Media Advisory

TO                         NEWS EDITORS AND SCIENCE REPORTERS

FROM                     UAF Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research

SUBJECT                SCIENCE IN THE NORTH - 50 YEARS OF CHANGE

LOCATION              Denali Princess Lodge, Denali National Park

DATE & TIME          Sept. 19 —22, 1999

The results of a $1.8 million, multi-year, multi-university study assessing the potential impact of oil development, climate change, government cutbacks and tourism on Native subsistence lifestyles will be released this weekend. That study and new scientific discoveries about life in the Far North-from monitoring air quality in Alaska homes to variances in Denali Park moose populations — will be unveiled at the 50th annual meeting of the Arctic Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Sept. 19 — 22. More than 200 leading scientists from Alaska, the lower-48, Canada and several other foreign countries specializing in arctic research will participate in the conference.

First held in 1950, Alaska was still a territory when researchers first got together in a formal setting to discuss science in the Last Frontier. Since then, major advances across all fields of science have occurred and there's been a global recognition of the important role Alaska and the Arctic plays in creating climate conditions worldwide. The conference will provide a perspective on 50 years of scientific achievement in the North, including results of a study which looked at whether inhabitants of arctic communities could sustain themselves in traditional ways in the face of modern change.

The sustainability study began in 1995 under the direction of Jack Kruse, former director of the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic Research, and Bob White, Director Emeritus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology. Along with some 23 researchers representing eight natural and social science disciplines from universities in the U.S. and Canada, Kruse and White worked with villagers in Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Old Crow and Arctic Village to incorporate Native knowledge systems into the study.

Most conference activities will be held at the Denali Princess Lodge, located on the George Parks Highway. Media are invited to attend lectures, plenary presentations and poster sessions without charge, however, prior notice of participation is requested by contacting the UAF Office of University Relations, 907-474-7581. Press passes will be available at the conference registration desk along with copies of scientific abstracts. Additional information can be obtained at the conference web site: http://www.cgc.uaf.edu/aaas/aaas99.html

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CONTACT: UAF Public Information Officer Debra Damron (907) 474-7122.

DPD/9-13-99/00-011ma