Oregon Mining Company Says it Can Build Northwest Arctic Port for Alaska. Worried that the other nations are crushing the United States in the race for Arctic shipping and resource-extraction dominance because we have no deepwater port in northern Alaska? Never fear, Arctic-minded Alaskans. An Oregon mining entrepreneur says he has the answer. Dennis Humbird, founder and president of a company called Sea Pirate Mining, has submitted what he contends is a serious proposal to oversee construction of a major shipping hub at Port Clarence, a site near the Bering Strait near Nome. Alaska Dispatch 

Canada Eyes Arctic Reindeer Reserve for Oil and Gas. Tracts of land that had been set aside for reindeer grazing in Canada's North have instead been offered up by the Conservative government for oil and gas exploration, newly released documents show. Companies interested in obtaining petroleum exploration rights in the Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Sea region of the Northwest Territories were asked last year to nominate blocks of land that they wanted to see included in a subsequent call for bids. Alaska Dispatch 

Geese in Petroleum Reserve Find New Habitat Amid Melting Sea Ice. The U.S. Geological Survey says melting Beaufort sea ice is creating new habitat for geese on the North Slope. That could have implications for conservation inside the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. For animals that live on Arctic ice, like polar bears and walruses, rising sea temperatures usually mean a disappearing home. Alaska Public Radio 

Breaking the Ice: New Arctic Route Opens Up. As the ice melts in Russia's Arctic waters due to global warming, a new Arctic shipping route is opening up. The new route will cut about two weeks off the time needed to ship oil and gas from Russia to Asia. VoR's Alice Lagnado finds out more. The Northern Sea Route is a shipping route which runs along Russia's Arctic coast, from Murmansk on the Barents Sea all the way to the Far East. Voice of Russia 

Climate Change Could Change the Way that Seals Mate: Research. New research suggests that Arctic pinnipeds, the sub-order of species that includes seals, sea lions and walruses, might change their mating habits - and acquire harems - as the climate around them gets warmer. Carleton University research, published this week in the journal Evolution, shows that sexual dimorphism - a difference in physical traits between a male and female of the same species - has existed in seals and walruses for well over 20 million years. Nunatsiaq Online