Today's Events 

Should Alaska Take Over Wetlands Regulation from Feds? Alaska wants to find out if it can spur more development by taking over from the federal government the job of wetlands regulation, promising that the state won't weaken those rules. Gov. Sean Parnell wants to handle wetlands permitting better by speeding up the application and approval process, said Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan. Alaska Dispatch

 

Predation Not Likely Cause of Dall Sheep Crash in Alaska's Chugach Mountains. Watching a small band of Dall sheep ewes with a single lamb, Tommy Levanger recalled seeing a small black speck in his peripheral vision. The speck was a golden eagle in a 50-to-60-degree dive towards the lamb. When Levanger first noticed the bird, it was still about 200 feet above him. With its wings folded against its body, Levanger said, "it looked like a missile." Flying a Robinson R44 helicopter near the headwaters of Eagle River, Levanger was hovering about 200 feet above the lamb. He had just dropped off Brianne Boan and wildlife technician Corey Stantorf, who were stalking the sheep over unstable shale, hoping to capture the one-to-two-day-old lamb. The ewes, aware that trouble was approaching on foot, were contouring across the mountain slope, away from the biologists. No one but Levanger was focused on the 15-pound golden eagle, moving at approximately 150 mph, a feather-covered battering ram. Alaska Dispatch 

 

Finland Creates Sanctuaries for Endangered Seals. With just over 300 left, the Saimaa seal population in Finland is teetering on the brink of extinction. Six new protection areas for the endangered Saimaa seals have been established in Finland's South Savo region. The Tornator forestry company has agreed with the South Savo Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment to set aside 94 hectares as a seal preserve. The Tornator Group owns nearly 600,000 hectares of woodland in Finland, along with holdings in Estonia and Romania. Alaska Dispatch 

 

NASA Deploys Rover to Study Greenland's Ice Sheet. A NASA rover known as GROVER is roaming Greenland to collect data that may help scientists better understand changes to the ice sheet. GROVER, short for Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research, began exploring the ice sheet on May 3 and is expected to operate until June 8, NASA said in a press release this month. "Robots like GROVER will give us a new tool for glaciology studies," said Lora Koenig, a glaciologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and science advisor on the GROVER project, said in the NASA press release. Alaska Dispatch 

 

The Arctic is Pushed North. By use of satellite photos and field studies, the vegetation north of the 50th parallel has been studied thoroughly and compared with older data from the same area. The results are described as sensational by researchers and show that the effects of global warming are highly evident in the north. Data from the study shows that the growth season in the northern parts of the globe has expanded with up to 40 days over the last 30 years.  "Norwegian climate and vegetation as we know it today might be totally changed within some decades. The same process is happening in Siberia, in Alaska and in the northern parts of Canada. Mountain plateaus become forest land and the winter period is shorter and shorter every year", says Hans Tømmervik at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). Barents Observer 

 

Nunavut to Provide More Suicide Intervention Training. The Nunavut government will partner with Nunavut Arctic College and the Nunavut Teachers' Association to provide more suicide intervention training, Premier and Education Minister Eva Aariak announced yesterday. "The department will work closely with Nunavut Arctic College to develop a rotating training schedule, so that we offer training in all communities over the next two to three years," she said in Inuktitut. CBC News 

 

US to Release Arctic-Specific Drilling Rules Before Year End. When Royal Dutch Shell PLC sought permission from the US government to drill for oil in the icy water of the Arctic Ocean, it agreed to follow a special set of standards to control oil spills in a challenging environment. Interior Department officials now say they will ask other oil companies to follow similar protocols if they want to operate off Alaska's north coast. Interior Deputy Secretary David  Hayes said Tuesday the agency is working on Arctic-specific rules that should be proposed by the end of the year. RigZone 

 

Arctic Council Heads to Kiruna Next Week. The modern Arctic is a busy place. New mines and crowds of tourists drawn by the changing climate jockey for space alongside traditional communities and the lands they depend on. At the crossroads of all that traffic sits the small town of Kiruna, in northern Sweden. Which makes it an appropriate backdrop for the Arctic Council meeting it hosts on May 15. Barents Observer 

 

Canada's Shipbuilding Program is Too Important to Run Aground on Poor Planning. Will we ever see steel cut on our promised new fleet of Arctic patrol craft and new warships for the Royal Canadian Navy? Yes, but it will require continuing political will in holding to schedules and budgets and resolve in the face of relentless criticism. Reports about the high cost for the design of the Arctic patrol craft come on the heels of the Parliamentary Budget Office warning that the new Navy supply ships are over budget and behind schedule. The Auditor General has announced he will investigate the entire procurement process. The Globe and Mail 

 

Most Arctic Council Applicants Pose Little Risk [Editorial] We don't know for certain if Canada will use its effective veto on the Arctic Council this month to bar the granting of observer status to the European Union, or any other applicant. But it's fair to say that Canada's Arctic Council minister, Leona Aglukkaq, now faces pressure from those who want her to use her influence to ensure Canada does just that. This pressure comes from a sizeable number of her Nunavut constituents and organizations like Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Nunatsiaq Online 

 

Integrated Management Strategy Called for in Changing Arctic. A federal interagency working group led by the Interior Department says an integrated management strategy is called for in the rapidly changing Arctic. The report released April 4 by Interior Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes highlights the need for a coordinated approach using best available science to integrate cultural, environmental and economic factors in decision-making about development and conservation. The report came on the heels of a March 27 Senate Oceans Subcommittee hearing held in Anchorage on Arctic marine activity chaired by Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, who said increasing traffic due to declining Arctic sea ice poses greater risks than oil and gas drilling. Alaska Native News