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 Today's Congressional Action:
The House is not in session. The Senate is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.
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Three Weeks in the Saddle, Studying Climate Change in Alaska's Arctic. After 800-plus miles by snowmachine and three weeks of working in the same clothes, it's time to pack our duffel bags, stuff them into a barrel and set them on fire. Just kidding about the burn barrel, but three lake studiers and I returned last night to the slushy snow of Toolik Lake, where I got my machine stuck 50 yards from the sauna. There, the boys unrolled the tow ropes and rescued me one last time. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
 Unrequired Reading: Many of the thousands of reports mandated by Congress will only gather dust. This Congress is officially expecting 4,291 written reports, from 466 federal agencies and nonprofit groups. Legislators have demanded reports on things as big as Social Security, as small as the House's employee hair salon and as far afield as the state of Little League baseball. But as the numbers got bigger, Congress started to lose track. It overwhelmed itself. Today, Congress is not even sure how many of those 4,291 reports are actually turned in. And it does not try to save copies of all the ones that are. Washington Post
Russia's New Blend. Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, was characteristically bullish last month when he announced that the first oil from the Prirazlomnaya platorm, in the Arctic ocean, was now flowing into the ice-breaking tanker Mikhail Ulyanov, and would soon be headed to market. "The start of loading the oil produced at Prirazlomnaya means that the entire project will exert a most encouraging influence on Russia's presence on the energy markets and will stimulate the Russian economy in general and its energy sector in particular," he said. Arctic Journal
Why the US Needs an Ambassador to the North Pole. It sounds like a joke at first. Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner and Rick Larsen introduced a bill last week to establish a U.S. ambassador-at-large for Arctic affairs. In other words, someone to represent the nation at the North Pole. The wisecracks are boundless. Could this create a power struggle with Santa Claus? Would polar bears serve on the ambassador's staff? Has Rudolph released a statement? But appointing a U.S. ambassador to the Arctic is a legitimate request-and a smart one, too. National Journal
OPINION: Changing Conditions, Lake of Research Heighten Risks in Arctic. News of a successful spring whale hunt in Point Hope brought images of happy, hardworking Alaskans to the newspaper's inboxes. The images showed Alaskans doing what they have done for generations upon generations, working together to harvest the bounty of the ocean. Today, another image came through that was less positive. In Barrow, a friend posted a picture of a crack appearing in the ice just offshore, and asked for prayers as whalers went out to try to retrieve equipment from the ice in a howling blizzard. There is no doubt that outdoor endeavors in Alaska are inherently dangerous and unpredictable, but this week's ice activity caught many in the state unprepared. In Nome, winter gold-dredging operations were cut short when the ice cleaved from the shore earlier than usual. While most of the equipment was rescued, a pickup truck reportedly took a swim as a result of the quick ice movement. Arctic Sounder
Study: Alaska Wood Frogs Are Champion Deep-Freeze Hibernators. North America's northernmost amphibians can stay frozen solid most of the year before they thaw and emerge to hop, breed, sing and conduct other summertime business, according to a newly published study led by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The wood frog, found in a broad geographic area ranging from the southeastern United States to the Brooks Range of Alaska and the Mackenzie River Delta of Arctic Canada, is famous for surviving frigid conditions. Alaska Dispatch
 Minister for Foreign Affairs Meets with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington. Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Martin Lidegaard is visiting Washington, D.C., on May 6 - 7 to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry. The main topics of the meeting will be the situation in Ukraine, Syria, and the Arctic region as well as climate and energy policy. Martin Lidegaard states: ""Our common agenda holds many global challenges and important issues. During my meeting with Secretary of State Kerry we will among other things discuss how the European Union and the United States can continue to push for a peaceful de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine. I will also focus on the Arctic region, climate and energy policy, and the transition to a green economy. Furthermore, we will address how to stabilize and improve the horrific conditions in Syria and for the Syrian people." Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
Aerial Survey Aims to Unlock the Mystery of Canada's Arctic Whales. The whale watching season that gets underway this month along Quebec's North Shore region will draw hundreds of thousands of tourists who will soak in the beauty of the area and catch sight of the great whales of the St-Lawrence Estuary. The tourism industry around whales contributes $100 million annually to the local economy, but there is another benefit to the hundreds of trips that head out from May to October to that magic location near where the Saguenay and St-Lawrence Rivers collide with the ocean's currents: knowledge. Montreal Gazette
 Is a Warming Arctic a National Security Threat? With the Arctic Ocean warming at an alarming rate, the enhanced ability of foreign vessels to navigate through the region is putting a greater demand on the U.S. Coast Guard to confront what may be the newest threat to U.S. national security. "With increased activities in the Arctic come increased risk," said Cmdr. Karin Messenger, deputy chief of the Coast Guard's emerging policy staff in Washington, D.C. "The remote nature of the region and the operational conditions will make any national or international emergency response, such as a mass rescue operation, challenging." Military Times
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation as formally considered Friday.
