Northern Alaska Environmental Center
“The Northern Alaska Environmental Center promotes conservation of the environment and sustainable resource stewardship in Interior and Arctic Alaska through education and advocacy.”
5 funders on the record, 1 live lawsuit.
The origin
How they started
The Northern Alaska Environmental Center has worked out of Fairbanks since 1971 to protect public lands in Interior and Arctic Alaska, through grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, legal intervention and public education. It’s the first-named plaintiff in the suit over Public Land Order 7966, which opened about 2.1 million acres of D-1 lands along the Dalton corridor to mining.
How they run
Small and lean
We don’t hold a detailed federal filing for this group. Groups this size often file the short form or run below the IRS reporting line, so there’s no budget or crew to show here, and that’s no knock: some of the sharpest local defense in the country runs this way.
Run this group? Claim the page and send us your numbers. An editor checks them before they go up.
The backers
Backed, each with its source, by 444S Foundation, Northlight Foundation, Community Foundation Of Jackson Hole, Patagonia Org and Assets Under Movement, latest filing FY24.
The record
The court record
Year by year
In order
- 1971Northern Alaska Environmental Center is formed.the return, formation year
- 2020Gwich’in Steering Committee v. United States Department of the Interior: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- 2022First appears in 444S Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
- 20232 cases filed, all closed: Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic v. United States Bureau of Land Management; Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic v. Bureau of Land Management.the docket
- First appears in the grants of Northlight Foundation and Assets Under Movement.the funders’ returns
- 2024First appears in the grants of Community Foundation Of Jackson Hole and Patagonia Org.the funders’ returns
- 20262 cases filed, all closed: Northern Alaska Environmental Center v. Burgum; Northern Alaska Environmental Center, et al. v. Burgum, et al..the docket
Rust, a case still in court. Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row comes from a public record: 5 federal cases with the group on the docket, 5 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
A plaintiff in Gwich’in Steering Committee v. United States Department of the Interior, filed in 2020 in the District of Alaska. A filing in the case names Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Who’s defending it On the record · Critical threatNPR-A Teshekpuk Lake Special AreaA plaintiff in Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic v. Bureau of Land Management, filed in 2023 in the District of Alaska. A filing in the case names NPR-A Teshekpuk Lake Special Area.
Who’s defending it On the record · Threat developingGates of the Arctic (Ambler Road)First-named plaintiff in Northern Alaska Environmental Center v. Trump, the Ambler road suit filed in 2020
Who’s defending it On the record · Threat developingNational Petroleum Reserve in AlaskaA plaintiff in Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic v. Bureau of Land Management, filed in 2023 in the District of Alaska. A filing in the case names National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
Who’s defending itMost urgent first: open comment windows, then live federal cases, then the threat level. See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
The Alaska congressional delegation averages 2 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
The wire
What they’ve done lately
- Wed, Nov 11 · StatementA 50-Year Bet on the North Slope: What Alaska Approved for STAK and What Comes Next
- Wed, Nov 11 · StatementAIDEA’s Houston Land Transfer Was Approved. What Changed — and What Can Alaskans Do Now?
- Fri, Oct 16 · StatementState of Alaska Public Notice Roundup: Wildlife, Public Lands, Oil & Gas, and Infrastructure
- Thu, Oct 1 · StatementNorthern Center and Partners Appeal State Approval of Ambler Road Easement
- Wed, Sep 30 · StatementArctic Mine Scoping Is Open: Now Is the Time to Speak Up
- Wed, Sep 30 · StatementNew Donlin Gold Review Shows What Communities Have Warned About for Years
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Give on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with the Northern Alaska Environmental Center
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.