robust licensing and permitting process offers protection from federal prosecution for the Alaska cannabis industry, but the time and expense of participating in that process has created a market in which licensed businesses are vulnerable to being undercut by black-market prices.

When Alaska legalized cannabis for recreational use in 2015, the industry was able to quickly secure two prominent segments of the market.

“We were able to wrest very many individuals from the black market when the legal industry started. These were people who just wanted the convenience and could afford the higher prices, the people who really didn’t like only being able to go to their guy and just have whatever bags he had that day,” Good Titrations COO Brandon Emmett says. “And then we created a smaller but new consumer group: those individuals who like substances but are also very law abiding.”

laskans have some experience both with isolation and sudden emergencies. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, seasonal flooding, and wildfires seldom schedule their arrival. And while emerging technology and developing infrastructure have allowed Alaska to become more connected, as Alaskans we know we’re still at the end of the road—even more so for those living beyond the road in Alaska’s remote communities.

So while the sudden appearance of COVID-19 in our lives, quickly followed by orders to stop leaving our homes or socializing with anyone, was definitely not normal, at its root it wasn’t completely unfamiliar, and across the state Alaskans demonstrated once again their willingness to do what needs to be done to take care of each other.

he importance of the aviation industry to Alaska can’t be understated; not only does it provide a huge number of jobs in the state—almost 8 percent of all employment—but it is also responsible for transporting much of the food, products, and other necessities that residents need in their daily lives.

The industry also transports tourists, who bring money into the state, as well as much of the equipment needed to keep Alaska’s manufacturing and natural resource industries running. And with more than 82 percent of Alaska’s communities not connected to the road system, it is at times a literal lifeline for those living outside the handful of urban areas.

eality television has painted a somewhat distorted picture of life in Bush Alaska. Shows like Alaskan Bush People and Alaska: The Last Frontier depict families living life off-the-grid, chopping wood to build their cabins, and hunting and gathering to put food on the table.

But even the hardiest of those living in the Alaska Bush head to the store at least occasionally to stock their pantry and purchase clothes, furniture, and other personal items.

It just takes a bit more effort—and an airplane—to do what is an easy afternoon errand for the rest of Alaska.

“We’re a service provider,” says Clinton White, owner and operator of Anchorage-based Greatland Grocery & Supply, an online store that serves all of Alaska. “We market ourselves as a grocery store, but really we’re a supplier of goods that Bush communities need.”

Even for businesses that predominantly serve more traditional customers, Bush orders still comprise a significant portion of their sales.

“It’s amazing how much stuff goes out in the Bush,” says Ron Bailey, president of Bailey’s Furniture, which has showrooms in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Wasilla, and Soldotna. “I’d estimate that 10 to 15 percent of our sales are Bush orders.”

he mining industry plays an important role in the economy of more than seventy communities throughout the state. Whether the mines produce zinc, lead, coal, gravel, silver, or gold, the direct and indirect financial impacts on the surrounding area are significant, according to a McDowell Group report commissioned by the Alaska Mining Association.

“The most important impacts are related first to the jobs and the wages that a mine creates,” McDowell Group Senior Vice President Jim Calvin says.

“Mines are fairly labor intensive; they will typically employ several hundred workers. And mines are also often among the largest employers in terms of headcount and total payroll over the course of a year.”

he decision to bury a utility line depends on many factors, such as climate and population density. Alaska’s utilities decide how to provide services to a community based on its needs and characteristics.

Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) has more power plants than all of Alaska’s other electric cooperatives combined. The nonprofit serves residents in fifty-eight locations across Alaska, from Kodiak Island to Yakutat and Minto, which is the only community in the cooperative’s network accessible by road. AVEC runs more than 150 diesel generators for more than 400,000 hours a year to provide services to its customers.

obody anticipates summer quite like Alaskans. Months of darkness, mountains of snow, and freezing temperatures yield, seemingly overnight, to long, sunlit days and, with the kids out of school, time to travel to the Lower 48 and beyond for vacation.

Summer 2020, however, is shaping up to be more than just a little bit different.

As this article is being written, Alaskans are hunkered down at home. Every resident or visitor who enters the state—whether by land, sea, or air—is subject to a mandatory 14-day home quarantine, causing many to cancel travel plans. The cruise ship industry, which brings more than 1 million visitors to the state each summer, has canceled excursions through at least June 30; airlines have reduced flights in and out of the state; and all but the most essential services are closed.

Following the US Bureau of Land Management releasing the EIS, the final step in the permitting process for the project is the issuance of the Record of Decision by the BLM and the issuance of the Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the US Army Corp of Engineers. Trilogy Metals expects these two items to be issued concurrently within the next couple of months.
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