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 Today's Congressional Action:
The House and Senate are not in session.
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 Lessons From Exxon Valdez. Twenty-five years ago today, Alaska was about to mark the anniversary of the 1964 Earthquake, and, unknown to all, was less than four days from its next big disaster: the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Today in Washington, environmentalists who've been dealing with the spill and its political effects for all these years met to publicize what they say are the lessons of the Exxon Valdez. Alaska Public Radio
What Do We Mean in Alaska When We Say 'Subsistence?' Somewhere along the line, hunters and fishermen got divided into two distinct groups identified by names that hardly describe their true intents. The terms "subsistence" and "sport" are both misnomers and do nothing but confuse the issues as we debate rights, privileges and priorities in the allocation of Alaska's wild fish and animals. It wasn't that long ago when the rule about moose hunting was if it had horns, you could shoot it. It was that way pretty much everywhere in Alaska and not just 200 miles off the road -- or wherever it is that "rural" ends and "the Bush" begins. Back then, it did not really matter whether a person was considered a subsistence or sport hunter. If that moose had horns, you could shoot it. Alaska Dispatch
 Arctic "Core" to Iceland Foreign Policy. Issues regarding the Arctic and co-operation in the region are to be given increased focus in Icelandic foreign policy, according to a report published yesterday by that country's foreign ministry. Presenting the report to the Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, the foreign minister, underscored that the Arctic formed "the core of the government's foreign policy." Arctic Journal
UN Head to Visit Greenland as Warm-up For Climate Talks. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will begin a three-day visit to Greenland next Tuesday in order to get a first-hand look at the effects of climate change, the Danish government said on its website. The visit is part of preparations for the next UN Climate Change Summit in New York in September. Shanghai Daily
 Researcher: Arctic Bears May Survive Ice-Free Planet. A professor of animal genetics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Natural Resources and Extension has estimated when and how brown, black and polar bears diverged - and that data offers some hope for polar bears' survival as the earth's climate warms. At one point, all three bears were the same species. Matthew Cronin, at UAF, and colleagues at the University of California Davis and Delta G Co., used genetic data to estimate that 2.3 million years ago, black bears diverged from the polar bear/brown bear population. About 1.2 million years ago, polar bears and brown bears diverged from each other. Juneau Empire
Public Comments Wanted on Arctic Policy Report. The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission, in releasing its preliminary report, seeks public comment into the work that's been done and still to do. "The commission believes that while Arctic policy is important to all of Alaska and the entire United States, the immediate stakeholders are Arctic residents. Alaskans are strongly encouraged to engage in this process by participating in the public comment period on the preliminary report, which will inform the subsequent version of the final report that is due to the Alaska Legislature on Jan. 30, 2015," according to a press release from the commission. Homer News
Environmental Group Greenpeace Accuses Arctic Council of Promoting Pro-Oil Agenda. Greenpeace Canada has accused the Arctic Council of pushing a pro-oil agenda under Canada's leadership, ahead of the council's upcoming meetings in Yellowknife. A meeting of the council's senior Arctic officials, which includes delegations from its member states and permanent indigenous participants, gets underway in Yellowknife March 25. Nunatsiaq Online
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
Arctic Science Summit Week April 5-8, 2014 and Arctic Observing Summit, April 9-11 (Helsinki, Finland). ASSW is a gathering for Arctic research organizations. Any organization engaged in supporting and facilitating arctic research is welcome to participate. The ASSW meeting in 2014 will be arranged during April 5-8 in Helsinki Kumpula Campus, in the facilities of FMI and Physics Department of the University of Helsinki. Second circular here.
Alaska Policy Commission. May 6-7, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska) The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. The draft agenda is available here.
International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, May 22-24, 2014. ICASS is held every three years, bringing together people from all over the world to share ideas about social science research in the Arctic. ICASS VII, held in Akureyri in June 2011, attracted 450 participants from 30 different countries. ICASS VIII's theme is Northern Sustainabilities. By using the plural, ICASS underscores both that 'sustainability' has social, cultural, economic, political and environmental dimensions, and that definitions of the concept vary. Yet, while debating specific definitions, most would agree that working toward sustainable ways of living in the North and on approaches to sustainable engagement with the North, are critical both to the North's and to the world's future. Community sustainability in the North, whether for small settlements or large urban conglomerations, requires new models of food and energy security, and of access to employment, health care and social and cultural services for residents.
Alaska Policy Commission. August 26-27, 2014 (Kotzebue-Nome, Alaska) The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations.
Arctic Circle, October 31-November 2, 2014 (Reyjavik, Iceland).
The Arctic Circle is nonprofit and nonpartisan. Organizations, forums, think tanks, corporations and public associations around the world are invited to hold meetings within the Arctic Circle platform to advance their own missions and the broader goal of increasing collaborative decision-making without surrendering their institutional independence. The Arctic Circle will organize sessions on a variety of issues, such as: Sea ice melt and extreme weather; Polar law: treaties and agreements; The role and rights of indigenous peoples; Security in the Arctic; Shipping and transportation infrastructure; The prospects and risks of oil and gas drilling; Clean energy achievements and sustainable development; Arctic resources; Business cooperation in the Arctic; The role of Asian and European countries in the Arctic; Greenland in the new Arctic; Fisheries and ecosystem management; The science of ice: global research cooperation; Arctic tourism; The ice-dependent world: the Arctic and the Himalayas.
Alaska Policy Commission. November 13-14, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations.
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