Another advocacy group, the Council of Alaska Producers, recently changed its name: say hello to “Alaska Metal Mines.” Also in this section, meet the UAF research labs that support mining activity in “Let’s Get Geophysical.”

iking is an important pastime in Alaska for tourists and residents alike. A proposed multi-braid trail system known as the Alaska Long Trail is going to make it even easier for people to enjoy spending time outdoors.

The trail is a work in progress that will connect Fairbanks and Seward, taking advantage of already established trails and including new trails that will be developed along the way. When complete, more than 500 miles of trails will allow users to travel on mostly public lands, like the Appalachian Trail in the Lower 48. Developers dare hope that the trail system may someday connect to the Arctic or incorporate a Southeast Alaska portion.

“The vision is ambitious,” says project coordinator Mariyam Medovaya. “Our ultimate goal is to create a network of routes that can accommodate both motorized users and nonmotorized users for snowmachining, hiking, biking, and skiing.”

ach year, tens of millions of fish are caught illegally.

The United Nations estimates the illegal fishing economy is between $10 billion to $24 billion a year.

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an international problem that reaches every coast, river, and stream. Alaska is no exception.

According to the University of Washington’s Sustainable Fisheries project, Alaska fisheries may be the best managed fisheries in the world, yet IUU still impacts Alaskans.

“IUU does happen on high seas and in international waters, where those products can then enter the legal market,” says Greg Smith, communications director with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. “This increases the supply of seafood, which in turn dilutes the value of Alaska seafood.”

eophysics is the study of the magnetism, electricity, radioactivity, vibration, fluid dynamics, gravity, and mineral properties of the Earth. From laboratories in Fairbanks, researchers at the UAF Geophysical Institute (GI) gather data in Alaska to unlock the secrets of the entire planet.

Some of those laboratories look outward to space, including the Alaska Satellite Facility, the Poker Flat Research Range where sounding rockets are launched, and the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program for studying the ionosphere.

Other laboratories help protect the state from natural hazards, including the Alaska Earthquake Center, the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the Alaska Climate Research Center, and the Arctic Coastal Geoscience Lab.

atcher Pass Road exists because of gold mining. On the Palmer side of the backcountry route through the Talkeetna Mountains, Independence Mine State Historical Park preserves a relic of gold production from the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. Even earlier, starting in the ‘20s, miners extracted ore from shafts penetrating slopes around the headwaters of Willow Creek, on the other side of the pass.

The Willow Creek mining district ranks as the third-largest lode in Alaska, yielding 19 tonnes of gold during its active era. Subsequent activity has been more sporadic, however, with brief interest in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s falling short of a full-scale revival.

laska Business caught up with representatives from companies that run three of the state’s six large mines and a seventh just beginning operations to talk about recent advances and potential challenges: Coeur Alaska Kensington Mine, Hecla Mining Company Greens Creek Mine, Kinross Gold Fort Knox Mine, and Manh Choh, a joint venture of Kinross Gold and Contango ORE. The following excerpts from the interviews have been edited lightly for house style and length.

fter more than thirty years of advocacy, the trade organization representing large metal mines in Alaska has a new name. The Council of Alaska Producers is now called Alaska Metal Mines.

Created in 1992, the group works to inspire Alaskans to realize a shared goal of safe and sustainable mineral production, providing economic and social benefits to the state and local communities. A new branding campaign will showcase how Alaska can play a greater role in providing metals and minerals that advance the human experience.

very stage of a mine’s lifecycle is impacted by engineering. As a result, companies that own and manage mines often employ teams of technical services employees, which include in-house engineers to design, maintain, and improve essential infrastructure.

“Our technical team is quite small—about ten people,” says Stephen Ball, general manager at Coeur Alaska’s Kensington Mine, “but that is great for young engineers coming into the field. They get lots of mine site opportunities and aren’t pigeonholed.”

At most mines, the work of in-house engineers follows the mine’s lifecycle and, accordingly, divides into three areas: short-range, mid-range, and long-range planning. While planning falls under the scope of a mine engineer’s duties, everyone on the mining company’s technical services team contributes their expertise for the mine site’s success.

old rushes of the late 1890s swelled Alaska’s population by about 26,000, nearly an eightfold increase during the decade. Men and women left their homes and families to seek a shiny metal due to economic insecurity.

In 1873, the United States tied paper money to a gold standard, which led to gold dollars rapidly increasing in value ahead of paper currencies, and people began to hoard them. Within a couple of decades, a series of economic recessions and bank failures led to the Panic of 1893 and 1896, causing unemployment and financial uncertainty.

rom cradles to coffins, railings to railroad ties, and canoes to charcuterie boards, wood finds its way into all types of designs.

Hardwood retailers provide expertise about the qualities and characteristics of various woods and supply the necessary wood and tools for woodworking at every level, from hobbyists to professional contractors.

verlooking the first traffic signal on the Glenn Highway entering Anchorage—or the last light on East Fifth Avenue on the way out of town—the Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership has been a fixture since April 1963. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, the family-owned company exemplifies a successful model of owners selling to employees.

The original owners, Kenneth B. Davis and Glen Phillips, opened the first showroom as 5th Avenue Chrysler. They built the operation until their retirement in 1978.

hile working on the Sterling Highway in 2021, contractors unearthed evidence of Dena’ina homes. The find included cache pits, animal remains, cutting tools, and a ground slate point arrowhead.

On the Chiniak Highway in Kodiak, an ancestral Alutiiq settlement approximately 350 years old was discovered. And in advance of an expansion project at Fort Wainwright, archaeologists documented campsites at McDonald Creek that range from 6,000 to 14,000 years old, including stone tools and the remains of extinct mammoths.

Because of finds like these, companies involved in excavation are encouraged, and sometimes required, to work with archaeological experts to preserve cultural resources.

hat do you do?

How many times a week have you answered that question? How do you answer it? Is it usually something like, “I’m a [insert job title].”

Job titles carry a lot of significance in our culture.

In an episode of the sitcom Cheers, the bartender Woody wants more pay. He marches into his boss Rebecca’s office to demand a raise. He comes out smiling and announces he is now the Senior Bartender. His coworker Sam is upset, so he marches into her office to demand a raise, too. He comes out with the title Executive Supervising Bartender.