Northern Alaska Environmental Center

Promoting conservation of the environment and sustainable resource stewardship in Interior and Arctic Alaska through education and advocacy

Northern Alaska Environmental Center

The Northern Alaska Environmental Center

The Northern Alaska Environmental Center is an Alaska-based conservation organization dedicated to protecting the land, waters and wildlife of Interior and Arctic Alaska for current and future generations to use and enjoy. We understand the unique challenges of living in Alaska and seek to balance natural resource development with conserving what makes Alaska special.

Northern Alaska Environmental Center - Promoting Conservation and Responsible Natural Resource Development

The Northern Center is committed to defending special places in Northern and Interior Alaska from irresponsible extraction activities, and promoting local initiatives to protect the health and way of life of people living in Fairbanks and Interior Alaska.

We acknowledge that we work throughout the unceded territories of the Indigenous Peoples of Alaska; that our office is located on the traditional territories of the Lower Tanana Dené Athabascan Peoples. We honor the ancestral and ongoing land and water stewardship and place-based knowledge of the peoples of these territories. 

Our Guiding Principles

The Northern Alaska Environmental Center:

  1. Believes that a healthy environment is a prerequisite for a sustainable economy.
  2. Bases conservation decisions on sound science and ethics.
  3. Uses our stakeholders’ energy, expertise and enthusiasm to strengthen the organization.
  4. Seeks opportunities to collaborate with federal, state and local government agencies, and with other organizations to enhance our effectiveness.
  5. Supports the establishment, protection and appropriate stewardship of designated Wilderness areas, as well other less-restrictive management that protects sustainable uses of non-Wilderness wild lands.
  6. Values healthy and intact ecosystems where habitat fragmentation is minimized and wildlands are respected.
  1. Favors stewardship over intensive management of natural resources, in order to meet the needs of the present generation without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
  2. Encourages the implementation of clean energy technologies and management practices that minimize air, water and noise pollution and impacts on habitat.
  3. Supports public processes—including use of legal, legislative, and administrative systems—in natural resource use decisions.
  4. Expects to comment on issues in our areas of expertise and interest.
  5. Puts our greatest effort into issues whose results are irreversible or long lasting.
  6. Employs clear, honest communication and constructive dialogue.

Latest News

Apply now: Featured Artist 2024

Apply now: Featured Artist 2024

Photo provided by Jill Richie, 2023 Featured Artist  Every year, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center has the honor of commissioning an Alaska-based artist whose work embodies the spirit of Northern Alaska to create an original piece for our organization. The...

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Act on Ambler: SEIS comment period open

Act on Ambler: SEIS comment period open

In mid-October, the Biden administration released a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed 211-mile Ambler industrial mining road through Alaska’s Brooks Range. This region is home to numerous Athabaskan and Iñupiat villages and the...

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Take Action: Arctic Comment Periods

Take Action: Arctic Comment Periods

ARCTIC REFUGE SEIS AND PUBLIC COMMENT Earlier this month, we celebrated the news that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland had canceled the last remaining oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which were held by the Alaska Industrial Development and...

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Upcoming Events

march 2024

07mar11:00 am2:00 pmFeaturedOpen House: Waste Reduction Week

april 2024

20apr12:00 pm4:00 pmEarth Day Fair and Maker's Market

july 2024

14jul1:00 pm3:00 pmTBD: Run for the RefugeCelebrate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

november 2024

09nov6:30 pm9:30 pmNight for the North

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