Alpine conservation policy, international hiking research, and political action
By Emiko Newman
Photo by Emiko Newman
On the Kungsleden trail in the Arctic Circle, Sweden.
I stepped onto the bridge beside the tall patch of fireweed blossoms, careful not to step in the reindeer scat lying in the brush, as the swirling river shimmered ahead beneath the hot July sun. I was hiking on and around the Kungsleden route, an historic trail stretching 286 miles from Abisko to Hemavan in Swedish Lapland. I spent a week in Abisko National Park where the water was so pristine. It’s culturally customary to drink from the lakes and rivers without additional water purification. As an environmental engineering undergraduate student, this was cool to experience with other hikers.
I was awarded $1,750 through the UAF Transformative Experience Fund to learn about the connections between hiking and preservation of alpine areas.
I used those funds to enroll in a summer course through Outdoor Adventures at University of Alaska Fairbanks. The course took me on a week-long expedition to the Brooks Range in Northern Alaska in June. After this, we headed off to the Scandinavian region of the circumpolar Arctic, where I used the rest of the grant, armed with my newfound experience in hiking specifically in the Arctic.
However, the start of the summer season was over two weeks late in the Arctic this year. Our route in the Gates of the Arctic was still totally covered with snow. While the spring/summer weather had finally started up there, it would not be in time to make it feasible to travel through that country by June 16 as was planned for the field portion of the course. Alternatively, I hiked Hatcher Pass in June and Ravens Roost in Petersburg, Alaska. Here, I practiced setting up camp on my own as well as getting used to using my gear.
Photo by Emiko Newman
Top of a small mountain in Abisko.
Hiking culture is very different, I learned, depending on where you are in the world. It also became clear the differences between privatization and publication of land ownership, stewardship and recreational usage. Alpine activities and areas in Italy are heavily privatized with hotel rooms proximal to trails easily costing upwards of $700. Many Italian locals recommended renting a car and driving between trailheads in the Dolomites. Local hostels were fully booked in May when I called to reserve a spot in late July. In Germany, I learned “wild camping” (pitching a tent anywhere outside) is illegal; permits are required ahead of time to camp (that are not free). In Sweden, I only needed about half the gear I brought compared to Alaska. I was not expecting such a strong network of field support with mountain huts at semi-regular intervals of the trail designed for hikers to reach at the end of a day’s worth of movement. All of the huts are owned and operated by the Svenska Turistföreningen, an alpine organization founded in 1885. I could have easily brought a day pack and resupplied at each mountain hut (with the exception of Singi and Nikkaluokta) if I didn’t mind paying upscaled prices but drastically reducing the weight of my pack.
On June 12, instructor Frank Olive emailed the class about the late breakup in the Brooks Range.
“I have been on this route at this time of year at least seven times and never run into this dilemma,” Olive said.
Olive spent time “brainstorming alternatives” yet “couldn’t come up with a viable trip plan that fulfills the backpacking learning objectives and gets people to the Arctic” under the weather conditions at the time. Several students chose this course because it allowed them to go above the Arctic Circle and to backpack in the Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Photo by Emiko Newman
A section of the Kungsleden route nearby Abisko, Sweden.
With the circumpolar Arctic warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, the same approaches or strategies that have been reliable in the past may not apply as they have historically.
The term "circumpolar Arctic" refers to the vast region surrounding the North Pole, encompassing parts of eight countries: Canada, Finland, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States (Alaska). It's a region characterized by extreme cold, a short growing season, and unique ecosystems, including tundra vegetation and diverse wildlife. The term also encompasses the Indigenous peoples who inhabit these lands, often referred to as circumpolar or Arctic peoples.
The Arctic lists the top ten endangered species as follows: the arctic fox, polar bears, prairie pigeon (last sighting in 1996, thought to be extinct), arctic peregrine falcon, wood bison, caribou, narwhal, musk ox, beluga whale and the pacific walrus. With Arctic sea ice rapidly dwindling, polar bears increasingly struggle to survive amidst declining hunting grounds. With habitat destruction and degradation due to oil and gas mining projects in the tundra regions combined with forest logging, caribou are also classified as endangered due to habitat loss, according to United Nations Habitat.
Preservation of alpine and Arctic regions has never been more critical. The Trump administration has proposed significant resource extraction in areas of the Arctic Wildlife National Refuge that have historically been untouched. Trump’s "Drill, Baby, Drill" campaign slogan has come to represent his strategy of increasing the output of fossil fuels and reversing climate policies and regulations that were intended to lower carbon emissions in the U.S.
Despite limitations on leasing and oil and gas extraction on federal lands, the United States remains and has been the world's top producer of these resources, according to climate policy expert Brian Murray in an article published by NPR. As it stands, over 2.6 million acres – an area larger than Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks combined – are already leased to oil and gas companies in the Western Arctic. Eighty-two percent of the Arctic reserve – or more than 18 million acres – would be open to oil and gas leasing, including areas that had previously been protected for wildlife, subsistence resources and climate resilience.
