Murkowski: Where's that Arctic Port? When President Obama was in Alaska last year, he said he wanted to advance plans for a deepwater port in the Alaskan Arctic, possibly in Nome. Today, Sen. Lisa Murkowski followed up on that with the head of the Army Corps of Engineers. "Given the President's support for this, why have we not included construction funding going forward in this next fiscal year?" Murkowski asked... The exchange took place at an Appropriations subcommittee hearing to review the president's budget. The budget includes $150 million for planning and design of a new icebreaker.  Alaska Public Radio 

Demystifying the EU in the Arctic. The time has come for Arctic states to try to understand the European Union and acknowledge its investments in research, development and education in the region, and its contribution to Arctic governance. It should be formally accepted as an observer to the Arctic Council. The European Union is enhancing its engagement in the Arctic. It is expected to issue a statement in the first half of 2016, based on a roadmap released earlier this year by the European Commission and the European External Action Service. This is a logical next step that builds upon the EU's earlier policy documents in 2008 and 2012 that identified the broad contours of the EU's policy and activities in the Arctic. By now, all the major institutions of the EU (Parliament, Council and the Commission) have taken a stance on the EU's presence in the Arctic, a presence that extends far beyond the EU's involvement in the work of the Arctic Council and the continuous lack of the EU's formal observer status in this forum. Huffington Post

Warm Winter Changes Nature of Seal Hunting. The warm winter has extended far north of Anchorage as well. The spring season for bearded seals, or ugruk, has come nearly two months early for some hunters in Western Alaska. Warm weather makes the hunt a little easier, but locals are concerned about precarious sea ice and unpredictable weather. Alaska Public Radio 

After Unusual Warmth, Arctic Sea Ice Hits New Record Low for February. Arctic sea ice reached another record last month, posting the lowest average February extent since satellite records began in 1979, scientists said on Wednesday. Sea ice extent -- defined as the area where ice covers at least 15 percent of the sea surface -- averaged 5.48 million square miles over the month, about 7.7 percent lower than the average long-term February extent measured from 1981 to 2010, the National Snow and Ice Data Center said in its monthly report. Alaska Dispatch News

Inuit Committee to Helping End Violence Against Women and Girls. It will take efforts from all levels of government and individual Nunavummiut if Nunavut ever hopes to lower the high rate of violence against women in the country, says the territory's Status of Women minister. Monica Ell-Kanayuk, who attended the murdered and missing women roundtable in Winnipeg last week, said Feb. 29 that she plans to speak to her legislative colleagues about freeing up resources to address high rates of violence against women in Nunavut, adding it must be a priority in the territory. Nunatsiaq Online

'Sustainable' Fish From Major Consumer Brands Linked to Arctic Destruction. Fishing fleets that supply major consumer brands are using destructive bottom trawlers in an area known as the 'Arctic Galapagos', according to a new Greenpeace investigation. Researchers used satellite data and field work to track the increasing number of trawlers operating in areas of the Northern Barents Sea in the Norwegian Arctic, an 'ecologically significant' area according to scientists that is a high priority for protection. The region, which includes the Svalbard archipelago, is home to vulnerable species including deep water coral reefs, bowhead whales and Greenland sharks. FIS

 

Defining Priorities for Polar Research. The EU-PolarNet alliance of leading polar research organizations is undertaking a consultation on twelve overarching European research priorities for Polar Regions. The World Ocean Council (WOC) is the private sector partner in the EU-PolarNet consortium. To participate in the public consultation, click here. The online consultation on polar research priorities is open until 9 March 2016.  Arctic Journal

 

Arctic Naval Exercise Not a Hedge Against Russia, Officials Say. A contingent of international partners has descended upon an icy spot 200 miles north of Alaska for Ice Exercise 2016, where the Navy, other armed services and a variety of agencies will get practice operating in the Arctic and completing scientific research.

Led by Submarine Forces Command, the five-week ICEX 2016 will give the Navy a chance to hone its sub skills in that environment, while also doing diving, unmanned underwater vehicle tests, search and rescue training, and researching weather and other environmental conditions up north. The exercise will include two unnamed U.S. submarines. Navy Times