‘Tis the season for reflection, gratitude and truth telling. And as we head into December, we have much to be grateful for.
Yesterday, after over 17 years of fighting to stop the development of Pebble mine, we celebrated the historic news that the EPA has taken a critical step towards permanently protecting Bristol Bay’s economy, salmon and people. Thank you to all of our donors and partners in the Bristol Bay Defense Fund for their support – this milestone would not have been reached without your continued commitment to this fight.
Just before Thanksgiving, with much anticipation and many spreadsheet tabulation livestreams, the results of Alaska’s first ranked choice voting general election was certified. With the reelection of Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaskans demonstrated the potential for bipartisanship even in today’s polarized political climate, and ranked fish and climate resilience efforts as top priorities.
Beyond this, our team is grateful for the growing momentum for Alaska’s clean energy potential, climate change solutions, and increased investment and emphasis on community and economic sustainability that will carry us all into 2023. Thank you for joining with us in this work. The Alaska Venture Fund team |
Alaska Venture Fund - News & Views
Project updates, stories and perspectives that inspire our work. |
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| Erin Dovichin Receives Conservation Leadership Award! |
Erin Dovichin, founder of Alaska Venture Fund, was recently awarded one of four Wilburforce Foundation 2022 Conservation Leadership Awards. The awards recognize groundbreaking leaders protecting wildlands and wildlife in North America. “Erin is truly visionary,” said Paul Beaudet, executive director of the Wilburforce Foundation. “She identifies opportunities, supports innovative solutions and rallies interests. All of her work is more powerful still because it is threaded with the trust and relationships she’s built by listening to and serving Indigenous leaders in the state.” Congratulations, Erin!
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| AVF Launches the Jilkáat Aani K_a Héeni (Chilkat River Watershed) Fund |
Led by the work of the Jilkáat Kwaan and community allies, Alaska Venture Fund has established a new fund to support the protection of the Southeast Alaska’s Chilkat River Watershed and promote sustainable futures for the area through civic engagement, community education and Indigenous-led stewardship. For more information, click here, or connect with our Director of Strategic Partnerships, Natalie Dawson.
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| In The News: Alaska Native Birthworkers Community |
We were delighted to see the important work of the Alaska Native Birthworkers Community recently featured in a story in the Anchorage Daily News. ANBC is a grassroots volunteer project hosted by Alaska Venture Fund that provides culturally-matched care and peer-support to Alaska Native families through talking circles, prenatal childbirth preparation retreats, assistance at birth, postpartum support and trainings for Indigenous birthworkers. Read the story here.
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| Spruce Root and Economic Development Shifts in Southeast |
Spruce Root and its executive director, Alana Peterson, are promoting a wholesale change in how economic development happens in Southeast Alaska. Alana is a non-profit leader, entrepreneur, mother and fierce advocate for Southeast Alaska's Indigenous communities. Through her work with Spruce Root and the Sustainable Southeast Partnership, she is bringing together previously adversarial groups to forge a new vision for the future of the region. Read more about Alana and Spruce Root here.
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| Welcome Shaina Kilcoyne to Alaska Venture Fund! |
Please join us in welcoming our new Climate & Energy Transition Program Director to the AVF team! We're thrilled to add Shaina's energy and vision to our work. She recently co-led the Anchorage Climate Action Plan and its implementation, and credits her previous years in the Army National Guard for influencing her work in securing a stable and sustainable energy economy. Get to know Shaina on our AVF Team page.
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From Across Alaska
News, articles, events, videos and more. | |
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The Alaska Mandate - And the potential of a pro-fish, pro-climate delegation: In the recent midterm elections, Alaskans responded to the call to vote for legislators who understand the need to act on salmon issues, Alaska Native concerns, pursuing renewable energy opportunities and funding for climate resilience. Senator Murkowski now has the opportunity to leverage her committee positions in Congress to support the role of the Denali Commission in coordinating the distribution of federal funding and capital improvement projects to rural communities.
Clean Energy Transition - Alaska’s wind, tech and shipping potential: There are exciting movements in Alaska’s transition to clean energy. Our partners at Launch Alaska were recently awarded $5 million from the Office of Naval Research to support innovative tech solutions and business collaboration. Decarbonization in maritime shipping and the strategic location of the Aleutian Islands as a possible zero-emissions shipping hub, is encouraging research into hydrogen fuel cells. The second-largest wind farm in Alaska is looking to double its number of turbines and triple its power output in Cook Inlet.
Threatened Communities - How and when to relocate entire villages:
Coastal communities in Western Alaska continue to experience the combined challenges of climate change and climate injustice, complicated by regional histories and village planning orchestrated by non-Indigenous policies. Recognizing these challenges, the U.S. Department of the Interior recently announced relocation grants of $25 million each for the villages of Newtok and Napakiak. Additional communities like Kivalina, Hooper Bay and Shishmaref have also made plans to relocate their villages. Extreme storm events like Typhoon Merbok are underlining the need to accelerate plans, even as communities wrestle with questions of cultural and community unity.
In case you missed it: |
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Building a more sustainable future for Alaska and beyond. |
Alaska Venture Fund is a project of the New Venture Fund. New Venture Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization. |
Alaska Venture Fund 721 Depot Drive Anchorage, AK 99501 |
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