Today's Events 

The House and Senate are in recess this week.

Arctic Dialogue & Study Tour, March 22-24, 2011. For the past four years Norway's Bodø University Graduate School of Business, the High North Centre for Business and Governance (affiliated with the University), the International Institute of Energy Politics and Diplomacy (MIEP) at MGIMO University in Moscow, Russia, and HBW Resources have hosted an annual Arctic Dialogue and Study Tour. The tour brings together stakeholders from all Arctic nations (government, industries, academic, native and local peoples) to discuss issues involving resource development in the Arctic, and share common experiences, best practices and solutions. For more information contact Andrew Browning. 

Media Review  

Budget Writers Look for Deals. House Republican leaders are planning to unveil an aggressive 2012 budget in three weeks - a proposal that could help shield them from tea party attacks if they're forced to cut a deal with Democrats on the stalled 2011 spending bill. Both parties are quietly negotiating as Congress stands in recess, not only searching for a final dollar figure compromise but also trying to figure out how to deal with some of the most hot-button legislative riders in the bill - including the ban on funding for Planned Parenthood. Politico

Begich: Create Federal Offshore Development Coordinator. Alaska Sen. Mark Begich wants to create an offshore development coordinator for Alaska  similar to the federal pipeline coordinator whose job is to shepherd through a major natural gas pipeline. Begich spoke to the Alaska Legislature Tuesday and announced he would introduce legislation to establish a "federal coordinator for the OCS" that would work across agency lines, bringing together the "agencies causing Alaska so much heartburn today" -- the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Interior Department that has several entities with regulatory oversight of the Outer Continental Shelf. Alaska Dispatch

Russian Bombers on Pacific Patrol. Two Russian Tupolev-95 strategic bombers have successfully flown patrol missions over international waters off the Aleutian Islands. Each flight included two mid-air refueling operations and several orientation and navigation exercises. Russian bombers regularly patrol the High Arctic, the Black Sea and the North Atlantic, as well as the Northwest Pacific. Voice of Russia

Senate [Canada] Urges Feds to Beef up Arctic Search and Rescue. The federal government needs to make Arctic search and rescue capabilities a top priority, according to the Senate. The upper chamber tabled a report Tuesday calling on the government to make a planned purchase of new SAR fixed-wing aircraft a "top priority," and for some current search and rescue resources to be moved to a central location in the Arctic, instead of being based in southern Canada. Toronto Sun

Coast Guard Monitors Radiation Risk to Pacific Ports. The U.S. Coast Guard is working to ensure the safety of the maritime transportation system in the aftermath of the tragedy in Japan. Based on an analysis by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, there is no indication that harmful radiation will reach the U.S., whether it is the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, or U.S. territories including Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The U.S. government has determined that radiation levels outside a zone of 50 miles centered on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant do not pose a human health hazard.  As a result, the Coast Guard has issued a Navigational Warning advising vessels to avoid transiting within a precautionary area of 50 miles of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. U.S. Coast Guard

Legislative Action  

No legislation of Arctic interest was considered yesterday. 

Future Events    

Arctic Science Summit Week, Seoul, March 28-April 1, 2011. The purpose of the Arctic Science Summit Week is to provide opportunities for international coordination, collaboration, and cooperation in all fields of Arctic science. The Arctic Science Week 2011 is supported by the Korean government, the Korean Research Council of Fundamental Science & Technology, and the Seoul Tourism Organization, among other groups.  

HOUSE: Fiscal 2012 Appropriations: Homeland Security, March 30, 31; April 6, 7. The Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on the proposed fiscal year 2012 appropriations for departments, agencies, and programs under its jurisdiction.  

7th Congress of the International Arctic Social Sciences, June 22-26, 2011.  The 7th Congress, "Circumpolar Perspectives in Global Dialogue: Social Sciences Beyond the IPY," will be held in Akureyri, Iceland. The International Congress of the Arctic Social Sciences is held every three years. 
 
Holocene Glacier Variability from the Tropics to the Poles, July 20-27, 2011. Glaciers respond sensitively to climate change. Recent (Holocene) glacier fluctuations are a valuable proxy for terrestrial interglacial paleoclimate conditions. A main challenge for interpreting paleoclimate from past mountain glacier extents is distinguishing local and regional patterns from global signals. Reconstructing Holocene glacier extents involves many disciplines including terrestrial and marine geology, geochronology and glaciology. Organizers hope to facilitate an inter-hemispheric comparison of glacier records including locations in the Tropics, European Alps, American Cordillera, Southern Alps of New Zealand, Himalaya and Polar Regions and to identify future research questions and directions. For additional information contact: Meredith Kelly.
 
13th Arctic Ungulates Conference (AUC), August 22-26, 2011. The theme of the conference will be "Challenges of Managing Northern Ungulates." The theme addresses the difficulties of managing ungulate populations that are faced with the unpredictable effects of climate change and an ever-increasing human presence on the land. The conference will also focus on the challenges associated with developing recovery actions for declining caribou and reindeer populations that are an integral part of Aboriginal cultures and ways of life. 
 
9th International Symposium on Permafrost Engineering, September 3-7, 2011. The Melnikov Permafrost Institute (Yakutsk, Russia), the Institute of Northern Mining (Yakutsk, Russia), the Cold and Arid Regions Engineering and Environmental Research Institute (Lanzhou, China), and the Heilongjiang Institute of Cold Region  Engineering (Harbin, China) will host the Ninth International Symposium on  Permafrost Engineering to be held in Mirny, Yakutia. The aim of the Symposium is to provide a forum for discussion of permafrost engineering issues, as well as for exchange of practical experience in construction and maintenance of engineering structures on frozen ground. For additional information, please contact Lilia Prokopieva. 

4th International Sea Duck Conference, September 12-16. The conference is held to provide researchers and managers with opportunities to share information, research, and conduct workshops.

Lowell Wakefield International Fisheries Symposium, September 14-17, 2011. The 27th Lowell Wakefield International Fisheries Symposium, entitled "Fishing People of the North: Cultures, Economies, and Management Responding to Change," will be held in Anchorage, Alaska. This international symposium will provide a forum for scholars, fishery managers, fishing families, and others to explore the human dimensions of fishery systems and growing need to include social science research in policy processes. The conference is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Sea Grant program.   

Operating in the Arctic: Supporting the US Coast Guard Challenges Through Research, Sept. 21-23, 2011. This workshop, held at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and co-sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the US Arctic Research Commission, explored and identified ways in which scientific research and development can improve the ability of the U.S. Coast Guard to operate and carry out its statutory missions in the Arctic region. Participation in this event included state, local and international stakeholders, academics and researchers, and USCG and other federal agency officials. A funding opportunity associated with this activity is described here.

The Tenth International Conference on Permafrost, June 2012. The conference will be held in Tyumen, Russia, and is organized and hosted by Russia. The last conference was held in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2008.  More details to follow. 

Arctic/ Inuit/ Connections: Learning from the Top of the World, October 24-28, 2012.  The 18th Inuit Studies Conference is hosted by the Smithsonian Institution and will be held in Washington, DC. The conference will consider heritage museums and the North; globalization: an Arctic story; power, governance and politics in the North; the 'new' Arctic: social, cultural and climate change; and Inuit education, health, language, and literature. For more information, please email Lauren Marr.