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Future Events
Alaska Policy Commission. May 6-7, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska).
The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. Updated meeting information is available here.
Marine Mammal Commission's Annual Meeting, May 6-8, 2014 (Washington, DC). The meeting will include a session on "The Changing Arctic",  on May 6th, from 1:30 to 2:15 pm, that focuses on understanding and managing the impacts of climate change and increased human activities on Arctic marine mammals and subsistence activities. John Farrell (USARC) will moderate a panel consisting of Sue Moore (NMFS), Jim Kendall (BOEM), Vera Metcalf (AEWC), and Julie Gourley (State Dept.). The meeting will be held in Fellowship Hall, Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church, 900 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC. Agenda here.
Responding to Oil Spills in the US Arctic Marine Environment, May 12. (Webinar)
This webinar will provide a briefing on the new National Research Coucil report Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment. Martha Grabowski, chair of the study committee, will discuss the report's main points regarding key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. There will be an opportunity for questions at the conclusion of the briefing. See agenda here.
International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, May 22-24, 2014. ICASS is held every three years, bringing together people from all over the world to share ideas about social science research in the Arctic. ICASS VII, held in Akureyri in June 2011, attracted 450 participants from 30 different countries. ICASS VIII's theme is Northern Sustainabilities. By using the plural, ICASS underscores both that 'sustainability' has social, cultural, economic, political and environmental dimensions, and that definitions of the concept vary. Yet, while debating specific definitions, most would agree that working toward sustainable ways of living in the North and on approaches to sustainable engagement with the North, are critical both to the North's and to the world's future. Community sustainability in the North, whether for small settlements or large urban conglomerations, requires new models of food and energy security, and of access to employment, health care and social and cultural services for residents.
Arctic in the Athropocene. June 23-July 2, 2014 (Potsdam, Germany). Under the overarching theme "Arctic in the Anthropocene", this two-week interdisciplinary and interactive event will be the first in a series of Potsdam Summer Schools to be held annually. The goal is to bring together early-career scientists and young professionals from research departments, governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, as well as the private sector from all around the world. Participants will deal with global challenges and address urgent questions on how to shape sustainable futures in the Arctic and beyond from a scientific and socioeconomic point of view.
Alaska Policy Commission. August 26-27, 2014 (Kotzebue-Nome, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations.
2014 FAMOS School and Workshop #3, October 21-24, 2014. (Woods Hole, MA) The Forum for Arctic Ocean Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) is an international effort to focus on enhancing collaboration and coordination among Arctic marine and sea ice modelers, theoreticians and observationalists synthesize major results from the field studies and coordinated numerical experiments. The major themes of workshop include but not limited by studies focused on: predictions; Arctic observational and modeling initiatives; fate of sea ice in models and observations; atmospheric, sea ice and ocean dynamics; process studies and parameterizations; model validation and calibration; numerical improvements and algorithms; ecosystems, biological issues, and geochemistry.
Arctic Circle, October 31-November 2, 2014 (Reyjavik, Iceland).
The Arctic Circle is nonprofit and nonpartisan. Organizations, forums, think tanks, corporations and public associations around the world are invited to hold meetings within the Arctic Circle platform to advance their own missions and the broader goal of increasing collaborative decision-making without surrendering their institutional independence. The Arctic Circle will organize sessions on a variety of issues, such as: Sea ice melt and extreme weather; Polar law: treaties and agreements; The role and rights of indigenous peoples; Security in the Arctic; Shipping and transportation infrastructure; The prospects and risks of oil and gas drilling; Clean energy achievements and sustainable development; Arctic resources; Business cooperation in the Arctic; The role of Asian and European countries in the Arctic; Greenland in the new Arctic; Fisheries and ecosystem management; The science of ice: global research cooperation; Arctic tourism; The ice-dependent world: the Arctic and the Himalayas.
Alaska Policy Commission. November 13-14, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations.
The Arctic Biodiversity Congress, December 2-4, 2014. (Trondheim, Norway). The Arctic Biodiversity Congress will present and discuss the main scientific findings of the ABA; facilitate inter-disciplinary discussion, action and status updates on the policy recommendations in the ABA; provide scientific, policy, management, NGO, academia, Indigenous peoples and industry audiences the opportunity to collaborate around the themes of the ABA; advise CAFF on national and international implementation of the ABA recommendations and on the development of an ABA Implementation Plan for the Arctic Council; highlight the work of CAFF and the Arctic Council on circumpolar biodiversity conservation and sustainable development; and, contribute to mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services, ensuring that the recommendations of the ABA are implemented by not just governments, but many organizations and people across disciplines.
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