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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The House and Senate are not in session.
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 Sentinels of Change: Gray Whales in the Arctic. Gray whales do things differently. Gray whales look different, swim farther, and fight more fiercely than other whales. They owe their distinctive mottled look to a coat of crustaceans that can weigh up to 400 pounds. Their swim from Alaska to Baja and back may be the longest annual migration of any mammal.
SitNews
US To Ban Captivity of Some Beluga Whales. The United States is about to get involved in the fate of
beluga whales in eastern Russia, including dozens of captured animals being held in tanks in the region. On Tuesday, the National Marine Fisheries Service is expected to announce its recommendation to designate the population of
beluga whales in the western Sea of Okhotsk as "depleted" under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Take Part
 Sen. Sullivan Seeks to Cut Wait for New Icebreaker in Arctic. U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan from Alaska is pushing to get a new icebreaker in the Arctic to boost the nation's defenses and investments in commerce. The Kodiak Daily Mirror report that Sullivan says the Department of Defense is "behind the curve" in transportation and resources in the Arctic compared to other countries. The U.S. has two active icebreakers, while Russia has 40.
The Moulton Advertiser
Science Summit a Rousing Success. The Arctic Science Summit Week, Arctic Observing Summit, Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials, Model Arctic Council and International Arctic Assembly were convened in mid-March on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks with great productivity and satisfaction of the participants. We were pleased to welcome more than 1000 participants from more than 30 different nations and more than 130 different institutions. These registrants included 200 Alaskans and 28 members of the media.
Fairbanks Daily New-Miner
 Shell Pulls Out of Arctic-Focused Exploration Oil Licensing Round in Norway. Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has pulled its application from Norway's Arctic-focused oil licensing round, the firm said on Monday, in a blow to the Nordic country's ambitions to explore for oil and gas in its northern offshore areas. "The decision is part of an optimisation of Shell's global portfolio following the acquisition of BG and a persistently low oil price," the company's Norwegian unit said in a statement. "Norway remains one of our core areas."
Hellenic Shipping News
Melting Away: Documentary 'Children of the Arctic' Exploring Alaska Native Youth Airs on PBS. Descendants of the Iñupiat Eskimo people of Alaska are watching their ice-and with it their culture, languages and way of life-melt away.
At the same time, as a new documentary airing on public television stations nationwide on Tuesday April 5 illustrates, Native youth are striving to balance their engagement in the modern world with keeping their valuable traditions alive. Indian Country Today
 NSF Launches Arctic Research Center at UC-Santa Barbara Analysis Hub. The National Science Foundation has opened a $5.9 million Arctic region-focused scientific research data center in the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
NSF's Arctic Data Center will work to serve as the Arctic research community's data preservation and discovery storage, the agency
said March 23
. The center will work to facilitate Arctic data collection by the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the National Snow and Ice Data Center's Advanced Cooperative Arctic Data and Information Service.
Executive Biz
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, April 14-16, 2016 (Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. This workshop will gather a diverse group of scholars to discuss the state-of-the art in Arctic social sciences and develop visioning scenarios for the future of social science research in the Arctic. The core topics will parallel discussions held at other regional workshops (Portland, OR and Providence, RI), which include: social sciences research and climate change; interdisciplinary research in the Arctic; social sciences and humanities in the Arctic, and applied social sciences research.
Alaska Rural Energy Conference, April 26-28, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The Alaska Rural Energy Conference is a three day event offering a large variety of technical sessions covering new and ongoing energy projects in Alaska, as well as new technologies and needs for Alaska's remote communities. Building on the growing success, the Alaska Energy Authority and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power have joined forces again to organize and sponsor the 10th annual Alaska Rural Energy Conference.
High North Dialogue 2016: The Blue Future of the Arctic, May 25-26, 2016.
HND is an annual conference hosted by the High North Center at Nord University, engaging a wide audience of researchers and future leaders of the region. It will address the necessary questions to effectively promote dialogue between interested stakeholders on how to sustainably develop the different realities of the many Arctics. PhD and Masters students can also participate in a week long credit awarding graduate course.
14th IATS Seminar, June 19-25, 2016 (Bergen, Norway).
The University of Bergen (UiB) is honored to host the 14th IATS Seminar in Bergen, Norway, from Sunday 19 to Saturday 25 June 2016 in co-operation with the Network for University Co-operation Tibet-Norway, an academic network with the universities of Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø as partners. The convenor is Professor Hanna Havnevik, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, and Chair of the Network.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Rhode Island, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The event will reassemble the members of the National Steering Committee and a small but diverse selection of representatives from the five regional workshops, to total about 15 people. The aim will be to identify and synthesize the core threads of the previous workshops and public contributions proffered between workshops. The target output for the workshop will be a final report draft and outline of steps leading to the final report release in June 2016. The Jefferson Institute will manage production of the publication.
Second International Conference on Natural Resources and Integrated Development of Coastal Areas in the Arctic Zone, September 27-29, 2016 (Arkhangelsk, Russia).
The Conference is organized by FASO of Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, Government of Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk Scientific Center and International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). Conference is aimed at elaboration of research-based practical measures and instruments for realization of human, natural and transport-logistical potential of the Arctic zone, including development of the Northern Sea Route and implementation of models of integrated coastal areas management. For additional information, please email.
Inuit traditions are a repository of Inuit culture and a primary expression of Inuit identity. The theme for the 2016 Inuit Studies Conference invites Elders, knowledge-bearers, researchers, artists, policy-makers, students and others to engage in conversations about the many ways in which traditions shape understanding, while registering social and cultural change. The institutional hosts of "Inuit Traditions," Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Nunatsiavut Government, invite you to contribute to an exchange of knowledge to be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, October 7-10, 2016. Presentations on all aspects of Inuit studies will be welcome.
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