Photo courtesy of Emiko Newman via CalTopo
Satellite imagery of the Brooks Range route for the UAF course “Intro. to Arctic Backpacking” on June 11, 2025.
The Alaska Wilderness League has blasted this motion, calling it a “blind desire to industrialize the Western Arctic” that “ignores how important this land is to millions of migratory birds, caribou herds, bears, and the ecosystem's ability to sustain subsistence lifestyles.”
The national petroleum reserve in Alaska is the largest block of public land in the United States. The push for unfettered oil and gas expansion within it is unprecedented. The Trump administration’s proposal to rescind the Special Areas Rule would have opened up 13 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. It was open for public feedback until August 4. Under the Biden administration, a vigorous public process supported by strong community involvement and excellent science, resulted in almost 250,000 comments in favor of expanded safeguards for the Western Arctic in 2023.
Photo courtesy of Emiko Newman via CalTopo
The same route via satellite imagery on June 6, 2022.
In an executive branch reversal of policy enacted after the change of administrations, the Special Area Rule was revoked in accordance with the directives of Secretary's Order 3422 and Executive Order 14153, both of which are titled "Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential." In addition, it supports Secretary's Orders 3417 and 3418, Executive Orders 14154 and 14156, and the administration's overarching national energy plan. The administration has released comments stating their commitment to encouraging “responsible energy growth, lowering dependency on external sources, and guaranteeing the full utilization of domestic resources” to fulfill the country's strategic and economic goals is reaffirmed by the collective efforts of today, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Andy Moderow, senior director of policy at the Alaska Wilderness League said, “Today’s action is a direct attack on science and Traditional Knowledge, putting iconic Western Arctic landscapes more at risk of oil and gas industrialization, when in fact the law requires strong protections…The previous administration took a thoughtful, legally grounded approach to safeguard subsistence harvests of fish, caribou, and other resources. Today’s decision does not mark the end of that progress made; we will fight to restore these protections in the months and years to come.”
The Brooks Range is also at risk. The Northern Alaska Environmental Center reported on actions taken by Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska when he introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act this past June that would mandate approval of permits for the proposed Ambler Road on behalf of the Department of the Interior. This is in direct opposition to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who voiced their opposition to the project during last year's comment period. Sen. Sullivan is flagrantly dismissing the opinions of locals who have expressed that the road would permanently damage their traditional way of life, as well as the reliable scientific data that the DOI has obtained. Moreover, the building of the road would have severe adverse effects on the area's lands, rivers, and wildlife, as the “final environmental impact statement” made abundantly evident.
In May, I called Senators Murkowski and Sullivan 10 times as well as state representative Nick Begich and left them voicemails as part of this project, urging them to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In June, I left 15 voicemails.
Last June the largest attack on public lands in U.S. history was proposed in the conciliatory budget of the H.R.1 bill, otherwise known as the “big beautiful bill.”. Public lands were the top issue senators received from calls in the pacific northwest United States.
Photo by Emiko Newman
Hatcher Pass in June, 2025.
In the case of the special area rule, there was not enough pushback during the public commenting period to deter the government from proceeding. Yet in June, opposition from the American people succeeded in removing the mandatory sales of public lands to the highest bidder from the conciliatory budget bill H.R, otherwise known as the “big beautiful bill.”
Joyful resistance is an organizing tactic employed by mobilizers to strengthen community engagement and sustain long-term campaigns for societal change. For example, it was estimated that over 600 people attended the Ambler progress celebration on July 1, which was co-hosted by the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Tanana Chiefs Conference, Native Movement, and the National Parks Conservation Association.
Recently, I participated in an annual fundraiser on August 21 hosted by the Northern Alaska Environmental Center Run called the Run for the Refuge with nearly 150 virtual participants from 27 states and six countries.
I will also be volunteering with the Bureau of Land Management, applying different revegetation techniques collecting and planting willow stakes and seeds at stations in Nome Creek, later in September. Nome Creek is a high priority for active restoration within the White Mountains Resource Management Plan. The BLM has been restoring Nome Creek using classic restoration techniques while also deploying some novel techniques in this sub-Arctic environment with the overall goal being to improve fish habitats that were impacted by placer mining previously.
From calling your representatives, donating to grassroots environmental nonprofits, traveling the world exploring the beautiful Arctic, or attending community events full of delicious food, live music, and joy, there are so many possible avenues of joyful resistance that you can partake in to advocate for the public lands and protected areas we enjoy and endangered species rely on.
Volunteer. Donate. Speak up! Your voice matters. Help form an empowering global community protecting arctic and alpine lands in solidarity for generations to come.