The Senate will resume consideration of a farm and conservation bill.The House will consider the Military Construction-VA appropriations bill, which the White House has threatened to veto.  

ICC Must Consent to UN Law of the Sea Treaty: ICC. Inuit and other Arctic indigenous peoples need to be more involved in the United Nations Law of the Sea negotiations. That was the message that Inupiaq academic and indigenous rights expert Dalee Sambo Dorough, also on the Inuit Circumpolar Council advisory committee on UN Issues; presented May 30 at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Under UNCLOS, nations with Arctic Ocean coastlines - like Canada, Russia, the United States, Denmark and Norway - can claim offshore territory beyond the 200-nautical-mile limit if they can prove by 2013 that underwater geology shows the seabed is actually an extension of their land base, the continental shelf. Nunatsiaq Online 

Cantor Balancing Research Priorities, Fiscal Concerns. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is calling for medical research to gain precedence over some other issues, as Congress tries to balance competing priorities with limited dollars. The Virginia Republican has been highlighting the research issue, which remains largely free of the bitter politics surrounding the health care law, along with other policies designed to move the House GOP beyond fiscal concerns. Congressional Quarterly

Finland's President Accuses Swedish Air Force of "Dozing Off." Finland's president Niinistö says that despite an ongoing military realignment in neighboring Sweden, the two countries still see eye-to-eye on security issues. President Sauli Niinistö says that Finland and Sweden are pursuing the same security policy, even though the Swedish government emphasized the threat from Russia in a security white paper issued on Friday. Alaska Dispatch 

Swedish Security Report Raises Concerns with Russia. A major security analysis presented to Sweden's government Friday says that Russia is moving in the wrong direction, resulting in more instability in the region. The report, the result of a cross-party Defense Advisory Committee, will be the foundation for the government's major decisions on defense starting in 2015. Alaska Dispatch 

Future of the Arctic in Focus as More Countries State Playing in the Region. As interest in the Arctic region, its exploration and preservation rapidly grows, the Arctic Council is getting more hands to help out with the new Permanent Arctic Council Secretariat starting its work in northern Norway. Eight Arctic nations, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the US, make the Arctic council, but as of May 15, twelve permanent observers have joined the Council. These include countries away from the Arctic circle such as China, Italy, Japan and South Korea. With Arctic ice melting and new opportunities for commercial transportation and extraction of mineral resources, new players are being attracted to the region. The decision on permanent observers reflects growing interest toward the Arctic among non-Arctic states. RT

USA: NEPA Meetings Scheduled for Arctic Deep Draft Ports Feasibility Study. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska District has scheduled three National Environmental Policy Act scoping meetings to receive comments for the district's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Arctic Deep Draft Ports Navigation Improvements Feasibility Study being conducted as a general investigation study. Meetings are planned for Nome at 6 p.m. June 11 at Old St. Joe's, Brevig Mission at 1 p.m. June 12 in the multipurpose room and Teller at 7 p.m. June 13 in the community/bingo hall. Dredging Today 

Medvedev Optimistic About Northern Sea Route. Russian Prime Minister Medvedev believes shipment volumes via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) may reach 10 million and even more tons annually. "The Northern Sea Route is a major advantage that our entire region should benefit from. We believe it is vital we should launch a certain set of up-to-date projects and raise infrastructure to get the best of its commercial potential," said Medvedev. Barents Nova   

Russia Joins Forces With Scandinavia to Finance Arctic Oil Rush. Russia, Finland and Norway are in talks to create a fund that will help pay for investments in the Arctic Barents region as part of a plan to gain access to billions of barrels of oil and natural gas. Talks between nations gathered for the 20th anniversary of the Barents Euro-Arctic Cooperation agreement focused on "how better to use the money or institutions we already have," Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said in an interview today in the Norwegian city of Kirkenes, close to the Russian border. "It could be a kind of common fund, where the money could come from Russia" and lenders such as the European Investment Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank, he said. Bloomberg

New Financial Tools Needed for the Arctic. Barents Euro-Arctic council (BEAR) may create new financial instruments for development of the Arctic region, said Russian PM Medvedev. The Barents Summit meeting held 3-4 June in the Norwegian town of Kirkenes has summoned Prime Ministers and other high-level representatives of the members of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council. "Iceland came up with a proposal to establish an investment bank," Medvedev said. "Our suggestion is to think of certain state-private partnership projects. If necessary we could set up funds. These tools may involve joint European structures. The idea is of large scale, but the most important thing is to secure it with money." Barents Nova 

IASC Data Statement. In this spirit of open collaboration, the IASC (International Arctic Science Committee) Council recently endorsed a new "Statement of Principles and Practices for Arctic Data Management." The document asserts that all IASC-endorsed scientific results shall be verifiable and reproducible through ethically open access to all data necessary to produce those results. Data should be made fully and freely available with minimal delay and with only limited ethical, not proprietary, restrictions. IASC 

Northern Sea Route Slated for Massive Growth. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday during an international conference on the Barents sea that shipping along the Arctic northern sea route could more than double, while experts said it could grow more than thirty-fold over the next eight years and account for a quarter of cargo traffic between Europe and Asia by 2030. The Moscow Times 

Air Monitors in Canada's Arctic to Track Pollution From Increased Shipping. Environment Canada has installed air quality monitors in two communities in Canada's eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut to track the pollution that may come with more industry in the North. Dr. Ralf Staebler recently installed the monitors in Resolute and Cape Dorset. He said those communities were chosen for a few reasons. Alaska Dispatch 

China Signals Hunger for Arctic's Mineral Riches. When China - along with Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, and Italy - was granted permanent observer status in the Arctic Council last month, it left many experts wondering whether a paradigm shift in geopolitics is taking place in the region. Until recently, security issues, search and rescue protocols, indigenous rights, climate change, and other environmental priorities were the main concerns of the intergovernmental forum, which includes the eight voting states bordering the Arctic and several indigenous organizations that enjoy participant status. But the admission of China and other major Asian economic powers as observer states is yet another strong sign, experts say, that the economic development of an increasingly ice-free Arctic is becoming a top priority of nations in the region and beyond. The Guardian 

Senators to Examine Cuts to Wildfire Suppression, Prevention. With the peak wildfire season approaching, a Senate hearing Tuesday will investigate whether officials are sacrificing fire prevention to fight active blazes in the face of deep budget cuts. Sequestration has slashed Interior Department and the Forest Service firefighting accounts, leaving lawmakers from Western states and appropriators trying to determine how much they can reasonably boost those accounts in their spending bills. Congressional Quarterly

Rain Brings Relief from Interior Alaska Wildfires. Wildfires calmed down Sunday night and Monday after rain showers and cool weather moved in after a week of high temperatures and dry weather. But the respite will be brief. Warmer, drier weather is expected to return by Thursday and continue into the weekend. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner