A Better Alaska
Alaska has changed since 2018. Not every headline mentions it. Here's the record.A Better Alaska
Alaska has changed since 2018. Not every headline mentions it. Here's the record.Resource Development
Alaska's oil, minerals, timber, and fisheries — what has moved since 2018.
Commercial salmon
$541Min 2025
Alaska's commercial salmon harvest was worth $541 million in 2025 — up 78 percent in a single year.
Fishermen landed 194.8 million salmon. The 2024 harvest was worth $304 million.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game — 2025 salmon season summary
Pikka
20,000barrels a day
Pikka Phase 1 began producing oil in 2026, adding a new source of North Slope production.
Santos reported continuous production of roughly 20,000 barrels a day as of June 2026, with about 80,000 barrels a day targeted for the third quarter of 2026.
Santos Limited — Pikka Phase 1 production announcement
Willow
180,000barrels a day
The Willow project is under construction on the North Slope, with production of up to 180,000 barrels a day planned.
ConocoPhillips announced its final investment decision on December 22, 2023. Construction is underway.
ConocoPhillips — Final investment decision announcement
Alaska LNG
2029first gas targeted*
Alaska LNG moved into early execution in 2026, after years of standing still.
Glenfarne announced conditional awards for pipeline construction, line pipe supply agreements, and gas sales precedent agreements. Phase One targets mechanical completion in 2028.
*The Legislature's refusal to take up legislation to provide property tax relief during the special session may result in a delayed project.
Pipeline and Gas Journal — Phase One early execution
Dalton Utility Corridor
2.1Macres reopened
About 2.1 million acres in the Dalton Utility Corridor were reopened to state selection and mineral entry.
Public Land Order 7966, issued February 25, 2026, revoked withdrawals in place since the 1970s. Interior announced conveyance of roughly 1.4 million acres to the State on May 6, 2026.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management — PLO 7966 decision rationale|Legal summary
Mining
1stin the world
Alaska ranks first in the world for mineral potential, and third for overall investment attractiveness.
From the Fraser Institute's 2024 Annual Survey of Mining Companies. The mineral potential index rates geological endowment under best-practice policy assumptions.
Fraser Institute — Annual Survey of Mining Companies 2024
Also on the record
Additional Milestones
Manh Choh mine began producing gold
First gold pour on July 8, 2024. Ore is trucked to the Fort Knox mill for processing.
Kinross Gold Corporation — Q2 2024 results
Tongass Shared Stewardship Agreement signed
The State of Alaska and the U.S. Forest Service signed a shared stewardship framework for the Tongass, where none existed before.
USDA Forest Service — Shared stewardship agreement
Wood bison returned to Alaska
130 wood bison were released in the Lower Innoko–Yukon area in 2015, the first wild wood bison in Alaska in a century. A 2024 survey counted about 61 animals.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game — Wood bison reintroduction project|2015 release coverage
Hunter access funding established
The State established dedicated funding in the Fish and Game budget to defend hunter access and subsistence and general-hunt opportunities against federal challenges.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game — Hunter access program
Environmental Conservation
Cleanup, air and water quality, and the standards Alaska set first.
Contaminated sites
5,897sites cleaned up
Nearly 5,900 contaminated sites across Alaska have been brought to cleanup-complete status.
As of December 2024, under the state Voluntary Response Program.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — ACRES State Voluntary Response Program Report
PFAS standards
2018six years early
Alaska set state PFAS action levels six years before the federal government finalized drinking-water limits.
State action levels were adopted in 2018; EPA finalized federal limits in April 2024. A statewide PFAS monitoring program is running from 2024 through 2027.
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation — PFAS Action Plan
Fairbanks air quality
2025sanctions lifted
EPA fully approved the Fairbanks air quality plan, lifting federal sanction clocks.
The Fairbanks fine-particulate nonattainment area had been under EPA sanction clocks; full approval of the State Implementation Plan ended them.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 — Final Fairbanks Air Quality Plan
Cruise ship wastewater
93vessels inspections
and 544 samples from 10 harbors with 100% attainment at all locations during the 2025 cruise season.
93 cruise vessels inspected and 353 samples collected in 2025, with 100 percent attainment in monitored waters.
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation — Cruise Ships Program
