Federal Policy Tracker

• Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee is updating the Implementation Plan for the Arctic Research Plan 2022-2026 – input open through the end of May, 2024.

• The Congressional Research Service issued a report on: Subsistence Uses of Resources in Alaska: An Overview of Federal Management April 20, 2023.

• The National Marine Fisheries Service released a federal register notice on 2023 draft Marine Mammal Stock assessment reports for Alaska. Comments are due April 29, 2024. The Species Status Assessment for walrus will help determine if the pacific walrus population should be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

• The National Marine Fisheries Service issued an incidental harassment authorization to the U.S. Navy for activities in the Arctic Ocean associated with the 2024 Ice Exercise, effective February 1, 2024 through April 30, 2024. Activities about the Ice Exercise can be viewed here.

• The National Marine Fisheries Service has issued an incidental harassment authorization to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Port of Nome expansion, authorized from May 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025. Pile driving may cause underwater sound harassment of marine mammals.

• Marine Mammal Commission Fact Sheets: Co-Management of Marine Mammals in Alaska.