United States Geological Survey)
A GCI Communications truck is parked at the company’s Juneau office. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Billionaire seeks controlling interest in GCI, regulatory filings show

Alaska’s largest residential internet provider may soon come under the control of billionaire businessman John Malone, one of America’s biggest private landowners and wealthiest people.… Continue reading

A GCI Communications truck is parked at the company’s Juneau office. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
A sign for a store that accepts food stamps and exchange benefits transfer cards is seen in this 2019 photo. (Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images via Alaska Beacon)

More than 66,000 Alaskans will lose food stamps within weeks if government shutdown continues

If the federal government shutdown continues, more than 66,000 Alaskans will lose federal food aid within weeks, the state of Alaska is warning. On Monday,… Continue reading

A sign for a store that accepts food stamps and exchange benefits transfer cards is seen in this 2019 photo. (Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images via Alaska Beacon)
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks on Oct. 18, 2025, at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage. Behind her is a screen projeting her image as she speaks. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Murkowski says she is trying to restore some resilience funding for Alaska villages

Speaking to AFN, the U.S. senator blasted Trump administration actions halting climate-related work; she and others lamented loss of public broadcasting funding.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks on Oct. 18, 2025, at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage. Behind her is a screen projeting her image as she speaks. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrews conduct overflights of Kipnuk, Alaska, after coastal flooding impacted several western Alaska communities, Oct. 12, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Air Station Kodiak)

Trump administration approves disaster declaration for Western Alaska storm

The president also pledged $25 million in immediate disaster relief funding to cover costs as storm damage is still assessed.

U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrews conduct overflights of Kipnuk, Alaska, after coastal flooding impacted several western Alaska communities, Oct. 12, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Air Station Kodiak)
U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to Anchor Point residents during a community meeting held at the Virl "Pa" Haga VFW Post 10221 on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Sullivan discusses federal advocacy, legislation during Soldotna visit

During a visit to Soldotna last month, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in a brief interview with the Clarion spotlighted visits to Alaska by cabinet officials,… Continue reading

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to Anchor Point residents during a community meeting held at the Virl "Pa" Haga VFW Post 10221 on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
COVID vaccine doses at a vaccination site at a shopping mall in Bayamn, Puerto Rico, Jan. 7, 2022. The FDA has approved updated Covid vaccines for the fall 2025 season that limit who can get the shots, the federal government’s most restrictive policy since the vaccines became available. (Erika P. Rodriguez/The New York Times)

FDA approves COVID shots with new restrictions

The policy is the federal government’s most restrictive since the vaccines became available

COVID vaccine doses at a vaccination site at a shopping mall in Bayamn, Puerto Rico, Jan. 7, 2022. The FDA has approved updated Covid vaccines for the fall 2025 season that limit who can get the shots, the federal government’s most restrictive policy since the vaccines became available. (Erika P. Rodriguez/The New York Times)
Haiyun Jiang / The New York Times A container ship docks at Dutch Harbor in Unalaska, Aug. 13. Threatened by the president with political retribution, Republicans agreed to defund public broadcasting, imperiling a lifeline of communication in rural Alaska.

Public broadcast cuts hit rural areas, revealing a political shift

245 public broadcasting grantees in rural communities — including 27 stations in Alaska — are at risk of going off the air.

Haiyun Jiang / The New York Times A container ship docks at Dutch Harbor in Unalaska, Aug. 13. Threatened by the president with political retribution, Republicans agreed to defund public broadcasting, imperiling a lifeline of communication in rural Alaska.
President Donald Trump greets President Vladimir Putin of Russia as they met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Trump and Putin put on a show of friendship but come away without a deal

ANCHORAGE — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached no agreement to end the war in Ukraine at a high-profile summit meeting Friday,… Continue reading

President Donald Trump greets President Vladimir Putin of Russia as they met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
President Donald Trump shakes hands with President Vladimir Putin of Russia during a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. In the 2018 meeting, President Trump said he accepted President Vladimir Putin’s denial of election interference over the judgment of American intelligence agencies. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Alaska’s Ukrainian refugees brace for Putin’s arrival in their safe harbor

A variety of Alaskans have expressed misgivings.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with President Vladimir Putin of Russia during a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. In the 2018 meeting, President Trump said he accepted President Vladimir Putin’s denial of election interference over the judgment of American intelligence agencies. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia during a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. President Trump is pushing to end the war in Ukraine, but analysts say the Russian leader could turn a hastily-planned meeting to his advantage. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Trump to meet Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage

Trump was expected to make what amounted to a day trip to Alaska to meet with Putin.

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia during a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. President Trump is pushing to end the war in Ukraine, but analysts say the Russian leader could turn a hastily-planned meeting to his advantage. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks at an event at the White House in Washington, Aug. 7, 2025. Airstrikes on Ukraine by Russia on Friday came the day that President Trump’s deadline expired for Russia’s leader to agree to end the war. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Trump says he will meet with Putin in Alaska next week

The meeting comes as he tries to secure a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine

  • Aug 8, 2025
  • By Tyler Pager and David E. Sanger c.2025 The New York Times Company
  • NewsState News
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks at an event at the White House in Washington, Aug. 7, 2025. Airstrikes on Ukraine by Russia on Friday came the day that President Trump’s deadline expired for Russia’s leader to agree to end the war. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)
The joint House and Senate majorities of the Alaska Legislature hold a press availability after the adjournment of the Legislature’s special session in Juneau, Alaska, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)

Alaska Legislature adjourns after overriding governor vetoes

Gov. Mike Dunleavy railed against the Legislature’s adjournment as being opaque.

The joint House and Senate majorities of the Alaska Legislature hold a press availability after the adjournment of the Legislature’s special session in Juneau, Alaska, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)