It seems like just yesterday the howling of sled dogs filled the air as Alaska celebrated her official winter sport, but before we knew it our summer is now half over! Alaskan summers may only last a few months, but the long days allow us to go nonstop. As our partners have been busy with field work and preparing for the next school year, we thought it was a good time to reflect on the year so far.
 
     The Iditarod Trail Invitational human powered bike race had another record breaking year, and the Alliance was happy to have had a booth along with the BLM at the Inaugural Fat Bike Expo the two days before! The following weekend the Alliance participated for the first time at the Willow Community Center during the Iditarod Sled Dog Race Restart, and we had a great time! While many people were excited to learn that Alaska has a National Trail and its gold rush history, others knew all about the trail and showed us photos of the Mile 0 sign in Seward! Many of our visitors were excited to pick up a souvenir from the event, and we went home with only a few of the books, dvds, and mugs we came with!

     After race season officially ended, preparations for summer started! Down in Seward, a new Mile 0 sign, landscaping to several of the statues, and Iditarod NHT logos along the first mile of the bike path are all planned for this year. On National Trails Day, a guided historic walking tour was led by the Seward Iditarod Trail Blazers of the first mile of the Trail.
 
     The Bureau of Land Management is excited to welcome a new SCA Intern, Nathan for the summer! Nathan is assisting the INHT Trail Administrator Kevin Keeler with field work, including delivering tripods, shelter cabin maintenance, and assessing sections of the trail that were impacted by last summer’s fire season.

     The Fish and Wildlife Service in Galena will be hosting their first ever artist-in-residence – we can’t wait to see their work!
 
     Here at the Alliance, we are continuing our mission to educate the public and spread awareness about the Iditarod National Historic Trail! August will mark the start of our sixth year of iTREC, the Iditarod Trail to Every Classroom, and we cannot wait to start this transformative training with our next group of teachers. New this summer, our DVD The Iditarod National Historic Trail: A History will be shown at several locations! In Seward, the movie will be shown in the Community Room at 2pm, Monday-Saturday, with the exception of occasional Library Museum programming. Free admission (donations accepted.) Out at sea, the movie will be shown on the Seven Seas Mariner cruise ship as a part of their interpretive program. We are excited for the expanding opportunities for the public to see our great film!
 
Keep an eye on our Current Events page for events, and we hope you have a great summer!
 
Do you love the Iditarod National Historic Trail, and wish you could stay up to date on the Alliance all the time? Join the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance! You will receive our monthly newsletter The Tripod as a member benefit.
 
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The Public Comment period is currently open for the Donlin Gold Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). There are three components to the project: the 315 mile pipeline from Cook Inlet to the mine site, the barge transportation on the Kuskokwim River, and the mine site itself. Information on the project and how to submit a comment can be found at: http://www.donlingoldeis.com/. We encourage the public to read about the project and submit their comments to the US Army Corps of Engineers as a part of the public process.

UPDATE: The comment period has been extended from April 30th to May 31, 2016.
 
The Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance has passed the following resolution that has been submitted as public comment.

It's currently snowing here in Anchorage, Alaska which should make for some wonderful snowy conditions tomorrow for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race Ceremonial Start! While the route had to be shortened from its normal 11 miles to 3, we know it will be a good time!

Then on Sunday, your very own Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance will be at the restart in Willow! Look for us with the rest of the vendors inside the Community Center. Stop by to warm up and learn more about the Iditarod National Historic Trail! The Iditarod Trail Committee has information on parking and shuttle buses. 

Can't make it this weekend? Experience the race from Google Street View, and then check out our store for our great products!

Read more from the Alaska Dispatch News

Read a wrap up of the 2016 Hike the Hill from our partners at the Partnership for the National Trails System.