Regional Office

Alaska Office

Western Arctic. (Kiliii Yuyan for Earthjustice)

310 K Street, Ste. 508
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 277-2500

325 Fourth Street
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 586-2751

akoffice@earthjustice.org

Media Inquiries

Elizabeth Manning
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
emanning@earthjustice.org

Legal Assistance Inquiries

Contacto de Prensa

Robert Valencia
Estratega de Comunicaciones y Asuntos PĆŗblicos Hispanos/Latinos
rvalencia@earthjustice.org
(212) 845-7376

Who We Are

Since 1978, our Alaska regional office has fought destructive oil and gas drilling, mining, and logging that threatens the regionā€™s communities, lands, waters, and wildlife. SeeĀ bar admissions for our attorneys.

Charisse ArceSenior Attorney

Erin ColĆ³nSenior Attorney

Ian DooleySenior Associate Attorney

Hannah Payne FosterSenior Associate Attorney

Olivia GlasscockSenior Attorney

Kate GloverSenior Attorney

Erik GrafeDeputy Managing Attorney

Carole HolleyManaging Attorney

Eric JorgensenSenior Attorney

Iris Korhonen-PennLitigation Paralegal

Jeremy LiebSenior Attorney

Sarah SaundersLegal Practice Manager / Supervising Litigation Paralegal

Maile TavepholjalernSenior Attorney

Our Impact

Alaska is home to irreplaceable diversity of peoples, wildlife, and ecosystems. It includes rich Alaska Native cultures dating back millennia, the only Arctic region in the U.S., and the Tongass National Forest.

Earthjustice, in coordination with our clients and allies, defends the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Arctic Ocean, and Western Arctic from fossil fuel development, as well as opposes industry efforts to log and build roads in Alaskaā€™s old-growth forests and wilderness.

We are committed to representing those who oppose unlawful and ill-advised mining in the vast expanse of Alaska and British Columbia and are battling some of the regionā€™s worst hard rock and coal mine proposals.

In this work, the office represents a diverse mix of organizations and allies, including conservation groups, community organizations, and many Alaska Native Tribes who have, for millennia, relied on Alaskaā€™s lands and waters for their way of life.

Highlights of past successes include:

  • Overturning a Trump executive order opening the vast majority of the Arctic Ocean to oil and gas drilling
  • Defeating a Bush administration action exempting the Tongass National Forest from the national Roadless Rule
  • Enjoining countless old-growth Tongass timber sales in lawsuits over a span of more than 30 years
  • Protecting the Arctic from developmentā€™s harm, including the Western Arcticā€™s most sensitive wildlife habitat near Teshekpuk Lake
  • Winning protections for Alaskaā€™s ocean ecosystems and marine animals, including Steller sea lions
  • Forcing substantial reform of gold placer mining practices throughout Interior Alaska through a successful litigation campaign
  • Defeating a permit for a proposed mine that would have released toxic tailings into the waters of Misty Fjords National Monument

Recent News
Caribou in the western Arctic.
January 16, 2025 Press Release

Earthjustice Statement on Western Arctic Protections

Affording protections to critical caribou calving and migration areas in the Western Arctic will help safeguard irreplaceable Arctic ecosystems from fossil fuel development

Oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge threatens the habitats of a wide range of wildlife, including polar bears, Arctic foxes and wolverines.
January 8, 2025 Press Release

Earthjustice Statement on Lease Sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refugeā€ÆĀ 

Department of Interior announces no bids were receivedĀ 

January 7, 2025 In the News: The Daily Yonder

Along the Kuskokwin River, Gold Mining Likely Comes at a High Price

Hannah Payne Foster, Attorney, Alaska Office, Earthjustice: ā€œIn this kind of major extractive project, the barriers to entry to the legal process is high even for engaged, smart advocates. Our clients care so much about their communities, but with thousands of pages to review it is really hard to track what is happening, access resources,…

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