Published Jun 25, 2024 by Alaska Native News

Alaska’s small businesses are a driving force in the state’s economy. A new annual report by the Alaska Small Business Development Center (SBDC) reveals they are increasingly led by women, veterans, and new entrepreneurs. The 2023 Alaska SBDC Annual Report highlights a year of impactful support, featuring success stories of businesses that secured funding, expanded operations, and launched thanks to Alaska SBDC guidance. The report also features a new “State of Small Business” section and Special Programs overview, offering valuable insights into Alaska’s entrepreneurial landscape. 

“Alaska’s small businesses are a crucial part of the state’s economy, and the Alaska SBDC is proud to be able to support them. This year, we have developed and deployed unprecedented new programs, funding sources, and resources for Alaska’s entrepreneurs in addition to our existing business support services. As this report shows, the results of those efforts are paying off,” said Alaska SBDC State Director Jon Bittner. 

The new “State of Small Business” section, in partnership with the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development at the UAA Business Enterprise Institute, offers a comprehensive analysis of Alaska’s entrepreneurial landscape, revealing key trends:

• Alaska SBDC clients are likelier to be women, BIPOC individuals, and veterans.
• Despite economic challenges, Alaska has seen a positive trend in new business formation since 2018, showcasing a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
• While optimistic, small business owners remain concerned about accessing capital and hiring qualified workers. 

Published Jun 25, 2024 by Dana Kobilinsky

Wolverine densities on Alaska’s North Slope are far lower than the last survey revealed 40 years ago, raising concerns about what roles climate change, industrial development and human access may play in altering the remote Arctic tundra.

Seen from the air, wolverine (Gulo gulo) tracks crisscross the remote terrain, as do the tracks of their primary prey—caribou (Rangifer tarandus). “Traveling around the landscape, you get the impression that wolverines are all around,” said Tom Glass, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. But as Glass investigated, he found a different story.

“This whole ecosystem has the potential to unravel if we encroach too much on the refugia that currently support wildlife,” said Martin Robards, regional director of the Arctic Beringia program for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He and Glass are co-authors on a study published recently in the Journal of Wildlife Management looking at wolverine densities and home ranges on the North Slope.

The region is undergoing dramatic changes. Due to climate change, snow is melting earlier, boreal wildlife is moving northward and willows are encroaching on the landscape. The human footprint is also growing, with expanding oil fields, new roads and increasing mining interest.

But while species of conservation concern like caribou and bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) are well researched in the North Slope, “to me, one of the species that stood out as understudied was the wolverine,” Robards said.

“The main difficulty is the working conditions,” Glass said. The two went out in the winter, when wolverines are easier to find and the North Slope—a vast, treeless expanse between the mountains of the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean to the north—is more accessible by snow machines.

“Wolverines call pretty much that whole expanse home,” Glass said.

What they found surprised them. Despite the tracks across the landscape, wolverine densities were 10 times lower than those reported for the Utukok Uplands in 1984. They found roughly two wolverines per 1,000 square kilometers—among the lowest wolverine densities ever documented.