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Alaska Federation of Natives. Challenges at the Northernmost Border: 10,000 Years of Adaption Innovation and Action. (January 29-30, 2020) The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) under the leadership of Co-Chairs Ana Hoffman, and Will Mayo, in partnership with the Alaska Congressional Delegation and Lt. General Thomas Bussiere representing the Northern Command and NORAD Region, and the Pacific Air Forces, were pleased to welcome leaders and decision-makers to this 2020 Alaska Day conference. The Alaska Day conference was titled: Challenges at the Northernmost Border: 10,000 Years of Adaptation, Innovation, and Action. The focus of this gathering was on solutions with an emphasis on public-private partnerships, communications (both terrestrial and low earth orbit), public safety and security.
Department of Defense. Report to Congress: Department of Defense Arctic Strategy. (July 2019) The 2019 Department of Defense (DoD) Arctic Strategy updates the previous 2016 DoD Arctic Strategy as requested by Section 1071 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year (FY) 2019. This update includes a classified annex. Specifically, the 2019 DoD Arctic Strategy updates DoD's strategic objectives for the Arctic region, in light of DoD's renewed assessment of the evolving Arctic security environment and the release of the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS). Anchored in NDS goals and priorities, this updated Arctic strategy outlines DoD's strategic approach for protecting U.S. national security interests in the Arctic in an era of strategic competition.
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Media
 No Discussion of Buying Greenland, but Pompeo Underscores US Interest in the Arctic During Denmark Trip. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo touched down in Denmark on Wednesday for the first time since President Trump's desire to buy Greenland caused a diplomatic spat and led to the cancellation of a state visit last year. Many Danes remain suspicious of U.S. interest in the Arctic, and Pompeo's meeting Wednesday with the foreign ministers of Greenland and the Faroe Islands underscored U.S. aims to build closer ties, while edging out competition from China and Russia.
Washington Post
The Rush to Claim an Undersea Mountain Range. Beneath the frozen wastes of the Arctic, a three-way geopolitical tug-of-war is taking place over which country owns a ridge of undersea mountains. The winner will change maps forever. One of the most mysterious mountain ranges in the world is not visible on any ordinary map. You can't see it on the most popularly used flat map of the world, the Mercator projection, or on the Peters projection that is a popular (and more accurate) alternative. On a spinning globe, the plastic axle at the North Pole often covers it up, as if there's nothing to see.
BBC News
 The Air Force is Gearing Up For More Action in the Arctic. As Russia and China expand their commercial and military activities in the Arctic, airmen should prepare for a corresponding uptick of U.S. and partner activity in that region, according to the Air Force's top general. During a
panel hosted by the Atlantic Council, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told audiences that the anticipated increase will require airmen to be expeditionary and to become accustomed to Arctic warfare exercises.
Military
Three Nunavut Communities Approved for 2020 Bowhead Harvest. The Nunavut communities of Coral Harbour and Sanirajak plan to hold bowhead whale hunts this summer. A third community, Qikiqtarjuaq, also received approval to hold a bowhead hunt, but has decided not to because of COVID-19 concerns, according to the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board. Since 2015, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans' annual quota for bowhead whales in Nunavut has been set at five per year: two for the Kivalliq region, two for the Qikiqtani and one for the Kitikmeot.
Nunatsaiq Online
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Future Events
** New this week **
Expansion of Maritime Activity in the Bering Strait Region: Mitigating Existing and Future Risks, 11- 12:30 pm EDT on July 27, 2020 (Virtual). The Bering Strait region supports some of the most remarkable wildlife in the world, which in turn has supported subsistence cultures for thousands of years. In this webinar, experts will discuss the current situation in the region, future vessel traffic trends, increasing threats, and existing gaps in preparedness and response. The webinar will also consider possible measures that could help ensure safe and environmentally sound shipping, from strong communications to maritime traffic management tools and industry area-specific practices. WWF's new publication,
Safety at the Helm: A Plan for Smart Shipping through the Bering Strait, will be referenced during the event. The webinar is hosted by the Polar Institute
** New this week **
Polar Week: July 2020, July 27-31, 2020 (Virtual). The Wilson Center's Polar Institute will host its second edition of the Polar Week to explore, analyze, discuss, and inform many of these important issues and dynamics. Through several public events, the July 2020 Polar Week will address: maritime activity in the Bering Strait; Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy Framework; the European Union's Arctic strategy; the complex relationship in the Arctic between the United States and Russia; Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean, and; the launch of the inaugural edition of the Wilson Center's Polar Perspectives publication series.
Arctic Science Coalition Building Webinar with Brett Veerhusen, 2-3 PM EDT July 29, 2020 (Virtual)
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The most impactful Arctic research is driven by a strong, diverse coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations united by a common mission. In this virtual workshop Brett Veerhusen, Ocean Strategies founder, will share how he has built coalitions in fisheries research, management, and policy action in Alaska, and teach you how to move from an idea to an action plan by building a coalition that gets you to your Arctic research or policy goal.
The event is hosted by
Migration in Harmony
: An Interdisciplinary Network in Littoral Species, Settlements, and Cultures on the Move (MiH-RCN), an international, cross-disciplinary network of Arctic migration researchers funded by the National Science Foundation.
Arctic Circle Assembly, October 8-11, 2020 (Reykjavik, Iceland). The annual Arctic Circle Assembly is the largest annual international gathering on the Arctic, attended by more than 2000 participants from 60 countries. It is attended by heads of states and governments, ministers, members of parliaments, officials, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, indigenous representatives, environmentalists, students, activists and others from the growing international community of partners and participants interested in the future of the Arctic.
Arctic Science Summit Week, March 20-26, 2021 (Lisbon, Portugal). The Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Local Organizing Committee will host the Arctic Science Summit Week 2021. The Conference is organized by FCT, Ciência Viva, AIR Center, the Portuguese Arctic Community and by IASC and partners. Framed by the overarching theme for the Science Conference "The Arctic: Regional Changes, Global Impacts," Lisbon invites International experts on the Arctic and Indigenous Peoples to discuss the "New Arctic" and also its impacts and interactions to and with the lower latitudes.
Save the Date: 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses, May 3-6, 2021 (Hanko, Finland). Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2021. This symposium will bring together molecular microbial ecologists specializing in different organism groups to share our latest results and discuss methodological problems, as well as future prospects in the field, including practical international collaborations. The environmental focus will be on cryospheric environments including sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost, but excellent research in other polar environments is also invited. The methods to be discussed will focus on 'omics' techniques, ranging from single cells to metagenomes, but research using additional methods is encouraged as well.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, May 8-9, 2021 (Toyko, Japan).
The Japanese and Icelandic organizers of this ministerial continue to plan for an in-person ministerial, in Tokyo, but have moved the dates from November 21-22, 2020 to May 8-9, 2021 because of Covid-19. Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. Considering the need for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and repair measures, the relevance of an international Arctic Science Ministerial has never been greater. It is necessary to strengthen scientific cooperation and collaboration among both Arctic and non-Arctic States in order to develop our understanding of the rapid changes impacting the Arctic. The First Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM1) was hosted by the United States in 2016, and two years later, the Second Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM2) was co-hosted by Germany, Finland, and the European Commission. ASM3 will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
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** New this week **
