Nathaniel Herz

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Nathaniel Herz

Butch Laiti is president of the Douglas Indian Association, a tribal government in Juneau. The association has purchased a fishing boat and wants to buy a commercial fishing permit for its members to share, but a state law bars it from doing so. (Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal)This story was produced as part of the Pulitzer Center’s StoryReach U.S. Fellowship and the Public Media Accountability Initiative, which supports investigative reporting at local media outlets around the country.

1 week ago | ktoo.org | Nathaniel Herz

For decades, an economic catastrophe has been unfolding in the Indigenous villages along the Gulf of Alaska, with lost jobs and the destruction of a traditional way of life: hauling fish from the sea. That destruction is still playing out. More than 80% of people who responded to a recent survey sponsored by an economic development nonprofit said that Southeast Alaska and Kodiak Island villages are in a “crisis of sustainability” because of lost access to fisheries.

2 weeks ago | environmentenergyleader.com | Nathaniel Herz

Nathaniel Herz, Northern Journal Alaska utility execs to lawmakers: Let’s revive Susitna hydroelectric megaprojectWith urban Alaska facing a shortfall in the natural gas long used to generate the vast majority of its power, renewable energy advocates have been pressuring the region’s utilities to advance large-scale wind and solar development to meet future power demands.

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Nathaniel Herz

A rendering of the proposed Susitna hydroelectric development. (Alaska Energy Authority image)With urban Alaska facing a shortfall in the natural gas long used to generate the vast majority of its power, renewable energy advocates have been pressuring the region’s utilities to advance large-scale wind and solar development to meet future power demands. But no such projects have been built in the past few years, even with generous tax credits available from the federal government.

3 weeks ago | adn.com | Nathaniel Herz

Hilcorp has bought out one of the last small independent natural gas operators in the Cook Inlet basin outside of Anchorage — furthering consolidation among the companies that supply urban Alaska with the fuel needed for home heating and electricity generation.