What's your opinion on what needs to be done to address changing conditions in the  Arctic Ocean and adjacent coastal areas? The federal government wants to know what actions you'd like to see included in a strategic action plan that's being developed under the auspices of the National Ocean Council, which was created when President Obama signed an Executive Order last July on National Ocean Policy. A successful plan requires participation and input from a wide range of stakeholders. To this end, the Council has created a website where anyone can submit comments. USARC encourages you to do so.

House to Reid: Your Turn on CR. Majority Leader Harry Reid will have his work cut out for him next week balancing the competing demands of his caucus against a March 4 deadline to avert a government shutdown. The coming fight over the controversial House-passed spending bill will test the Nevada Democrat's hold on his smaller 53-47 majority as well as the gentlemen's agreement he struck with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on allowing a more open amendment process than in the contentious 111th Congress. Roll Call

House Spending Bill Only First Round of Long Spending Fight. It took four grueling days on the House floor, punctuated by heated debate and the consideration of hundreds of amendments, to produce the latest version of a comprehensive fiscal 2011 spending bill that would trim more than $60 billion off the government's budget. Despite all that work, House passage of the Republican-written appropriations bill (HR 1) early Saturday morning may not have moved Congress much closer to final decisions on the budget year that began Oct. 1. Congressional Quarterly

Bingaman Retirement Gives GOP Another Chance to Pick Up Senate Seat in 2012. Sen. Jeff Bingaman announced his retirement on Friday, giving Republicans another open seat pickup opportunity in 2012 - when Democrats are defending more than twice as many seats as the GOP. The five-term New Mexico Democrat, who had been favored for re-election according to recent polling data, made the announcement at 3:30 p.m. in Albuquerque. "At the end of this Congress, I will have been in public service for 34 years - four as New Mexico's attorney general, and 30 in the United States Senate," he said, according to prepared remarks. "The end of this Congress is the right time for me to step aside and allow someone else to serve. It is not easy to get elected to the Senate, and it is not easy to decide to leave the Senate." Congressional Quarterly

UN Sees Rising Risks From Climate, Toxic Chemicals. A U.N.-commissioned report says climate change is becoming a major obstacle for a 2004 global treaty aimed at cutting people's exposure to 21 highly dangerous chemicals. The report obtained by The Associated Press says the risks of exposure could increase if more stockpiles and landfills leak due to flooding or other extreme weather linked to rising temperatures. Business Week

Helsinki Runs Out of Arctic-Grade Diesel. Neste Oil in Finland said Monday it had run dry of diesel fuel tailored for use in arctic conditions in the nation's capital region. Finnish news agency STT reported Neste shipped arctic-grade diesel to southern Finland last week in anticipation of demand by vacationers driving north for a winter break. UPI

Nuclear Subs Taking Scientists on Secret Arctic Missions. To avoid detection and take advantage of the ultimate polar route during classified missions, U.S. Navy nuclear submarines regularly cross under the Arctic. So why not do a little science on the way? Starting this year, civilian scientists from the Navy's San Diego-based Arctic Submarine Laboratory will join the crews on otherwise secret passages under the ice to gather data on phenomena that range from the effects of global warming to how changes to the Arctic could help or threaten American shipping interests. AOL News

Efforts to Meld Science, Tribal Knowledge Prepare Sound for Future Development. With climate change expected to open the gates to Arctic resource development, the U.S. Coast Guard is looking to create new vessel routing measures through the Bering Strait as more freighters steam north into the Chukchi Sea. Yet the scientific world has known little about the wildlife that plays a vital role in local diets, and thus, how to protect the animals from run-ins with ships and other activity. That's changing, at least in one area, thanks in part to Alex Whiting and the Native Village of Kotzebue. The Arctic Sounder 

Hearings on Polar Bear Status Back in Court This Week: HABITAT: Ice pack declines are key to designing them as threatened, endangered. A federal judge will hear arguments next week in a case that speaks to a central question regarding Arctic animals affected by climate warming: When is a species endangered? Polar bears were declared a "threatened" species in 2008 because of the rapid loss of the Arctic sea ice that they use for fattening up on seals, which carries them through long periods of not eating. The federal government argues that's the correct call. Anchorage Daily News

House Approved Arctic Offshore Drilling Exemption. The U.S. House has approved a spending bill amendment offered by Rep. Don Young that could aid Shell Oil in its quest to drill exploratory wells off Alaska's northern shores. Shell Alaska officials two weeks ago said the company would not drill in the Beaufort Sea in 2011 in part because they could not wait any longer for an air permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency had issued the permit but its review board granted an appeal because of limited agency analysis regarding the effect of emissions from drilling ships and support vessels. Anchorage Daily News

National Ocean Council; Development of Strategic Action Plans for the National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes. On July 19, 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order 13547 establishing a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, our Coasts, and the Great Lakes ("National Policy"). That Executive Order adopts the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force ("Final Recommendations") and directs Federal agencies to take the appropriate steps to implement them. The Executive Order creates an interagency National Ocean Council (NOC) to strengthen ocean governance and coordination, identifies nine priority actions for the NOC to pursue, and adopts a flexible framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning to address conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable use of the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes. The Federal Register

Begich Named Chairman of Oceans Subcommittee: Jurisdiction includes fisheries, Coast Guard, NOAA, Arctic. With Alaska fisheries one of the state's leading industries, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich was today named to chair the Senate panel with prime jurisdiction over that industry and other ocean and coastal issues. Begich was named chairman of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The subcommittee is responsible for legislation and oversight of matters impacting our oceans, coasts, and climate, including: coastal zone management; marine fisheries and mammal management; ocean science, weather forecasting; and overseeing NOAA. The subcommittee is also responsible for overseeing the Coast Guard, whose responsibilities include defending America's maritime domain, protecting life at sea by regulating shipping and conducting search and rescues, and the enforcement of laws to support maritime commerce and protect marine living resources. Senator Mark Begich